The community had a chance to ask Prime Minister Scott Morrison questions about COVID-19 first hand this week.
Lindsay MP Melissa McIntosh hosted a Telephone Town Hall on Tuesday night where thousands of Penrith residents listened in and some got to speak to Mr Morrison.
The locals had lots of questions about the current pandemic and the Government’s plan moving forward through this period.
Vaccination was a focal topic of the nearly hour long discussion with several questions about the matter regarding sourcing them and vaccination targets that will lead to changes in restrictions.
Maria from Regentville highlighted the struggle to book vaccination appointments, especially Pfizer if it is preferred by individuals.
“Pfizer is preferred for under 60’s, we are using if for those younger who are working in medical professions or frontline roles where we can,” Mr Morrison said.
“However, AstraZeneca can get the job done right now, it is not mandatory and we are not seeking to make vaccines mandatory but I encourage you if you have any concerns to have a chat with your GP.”
Mr Morrison said that he could not give Penrith hairdresser Susan a timeline for the return of small businesses that are currently closed, but reassured residents the Government would support them.
“I hope it doesn’t go beyond the end of August, if Sydney-siders can bring these cases down then restrictions can lift and we can be careful while building vaccination rates to 70 per cent so we can manage the Delta Strain with the protections we have,” he said.
“The Federal Government is supporting the people of Sydney to the tune of nearly three quarters of a billion dollars every week to ensure cashflow support and income support to see you through.”
The Prime Minister said he believes Australia is on track to get back to normal.
“No country gets everything right but few countries can say like Australia that we have saved lives and livehoods,” he said.
“We have now set the targets to get to 70 per cent vaccination as a part of our four part plan so we can get to that next phase and I have every confidence that Australians can do that.”
Emily Feszczuk
A graduate of Western Sydney University, Emily covers Local, State and Federal politics for the Weekender, as well as crime and general news.