Shadow Minister for National Resilience, Gerard Maley, says it’s completely unacceptable the Gunner Labor Government simply forgot to put in an essential order for close to 1,500 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine.
“This is a major oversight and raises serious questions about the Territory’s ability to manage the rollout of vaccines across the NT, let alone take over management of international arrivals for mandatory quarantine at Howard Springs from AUSMAT.
“At the most basic level, the NT Government is responsible for requesting COVID vaccines. The fact Labor is attempting to shift blame to the federal government demonstrates its confusion about the process, which is deeply concerning.
“The Chief Minister is a one-trick pony when it comes to COVID and he can’t even get this right.
Shadow Minister for Health, Bill Yan, says this bungle shows there’s been a significant breakdown in the system, which falls squarely at the feet of the Chief Minister and the Health Minister.
“NT Health already has enough on its plate dealing with the routine healthcare needs of Territorians.
“Add to that, the critical bed shortage at Royal Darwin Hospital in the past fortnight, a challenging recruitment drive to fill 400 vacancies at Howard Springs while the department struggles to find staff for dozens of essential roles including nurses and surgeons. The department’s extensive restructure to combine the Top End and Central Australia health services couldn’t have come at a worse time.
“Now the Gunner Government is taking over expanded operations at the Howard Springs quarantine facility and is overseeing the detailed rollout of the COVID vaccine. It’s not hard to see Labor has bitten off more than it can chew,” said Mr Yan.