Anti-vaxxer views ludicrous: Hunt
ANTI-VAXXERS have been slammed for spreading “ludicrous” theories about Australia’s vaccine rollout on the same day as a shipment of 300,000 AstraZeneca doses landed in Sydney.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said: “Some of these antivaxxers are peddling false and clearly irresponsible views. Whether it is about 5G and Bill
Gates and mind-control ludicrous, ludicrous things.”
Mr Hunt said there had been no sign so far anti-vaxxers were planning major protests at vaccination centres, while confirming the Department of Home Affairs was in contact with the Department of Health to monitor the situation.
Australia hit another milestone in the fight against COVID-19 with the first consignment of AstraZeneca vaccine landing in Sydney on Sunday. …
A shipment of 300,000 doses of the vaccine – a collaboration between Oxford University and the pharmaceutical giant – are now set to be batch tested by the Therapeutic Goods Administration to ensure they meet quality guidelines. The first doses will go to priority groups in phase 1a of the rollout.
Scott Morrison said if the vaccines cleared the TGA testing process, Australians would start getting it from March 8.
THE value of unpaid speeding fines in Queensland has climbed by 10 per cent in just one year, with lead-foot drivers now owing the state’s debt collection agency a massive quarter of a billion dollars.
Almost one in every $5 on the State Penalties Enforcement Registry’s books is owed by a speeding motorist.
As of December 31, there were $253.8m worth of speeding fines held by SPER – up 10 per cent from the same time in 2019 when it was $230.6m. The total volume of unpaid fines was up about 6.7 per cent over the course of the year to 843,010 infringements – the equivalent of about one unpaid fine for every five driver licences in Queensland.
Transport Minister
Mark
Bailey insisted motorists would still need to pay the fine even if referred to SPER.
“And demerit points are still applied to your licence,” he said.
“The Treasurer has also announced a Debt Recovery and Compliance program to increase proactive debt management to recover money from those who owe it to the people of Queensland.
“If you don’t want fined or risk losing licence, don’t speed.”
The 2019-20 Budget foreshadowed an increase in revenue from fines and forfeitures due to increases in “enforcement hours” and the deployment of more cameras on the roads in coming years.
There were also $172.5m in tolling fees and fines that remained unpaid as of to be your
December 31, while the amount of unpaid fines for parking offences was $61.9m – down from $63.3m the previous year.
There were about $16m in unpaid fines for failing to vote in elections, $45.1m in unpaid fines for fare evasion and another $119.5m in unpaid fines and debts for vehicles offences.
Bail offences were also in the top 15 offences for unpaid fines, with about $23.5m unpaid infringements.
Queensland Treasury has revealed SPER collected about $240m in payments during 2020 amid the challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“SPER debts don’t just go away and the consequences can be serious, so it is important that people deal with their debt,” a spokesman said. in