Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson criticises mixed messaging on vaccinations

Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson has hit out at the ‘mixed messaging’ around vaccination rates as he urges the community to step up.

Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson has hit out what he says is the politicisation of the Covid-19 pandemic, criticising the slow flow of vaccination rates and vaccine rollout.

When asked about the social media volley between Mackay MP Julieanne Gilbert and Dawson MP George Christensen relating to the pandemic, Cr Williamson said: “The politicians have just got to get on with it.

“Start working together and give us a solition, give us a pathway and not play a blame game.

“The politicisation of this whole Covid pandemic is what is contributing to the confusion, the mixed messaging in Australia.”

Mr Christensen, through his social media, has frequently hit out at what he calls “pandemic restrictions” including describing proposed measures such as a vaccine passport “coercion” and “lockdowns and forced masking are the antithesis of freedom”.

Cr Williamson on Friday called for an end to the mixed messaging.

The federal government revealed the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac region had just 27.1 per cent of residents receiving a jab, and Cr Williamson said Mr Christensen’s voice added to the “mixed messaging”.

“It’s just ridiculous what we have been seeing from a state and federal perspective,” he said.

“I don’t want to have any politicians playing a blame game, as the public are saying, ‘for goodness sake let’s just get on with it’.”

(From left) Mackay Police District Superintendent Glenn Morris, Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson, and Mackay Base Hospital Nursing and Midwifery Executive Director Julie Rampton at Mackay's new vaccination hub at the showgrounds, August 6, 2021. Picture: Matthew Forrest

Cr Williamson said he was not happy the information on vaccination rates was withheld from local government.

“The feds deliver about 70 per cent of the vaccines in the region through private enterprise and through clinics,” he said.

“Up until last week the federal government flatly refused to share the data.

“We’ve been saying we need an aiming point, all of a sudden the data gets shared to the media.”

The Mackay Showgrounds vaccination hub has increased the number of Pfizer doses administered, and Cr Williamson said it was “long overdue”.

“It’s great to see it happen at the showgrounds, we need to get a lot more people vaccinated in our region,” he said.

“We have been a little bit complacent because it hasn’t been in our community, but the fact it has been in Cairns and the fact it has been in Rockhampton just shows you how susceptible we are to this Delta variant.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly suggested Cr Williamson was directly hitting out at claims made by Mr Christensen in relation to masks and lockdowns. Cr Williamson was hitting out at all politicisation of the vaccination roll-out in response to a journalist question. The Daily Mercury apologises for the confusion.