The Prime Minister was absolutely right. Those 3.1 million doses didn t arrive, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told
Today.
Mr Frydenberg said Australia has also requested one million doses of the vaccine to assist Papua New Guinea in fighting a second wave of COVID-19 which has also not received approval.
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The EU has denied responsibility for a shortfall in Australia s Astrazeneca doses.(Getty) We have a request for a million doses of AstraZeneca that were destined for Australia to go to Papua New Guinea in a humanitarian mission where there has been an outbreak, he said. We are waiting on the Europeans to give us the approval for that.
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Only two per cent of money promised to help women return to the workforce has so far been spent amid revelations more than $1.4 billion in grants, waivers and loans promised by the NSW government to help people struggling through the pandemic remain untouched.
According to the NSW Treasury, the Berejiklian Government has so far announced $29 billion worth of economic stimulus measures across a range of sectors since the crisis began, but there is mounting criticism about expenditure from a number of 2020 bailouts falling well short in critical areas.
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet at a budget estimates hearing earlier this month.
Coronavirus NSW: Over a billion dollars in COVID-19 stimulus untouched brisbanetimes.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from brisbanetimes.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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It was January 7, against a backdrop of chaos and violence at the United States Capitol, when Prime Minister Scott Morrison held a press conference in Canberra to announce an expedited rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in Australia.
The aim was to vaccinate 4 million people by the end of March. “That is a target,” he said. “That is what we are working to. But as the information and other things become clearer, then I think we can provide further updates on how we are tracking against those goals.”
This was a qualified promise, but such is the nature of politics that the number stuck. And last week, with fewer than 700,000 people inoculated, Morrison and his health minister Greg Hunt were always going to be held to account for failing to deliver by the deadline.
Coronavirus Australia: Jab over vaccines blows up the camaraderie of national cabinet theage.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theage.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.