Last week the NSW Government took the difficult decision to redirect Pfizer doses from the regions to the COVID-ravaged areas of South West and Western Sydney.
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About 2000-3000 doses are set to be redirected from the Western NSW Local Health District.
In turn, extra supplies are on the way to the regions in the coming weeks. The biggest threat to our regional communities is the growing outbreak of the Delta strain in Sydney.
We currently have no cases in our region and vaccinating young people in the hotspot areas will help to keep it that way.
Allowing COVID to leak to the regions is not an option. What's also not an option is leaving tens of thousands of students behind.
Here in the Dubbo electorate, our regional year 12 students are currently at school preparing for the most important exams of their lives.
We need to give Year 12 students in South West Sydney the opportunity to complete their HSC exams as well.
A little over a week ago, the NSW Health Minister issued a plea to the other states and territories to help their fellow Australians by advancing Sydney some of their Pfizer doses. Those jurisdictions said no. But the regions will not say no. This is a much-needed helping hand to our city cousins. It's the Australian thing to do and it's the right thing to do. And it will save lives. This does not affect the supply of Pfizer through our GPs.
It also does not affect the supply of AstraZeneca, which remains available from GPs, NSW Health clinics and a growing number of pharmacies: www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/health-and-wellbeing/covid-19-vaccination-nsw/get-your-covid-19-vaccination-nsw.
I can also assure those in regional NSW who have had a first Pfizer dose they will receive their second dose.
Mouse bait rebate applications
Applications are now open for the NSW Government's Zinc Phosphide Rebate program.
This one-off rebate can assist with some of the costs of buying zinc-phosphide mouse bait.
Approved applicants can access a 50 per cent rebate, up to a cap of $10,000, on purchases of the critical mouse control chemical zinc phosphide.
Under this rebate, eligible primary producers can claim for zinc phosphide bought between 1 January 2021 and 17 December 2021 to eradicating mice during the 2021 mouse plague.
The LGAs included in the program are those most heavily impacted by the mouse plague and are listed on the RAA website.
Applications are open until December 17, 2021 and all invoices must be submitted to the RAA by January 28, 2022.
For to find out if you're eligible, or to apply, go to raa.nsw.gov.au.
