Parra News August 17 2021

COVID information not
up to standard
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Julie Owens Bulletin
Last week the ABC reported that official COVID
health information for multicultural communities
was almost two months out of date.
On 12 August, translations published on the Federal
Government’s Department of Health website still stated
that AstraZeneca was the preferred vaccine for Australians
over 50 – medical advice that changed back in June.
The Arabic translation didn’t mention the crucial advice
that all adults in Greater Sydney should get the vaccine,
whether AstraZeneca or Pfizer.
This isn’t the first time multicultural communities have
been given confusing or misleading information about
coronavirus. Last year the Department of Health was
caught using Google Translate for critical public health
information, with “nonsensical” results.
The Department of Health updated the translated
information within hours of the ABC story being
published, which begs the question – why didn’t they
just update the translations every time the health advice
changed?
Everyone deserves to be safe, and to be provided with
timely, accessible and accurate public health information.
When the government fails to get this information out in
other languages our culturally and linguistically diverse
communities get left behind.
The consequences for multicultural places like Western
Sydney are obvious. We’re home to most of the ‘local
government areas of concern’ and case numbers are still
rising.
Most Western Sydney residents weren’t old enough to be
eligible to get vaccinated until lockdown started and the
rules changed. Now many of us are relying on outdated
information to make decisions about whether or not to
get vaccinated. Unsurprisingly, Western Sydney has some
of the lowest vaccination rates in NSW and most of us are
still completely unvaccinated.
The Morrison Government’s repeated failure to
communicate coronavirus information to culturally and
linguistically diverse communities is part of a pattern.
In the 7th week of lockdown, my office is still taking
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CALD communities have been calling for better coronavirus
information since the start of the pandemic (photo taken prelockdown)
calls from people trying to work out if they can claim
support payments because there have been so many
changes. And the Prime Minister’s failure to communicate
clear information about vaccines has left many in the
community confused and contributed to a concerning rise
in vaccine hesitancy.
Put simply, the coronavirus information we’re receiving
from this government is not up to standard.
Labor has been calling on the Morrison Government to
engage community leaders and improve coronavirus
information for CALD communities since the beginning of
the pandemic.
More than a year later our CALD communities are still
being left behind.
If you have questions or concerns about coronavirus
information in your language, please contact my office.
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parra news » Tuesday, August 17, 2021
Julie Owens MP FEDERAL MEMBER FOR PARRAMATTA
If I can be of any help please phone me on 9689 1455 or write to 1/25 Smith St, Parramatta NSW 2150
or email julie.owens.mp@aph.gov.au julie.owens.mp www.julieowens.com.au
Authorised by Julie Owens MP, Australian Labor Party, 1/25 Smith Street, Parramatta.
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