The federal government is warning states not to expect the same level of financial support once Australia’s COVID-19 vaccination rate passes 70 per cent.
More than half of Australia’s population aged 16 and above has received at least one dose of a coronavirus jab.
The milestone came on a record day of immunisations, with 309,010 doses administered nationwide as the behind-schedule rollout ratchets up.
But Australia also smashed its record for new local cases, with 681 of 754 new infections detected in NSW.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian concedes getting back to zero is an unrealistic aim and says the next two months will be difficult.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison insists Sydney’s lockdown has to work.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg warns states and territories will find themselves increasingly on their own with lockdowns once Australia reaches vaccination rates of between 70 and 80 per cent.
“The number of people getting serious illness reduces and, in the words of the Doherty Institute, stringent lockdowns become unlikely,” he told ABC News on Friday.
“We need to provide hope for the future and states can’t expect that the commonwealth’s emergency economic support will continue at the scale it is now.”
Mr Frydenberg defended the NSW premier’s handling of the outbreak.
“No-one’s perfect but what is important is that progress is being made and these are very challenging times and the Delta variant cannot be eliminated,” he said.
State, territory and federal leaders will discuss at national cabinet Australia’s opening of its vaccine program to everyone aged 16 to 39 next month.
Some people in that cohort have elected to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine after speaking with a doctor about the very low risk of a rare blood clotting condition.
The federal government is also waiting for its expert immunisation panel to give the green light for Pfizer jabs for all children aged 12 to 15.
Children and younger people are increasingly contracting the virus with NSW’s Delta variant sparking outbreaks in Melbourne, Canberra and even New Zealand.
Victoria recorded 57 new cases on Thursday, but 54 were linked to existing cases and 44 were in isolation throughout their infectious period.
There were 16 new cases in the ACT, taking its outbreak to 83 as Chief Minister Andrew Barr warned it was impossible for Canberra to completely seal itself off.
Australia has fully vaccinated 28.2 per cent of its population aged 16 and above.
AAP
