Australian businesses agreed on Wednesday to help accelerate the government’s flagging vaccination rollout, as a Covid-19 outbreak in Sydney forced the extension of the city’s two-week lockdown.
The decision to enlist the private sector was made as tensions between state and federal governments intensified over shortages of Covid-19 vaccines. Just 8 per cent of Australian adults have been fully vaccinated, a failure that critics warned had left citizens vulnerable to the spread of the highly contagious Delta strain.
Josh Frydenberg, Australia’s treasurer, said some of the nation’s largest employers had agreed to urge their staff to get vaccinated and provide incentives to customers who had received jabs.
Several companies, including Wesfarmers, which owns retailers Bunnings and Officeworks, have offered to provide logistical support to aid the vaccination roll out, he added.
“A number of businesses raised very interesting and exciting ideas about how they can put their resources to work,” said Frydenberg following a meeting with chief executives of…