PM reacts to rage on lockdown and jabs

SCOTT Morrison says he “doesn’t accept” that he is responsible for the lagging vaccine rollout and the simultaneous lockdown of three major Australian cities.

Greater Sydney is in the midst of at least a five-week lockdown, while Melburnians were told on Tuesday that they faced another week at the minimum confined to their homes.

South Australia was also plunged into a seven-day lockdown on Tuesday after the Delta variant spread from NSW to the state.

Speaking to Adelaide’s FIVEaa radio on Wednesday morning, the Prime Minister (pictured) – who had not been publicly seen or heard from since the weekend — hit back after hosts

David and Will said “the reason you’ve got 12 million people in lockdown is because you got it (the rollout) so wrong in the first place”.

“No, I don’t accept that,” Mr Morrison said.

“Right now, under no plan, was there any plan that said we’d be at 65-70 per cent vaccination in this country. Under no plan. Australia was always going to be in the suppression phase this year.”

In a separate interview on ABC Adelaide, Mr Morrison deflected responsibility for the slow vaccine rollout once again.

“We’ve had our problems … many have been out of our control,” he said on Wednesday.

Mr Morrison also said it was unfair Australia’s vaccine rollout was being criticised but New Zealand's was not.

“They have vaccination rates basically the same as ours … But I don't think anyone is suggesting any failure of the New Zealand vaccination program,” Mr Morrison said. According to Our World in

New Zealand is slightly ahead of Australia with 12 per cent of its population fully vaccinated compared with 11 per cent in Australia.