GETTING IT DONE

PM praises Tasmania’s nation-leading vax uptake Where there’s a Will: Hodgman helps secure jabs

PRIME Minister Scott Morrison has heaped praise on Tasmanians as our state continues to lead the country in terms of Covid vaccination figures.

Mr Morrison said Tasmania was a great example of a state that wasn’t in lockdown but that knew the only way to protect ourselves from Delta was through vaccination.

He also praised former premier Will Hodgman, left, for his role in helping to secure 500,000 jabs from Singapore.

THE overwhelming majority of Tasmanians say Covid-19 vaccination is the path out of lockdowns and they also believe domestic and international travel should be reserved only for those who have got the jab.

That is according to an exclusive YouGov poll of 3114 people that shows strong public support for French-style “vaccine passports”.

Almost four in every five Tasmanian respondents believed vaccines were the main way to end lockdowns, the most of any Australian state.

Similarly, of those Tasmanians surveyed, 75 per cent said state and territory borders should only open to vaccinated travellers once everyone had been given the opportunity to be jabbed.

It was almost identical (74 per cent) considering international travel, with both figures again the highest of any Australian state.

The survey also revealed 50 per cent of Tasmanians believe workplaces should have the right to mandate vaccinations for their staff.

More than three-quarters of Tasmanians surveyed said vaccine passports were a good idea, while 55 per cent believed a flawed rollout was the reason more people were not vaccinated.

Overall, the poll found most Australians want state borders open during the pandemic despite the threat of Covid-19 infections, with vaccination the key to freedom.

As closed borders cause business chaos and leave families fractured, a sweeping new survey of people’s attitudes towards Covid-19 lockdowns shows overwhelming support to end interstate travel bans.

Only 8 per cent of people want permanent border closures once everyone has had a chance to be fully vaccinated.

Nearly two-thirds back border blocks against the unvaccinated, with only those who roll up their sleeves for a Covid-19 jab allowed to travel interstate.

However, 30 per cent want borders reopened for everyone to travel interstate, even without a vaccination. Two out of three people believe evidence of Covid-19 immunisation should be required to access sporting venues, cinemas, museums, nightclubs and festivals.

Young people are less keen on pandemic passports, with only 58 per cent of people aged 18-34 wanting them, compared with 68 per cent of over-50s.

Support is high in Victoria and NSW, where residents have endured months of lockdowns after Covid-19 outbreaks, as well as in Tasmania,

and lowest in Queensland, which has been relatively free of the virus.

Nearly half of Australians want fully vaccinated people exempted from future lockdowns, and nearly a third think people should be paid as an incentive to get the jab.

Scott Morrison said on Tuesday a national plan to reopen Australia once 70-80 per cent of adults were vaccinated “is essential and it’s safe’’.

“I get that it’s a bit of a scary step, but we can’t live in fear of this thing,’’ the Prime Minister said.

“We have to live with it.’’ Declaring that “shutting everything down … does more harm than good’’, he said the best incentive for people to get vaccinated was to let them travel.

“Families will be able to be reunited, businesses will be able to get the workers they need,’’ he said.

“The economy will be able to move forward.’’

Nine out of 10 Australians support overseas travel once everyone has had a chance to be vaccinated, the YouGov survey shows.

But two-thirds believe only the vaccinated should be allowed to travel internationally.