Michelle Rowland

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Michelle Rowland MP

FEDERAL MEMBER FOR GREENWAY

Level 1, Suite 101C, 130 Main Street, Blacktown PO Box 8525, Blacktown NSW 2148 (02) 9671 4780 Michelle.Rowland.MP@aph.gov.au MRowlandMP www.michellerowland.com.au

COVID testing scheme simply now inadequate

 MICHELLE ROWLAND

AS schools begin to resume and the summer holidays come to a close, I have started to reflect on the summer that was.

On trend with our experience of the pandemic these last two years, many of us in NSW and across the nation can agree that this break wasn’t quite what we imagined it would be.

Healthcare workers and volunteers spent the majority–if not all–of their holidays behind masks and a face shield, administering COVID tests for tens of thousands of people a day, or treating ICU COVID patients in densely fi lled hospitals.

Some of us were in isolation, others had to cancel their travel plans, and as case numbers continued to rise, many of us spent hours queuing up for a PCR test or racing around to secure a pricey rapid antigen test (RATs)–often to no avail.

People shouldn't have to wait for hours on end in a queue for PCR tests, or a week for results. The reason we are in this situation is because the Government neglected to secure enough supply of rapid testing kits for Australians.

The Australian Medical Association even warned the Government of this in September. The residents of Greenway have reached out to me, with one mother sharing the following:

Plaqued by supply issues

“I’ve tested my family members a few times when they had some mild symptoms. (I was lucky I had some tests). But long term I can’t keep testing when we show symptoms that could be the cause of so many other things. Long term we (and I am sure many other families) will no longer be able to continue to self-fund home testing kits. It’s just not aff ordable, long term with a family of 5.”

It is inexcusable that in the third year of this pandemic, we still have a testing scheme plagued by supply issues and a Federal Government without an adequate plan.

That’s why I wrote to Prime Minister Scott Morrison and NSW Minister for Health, Brad Hazzard, demanding urgent public clarifi cation regarding the temporary closures of testing clinics across NSW, including Greenway, and the inaccessibility of rapid antigen tests (RATs).

This Government’s public policy failures are creating personal problems of aff ordability and health, which in turn undermines the economy.

For our economy to build back stronger, we must ensure sound investments in our health sector.

It should be a priority, not an afterthought. Put simply, we deserve better.

Michelle Rowland is Shadow Minister for Communications Federal Member for Greenway. Visit: www.michellerowland.com.au