Vaccinations
Tim READ (Brunswick) (10:17): Vaccination is fundamental to protecting our health and is a basic responsibility of government, and local councils vaccinate nearly half of Victoria’s children. Vaccination is why we do not have epidemics of diphtheria or polio in this country. It keeps thousands of children out of hospital. Six weeks ago councils received a letter from the Department of Health telling them to pay thousands of dollars to use the department’s new database, known as Central Immunisation Records Victoria. Labor caps the rates councils can charge but repeatedly asks them to pay for new things. In this instance the state Labor government is turning vaccination into a cost-recovery exercise, squeezing councils and risking the effective delivery of a vital program.
Stonnington council have written to the Greens saying they are legally required to register vaccinations and they will need to absorb this cost or charge users for their vaccinations. If councils charge parents, a few people will skip their vaccinations. If councils have to absorb the cost, they will be under pressure to cut costs, maybe by reducing staff hours. In either case we should not be surprised if vaccination coverage drops. I urge the government to think carefully about the consequences of meddling with the delivery of our national immunisation program and to abandon this charge.