The Andrews Labor Government's last minute decision to mandate vaccines for truck drivers travelling to red zones risks leaving Victorian families and businesses without the essential goods they need.
The Government advised the freight industry late afternoon on Wednesday they would be announcing the following morning that by September 23, drivers heading in and out of a red zone would need at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination.
That's just under two weeks' notice to get thousands of truck drivers vaccinated with absolutely no consultation.
The industry rightly has questions it wants answered - Will there be priority vaccinations at all state-run hubs? Will it be the same chaos we saw with vaccinations for Year 12 students? Does this apply to any driver entering Victoria? Or just those who reside in Victoria?
Policy on the run like this threatens to break the already fragile supply chain and could leave supermarket shelves bare across Victoria, all because the Andrews Labor Government has no plan for our freight industry.
As stated by Shadow Minister for Ports and Freight, Roma Britnell:
"The Andrews Labor Government has shown absolutely no respect for the freight industry, making up policy on the run with no notice and short turnaround times.
"Truck drivers are doing an extraordinary job getting things where they need to be while navigating a web of border controls including regular testing.
"Daniel Andrews and Labor have rushed this policy through with no consultation and the industry needs answers now."
