Tony Abbott & John Howard Out Of Excuses On Why The Howard Government Hasn’t Funded The Pneumococcal Vaccine Julia Gillard - Shadow Minister for Health, Manager of Opposition Business in the House of Representatives

Media Statement - 14 May 2004

Surely Australians have a right to expect their government would tell them the truth on something as serious as vaccinating newborn babies against a disease that kills and maims.

Unfortunately, the Prime Minister and the Minister for Health are failing to do so. Both John Howard and Tony Abbott are trying to pretend that the reason the pneumococcal vaccine wasn't funded in Tuesday night's Budget is a problem with the supply of the vaccine.

This excuse would be laughable if it wasn't being made about such a desperately serious matter.

A spokesman for the vaccine manufacturer Wyeth stated on national television last night that supply could be made available in July.

Despite this the Howard Government continues to claim the vaccine can't be supplied until October. Even if this were true, that doesn't explain the failure to allocate monies to buy the vaccine for all newborn babies in the Budget. Many programs are included in the Budget that have start dates during the financial year ahead. If the Howard Government had really intended to fund the pneumococcal vaccine as well as the new chickenpox and polio vaccines then the money would have been allocated in the Budget.

The truth John Howard and Tony Abbott don't want to tell you is that the Howard Government specifically considered funding these vaccines in the Budget and deliberately decided not to fund them. The Howard Government consciously decided not to adopt the recommendations of the expert committees that advise it on immunisation and fund a vaccine against the pneumococcal disease that kills around 50 Australian children every year.