Paying people to get the Covid vaccination is not the smartest move, says Kylie Lang

The opposition leader’s proposal to pay Australians who get the Covid vaccine $300 is not the smartest move, writes Kylie Lang.

Cash splashing Anthony Albanese proclaims: “Vaccinations are a race Australians can no longer afford to lose.” No longer? We never could.

But the abysmal uptake on getting jabbed against Covid-19 proves we have fallen behind as a nation and that, in fact, we are not all in this together.

Admittedly, many keen for the vaccine are struggling to book in, and there have been hitches with supply plus scaremongering about AstraZeneca, but the most disturbing issue is the number of Australians who believe their individual right to choose trumps the wellbeing of the majority.

So much for mateship.

Offering Australians money in a bid to get us faster to the finish line, however, is not the smartest move.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has proposed paying $300 to those who get the Covid-19 vaccine. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gary Ramage

It won’t work, plus it sets a dangerous precedent that people should be paid for doing the right thing. It also doesn’t augur well for future vaccination programs, implying immunisation is somehow an unfavourable trade-off when in fact it is an essential part of life.

The Opposition Leader is proposing a $6 billion plan that gives a $300 payment to all Australians who get vaccinated by December 1.

Where the money is supposed to magically come from is anyone’s guess in an economy already haemorrhaging under the pandemic.

This aside, research and learned experience has shown that financial incentives aren’t the best way to go.

Far better to motivate people through other inducements, which is what the Federal Government is currently considering.

A sign outside a community COVID-19 vaccination centre in Capalaba, in Brisbane's east. Queensland recorded several new cases of coronavirus overnight. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

These include partnering with businesses to provide discounts, coupons and frequent flyer bonuses, similar to what Britain has announced, and most importantly, easing restrictions for the fully-vaccinated.

Research commissioned by the Morrison Government, and reported in The Australian, warns large financial ­incentives have had “little to no impact on longer-term vaccination rates”.

Instead, the global analysis by the Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government, found “returning to normal” and the ability to travel were strong motivators.

It happened in France, after President Emmanuel Macron threatened to restrict access to public places for unvaccinated residents. Vaccination rates soared.

By contrast, the conducting of Covid-19 vaccine lotteries in the US has been a fizzer. In California, for example, the number of people getting jabbed rose only slightly the day after the lotteries were announced, then dropped right off.

Kylie Lang says offering Australians money in a bid to get more people vaccinated is not the smartest move. Picture: Supplied

Our government has promised increased vaccine supply in September, and critical to implementing the second and third phases of national cabinet’s reopening plan will be vaccination coverage of up to 80 per cent.

We have a long way to go to come close to that vital herd immunity.

But paying people to step up and act for the greater good of all Australians is a flawed response.

Besides, nowhere in Dale Carnegie’s acclaimed book How to Win Friends and Influence People does it advocate bribing them.

Rewarding those who get fully-vaccinated with the tangible freedoms they’ve had to forgo will have a bigger impact.

So get with the program, Australia.