Australia will not follow US lead and allow private companies to mandate vaccine, PM rules

Scott Morrison has ruled out private companies being able to make vaccines compulsory for workers after several US organisations handed down the directive.

Netflix, Google and Facebook overnight announced they would require US employees to be vaccinated against Covid-19 before returning to the office.

Google chief executive Sundar Pichai said the mandate would initially apply to US offices, but the tech giant would consider expanding the scope to other locations.

“Getting vaccinated is one of the most important ways to keep ourselves and our communities healthy in the months ahead,” Mr Pichai said in a blog post.

Australia’s national carrier, Qantas, also flagged it would like the vaccine to be compulsory for aviation workers.

NSW and South Australia have made it mandatory for aviation workers working internationally to receive the jab, but other states have yet to follow suit.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said the mandate should be extended across the country.

“We believe that Covid vaccinate vaccination should be a requirement for all aviation workers,” he told ABC’s RN Breakfast.

“It is being introduced bit by bit around the country. We now have over 1000 employees that are covered by the requirements in NSW, the requirements in South Australia, New Zealand.

“And we‘ve asked the federal government, if they, through the AHPCC process, could make it a requirement as well.”

But the Prime Minister said such a directive was unlikely.

“I think it is the wrong decision for Australia. It’s not how we do things, and I believe we will actually achieve the vaccination rates that are essential that do not require that,” he said.

“Any decisions that companies make have to be consistent with our laws and particularly our employment laws, and I know they will be looking very carefully at that.

“But I‘m responsible for the decisions that we make, and the decisions that we make is that it’s not mandatory.

“There was only one area where that has been recommended and that is for aged care workers.”

It comes as Mr Morrison again offered Australians a glimmer of hope of when they can expect to live without restrictions.

Speaking on the Today show, he doubled down on his promise to have Australians vaccinated by Christmas.

“That’s what Lieutenant General Frewen tells me as well. There will be the supply and we are hitting more than a million a week now. We are really turning (the vaccine rollout) around,” Mr Morrison said.

“We have caught up a lot of ground on this program and Australians are responding really well.

“All around the world countries are wrestling with this, and we have learnt a lot in recent weeks and we will be talking about that tomorrow. Where the Delta strain hits you have to act quickly and we need to take that and move forward as quickly as we can.”