"Common sense will reign once again."
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They were just five words of very many thousands of words Prime Minister Scott Morrison uttered today after the latest National Cabinet meeting. More on the context soon, but just keep them in mind.
The PM also revealed that the good folk of South Australia will pilot a home quarantine program for returned travellers; that National Cabinet agreed to the strongly-recommended-but-not-mandatory vaccination of disability workers and supported an incentive scheme; and that a new national advertising campaign about vaccinations will begin on Sunday.
He also mentioned that more financial support for NSW, in the throes of an outbreak that has authorities mighty worried, was not off the table.
Under the home quarantine trial fully vaccinated travellers, from low-risk countries, will only have to spend seven days in quarantine.
If it is successful, the PM said, it would help to take pressure off the hotel quarantine system across all states and territories and also allow fully-vaccinated Aussies to leave the country and come back.
While mandatory vaccination of aged care workers has been in place since the end of June, no such arrangement exists for disability care workers. And still doesn't.
But the PM did give some ground: "With the corporate program that will be used to incentivise vaccinations for aged care workers, we will extend that to disability care workers as well."
Speaking of incentives ... one Melbourne pub last week began offering complimentary pints of beer to jabbed drinkers when a pop-up vaccination centre opened across the road.
But the Therapeutic Goods Administration put the kybosh on The Prince Alfred's idea on Wednesday, saying it had rules about offering alcohol as an incentive to receive medicines.
The PM this afternoon said he's asked Health Minister Greg Hunt to speak to the TGA about it: "I mean, the rule is that - they are doing their job, the TGA. ... I think it was done in good faith and in good spirit by the publican, but I think also to be fair to the TGA, they are just doing their job.
"Common sense will reign once again, and cheers to the PA [Prince Alfred]."
In the US, the shameless incentives for vaccination included, well, all you'd probably expect: free beer, lottery tickets, amusement park rides and ... you guessed, hunting rifles and shotguns.
So, yes, let's hear it for common sense.
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