Prime Minister Scott Morrison address vaccine rollout during LNP’s Queensland convention

Scott Morrison has spoken at the LNP’s state convention in Brisbane, declaring Australia’s vaccine rollout had “turned a corner”.

Australia’s bumbling Covid-19 vaccine rollout has “turned a corner” Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said, as he used a speech to Queensland’s LNP faithful to spruik the government’s pandemic response and the importance of getting the jab.

Mr Morrison, speaking on day three of the party’s state convention, said in a pandemic “no government gets everything right” but when it comes to “saving lives and saving livelihoods”, there was no country with a better record than Australia.

Amid news the federal government had secured an extra 85 million booster doses of the Pfizer vaccine for 2022 and 2023, the Prime Minister said the vaccine rollout had “turned the corner”.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks via video link at the LNP state convention in Brisbane. Picture: Steve Pohlner

“This will ensure that individuals, families, communities have certainty about the continued protection against the evolving threat of COVID-19 over the next two years,” Mr Morrison said.

The Prime Minister’s popularity in the polls has taken a hit and the federal government is facing increasing pressure as the country’s vaccine rollout continues to be plagued by a lack of supply of the Pfizer vaccine.

The lack of supply and the ongoing outbreak in Sydney led to calls by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian for other states to send their Pfizer allocations to her state ahead of a national cabinet meeting.

Scott Morrison used his speech to declare that Australia’s vaccine rollout had “turned a corner” Picture: Steve Pohlner

But the request was shot down Mr Morrison said in his speech, because “supplies to all states” needed to be maintained “to ensure that we could keep up the vaccination pace all around the country, including Queensland”.

“We need to get the job done, all around the country. We need to get the job done in Queensland, so let’s get this done,” he said.

Mr Morrison’s pitch to the party faithful in Queensland was in contrast to Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, who focused on the National’s strengths of the regions, resources, and water infrastructure.

Mr Joyce, who was able to attend the convention in person after leaving NSW before Queensland’s hard border came down, framed his speech as a rallying cry for the party to ensure it remains in power after the next election — due in 2022.

He said Australia had two options, Scott Morrison or Anthony Albanese.

“Which one do you put your trust in, which one do you put your faith in, which one do you think, can navigate the trials and tribulations that will be before our nation … we can see that we have to make a choice,” Mr Joyce said.