Labor is proposing to give $300 to every Aussie who gets fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before December 1, which sounds like a pretty sweet deal tbh.
The idea is to provide an extra incentive for people to get the jab ASAP, after months of poor communication from the government has caused people to be confused and apprehensive, even though there’s now plenty of AstraZeneca to go around.
“The government has failed on its two jobs this year, the rollout of the vaccine and fixing quarantine,” Labor leader Anthony Albanese told PEDESTRIAN.TV on Monday night.
“It needs to use every measure at its disposal to protect Australians and our economy.”
He also described the vaccine rollout as a “race”, which is a refreshing change after the government repeatedly refused to utter the same word.
If you’re lucky enough to have already been vaccinated, never fear, because you would still get the hypothetical $300 payment too.
Labor is proposing $300 for every fully vaccinated Australian. pic.twitter.com/akd60k6DJa
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) August 2, 2021
The whole plan would cost $6 billion, but Albanese argues that this money will basically be injected back into the economy anyway.
“These payments will deliver significant cash stimulus for businesses who have paid the price for Scott Morrison’s failures on vaccines and quarantine for the past eighteen months,” he said in a statement.
This isn’t the first time a country has proposed to pay citizens to get the COVID jab. Serbia has already started paying people around AU $40, although the rollout over there had been pretty effective even before the cash incentive.
Of course, these $300 payments for Aussies are simply a proposal from the Opposition Leader so don’t go on a spending spree just yet.
But with an election coming up between now and May, and the government struggling to get people vaccinated to avoid prolonging the multiple lockdowns at the moment, this proposal might just be our shot to get out of lockdown for good.
All adult Aussies (yep, even if those of us under 40) are currently able to get the safe and effective AstraZeneca vaccine through a GP. Talk to a doctor to see if it’s right for you.
Alternatively, you can triple-check to see if you’re eligible for the Pfizer vaccine here.
The best vaccine is the first one you can get, and that’ll be our ticket out of this mess.
