100% Locally Owned, Independent and Free

100% Locally Owned, Independent and Free

The EU has hit back at Scott Morrison's claim it blocked 3 million vaccine doses from Australia

Do you have a news tip? Click here to send to our news team.

Report reveals options for future of bustling precinct

A report has provided insight into potential options on striking a balance between residential amenity and the success of hospitality venues within a busy More

Weather-worn bridges to get long-awaited revamp

Two ageing wooden bridges to the north of the Sunshine Coast are set to be replaced with more durable, flood-resilient structures. The Harrys Creek Road More

Going strong: popular parkrun notches milestone

Runners residing in one of the Coast’s newest residential estates have hit a big community fitness milestone. Active residents at Harmony in Palmview celebrated the More

Bumper payday: woman stunned by $1m win

A Sunshine Coast woman's regular morning commute took an unexpected turn when she was told she had won $1 million. The motorist was in traffic More

Tribunal delays retirement village closure for review

The closure of a retirement village has been put on hold following concerns that its elderly residents could suffer “irreversible harm” without improved relocation More

Huge new ‘gompa’ proposed for hinterland retreat

One of Australia’s most prominent Buddhist centres has lodged plans for a new central meditation hall – or ‘gompa’ – at its sprawling Sunshine More

The European Union has denied blocking shipments of 3.1 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine from going to Australia.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has blamed vaccine supply issues for Australia failing to meet his government’s jab targets.

He said four million Australians were meant to be vaccinated by the end of March but only about 855,000 had received the jab by Monday.

The target was missed because of supply issues resulting from three million doses being blocked from leaving Europe for Australia, Mr Morrison said.

“Pure and simple,” he told reporters.

Nationals deputy leader David Littleproud said Australia had been “badly let down” by the EU.

“The arithmetic is simple on this. We are three million short because of the EU, who cut us short,” he said.

But a European Commission spokesperson said the only export request rejected out of nearly 500 received has been so far a shipment of 250,000 doses to Australia in March, which is well known.

“We cannot confirm any new decision to block vaccine exports to Australia or to any other country,” the spokesperson told a news conference in Europe on Tuesday.

Mr Morrison previously said any hold up of vaccine imports would not impact Australia’s plan and is standing by his government’s rollout strategy.

He said more locally-made doses of the AstraZeneca would be available over coming weeks, noting the testing requirements needed for each batch.

“I don’t intend to rush the process and put people’s health at risk,” he said.

The prime minister rejected Labor’s calls for mass vaccination sites, saying general practices are currently the best option for the early stages of the rollout which focuses on vulnerable people.

He also does not want to bring pharmacies into the rollout sooner than planned.

Labor’s health spokesman Mark Butler said a new strategy is needed.

He wants pharmacists involved in the rollout sooner after news they had been delayed by a month and would not start administering coronavirus jabs until June.

Meanwhile, Australians will be able to travel to New Zealand without needing to quarantine from April 19.

Kiwis have been able to travel to most Australian states quarantine-free for about six months.

Mr Morrison has hailed the travel bubble as an important step for the nations’ road out of the coronavirus pandemic.

NZ leader Jacinda Ardern announced a traffic light style system to guide Kiwis while travelling to Australia.

She said they may be subjected to prolonged stays across the Tasman or be required to quarantine on return in the event of outbreaks.

“People will need to plan for the possibility of having travel disrupted if there is an outbreak,” Ms Ardern said.

Travellers will not be required to produce a negative test before travel but that may change in the case of outbreaks.

Subscribe to SCN’s free daily news email

This field is hidden when viewing the form
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
[scn_go_back_button] Return Home
Share