The bringing forward of millions of Pfizer vaccine doses last week followed a back channels intervention eight days earlier by a high-powered network which included a senior business figure despairing of the government's failure to secure enough vaccine supplies, and a former prime minister.
The revelation comes amid continuing controversy, and conflicting reports, about delays and shortcomings in Australia's vaccine supplies, and why Australia is currently only contracted for 40 million Pfizer doses this year. In late June, senior Australian business figures based in the United States had discussed making contact with the vaccine manufacturer Pfizer to see whether it was possible for Australia to get earlier access to larger supplies of the Pfizer vaccine as the COVID-19 Delta variant emerged in Australia.
Health Department officials have flatly denied many of these reports, but the businessmen in the US who had connections with Pfizer were hearing even more graphic accounts of how badly offended the company had been by the response to its early approaches to Australia last year when it offered access to what is now to be a crucial part of our vaccine coverage.
🚨🚨UPDATE🚨🚨 😬😬😬🤡🤡🤡
Lol Rudds nuts
Completely misleading ThanksKevin
there is still time to take this done, these claims are proven to be totally fabricated.
More lies from the ABC, when will the Government stop wasting taxpayer money on these talentless public servants. Pfizer have said Rudd was again just playing with himself and the Labor mouthpiece ABC fell for it again and stroked his ego. Unless niche broadcaster.
Didn’t age well....
Dont bother with funding the vaccine focus on sexual crimes unit task force to split up hospital staff co workers and police that have a sex traffic of children on their agenda.
And now Pfizer have stated Rudd had no input in the decision - why couldn’t you verify your facts before giving Rudd the megalomaniac any publicity?
Nice try DUDD. More fakenews.
This ages well
Will o be running the press release from Pfizer disputing this claim?
If that ain't a vote of no confidence from the business community for Scotty, I don't know what is.
There’s much concern amongst people 60 and over. Please change the guidelines so we can get Pfizer. With 3 weeks between jabs it’s going to have majority vaccinated in a shorter time than given by AstraZeneca.
Yeh sure! Media groupie! 😜
An attention seeker looking for media exposure announces he spoke to the CEO of Pfizer about committing Australia to buying the Pfizer booster next year while looking for possible accelerated deliveries and it makes the news while you ignore reporting on the Govt efforts.
Read the whole article before you come to a conclusion.
Even business leaders apparently have no confidence in Morrison to deliver vaccines.
Thank you Mr Rudd and all others involved for intervening for the nation when the elected government failed miserably.
Lolololol
What are you doing about the ABC ScottMorrisonMP ?
So have we worked out what the purpose Morrison is yet?
scomo IDontHoldAPhone
Take Down the Chinese Communist Party!!!
Rudd was right we need a mining tax rhinehart getting ridiculously rich selling australias resources.
From China to Vaccine, Kevin Rudd, a retired PM from labour, is more experienced than ANYONE in the current Morrison government Global issues need expertise with global vision, but all Morrison has is closedminded anti-globalisation relics
If only one half of that is true … ScoMo and his hopeless mob shouldn’t even be up for re-election. “They” say that every country has the politicians it deserves …. So … what have we done to deserve that
So wait, Rudd has a conversation, but the result was the normal plans were continuing? Cool.
Oh well. There goes more of your budget. Witnesses and truth-tellers not popular with proto-fascist cabals.
Should make for another good 'tangle with Tingle' on Phillip Adams Late Night Live ...
Why? Is he got shares in Pfizer?
I'm voting for Kevin Rudd for PM at the next election. This man gets it.
This is awful and scandalous. Sounds like our rulers are super incompetent as well as liars.
No more LNP, no more useless scott Morrison. No more brainwashed marketing media. No more Murdoch’s manipulation. we need transparency. We need more independent media.
Kevin Rudd would be preferred PM atm
So Pfizer just wanted somebody, anybody, to kiss their arse? Fairbloodydinkum....
So this fruitloop has credence, struth, give me a break.
Ha Australia is in for a long lockdown now
The arrogance and gall of the Pfizer exec (why hasn't the AU PM rung me direct?). Along with Kevin 'Captain Underpants' Rudd - self appointed 'Covid Ambassador' and meddler. Medical advice on vaccines has changed, and Pfizer has governments over a barrel!
How shitty does scomo feel Rn?
What a load of 💩 Like Pfizer is going to break its confidentiality deeds to entertain negotiations with a non-entity Kevin Rudd 🤡 & bring forth its vaccination deliveries Funny how the ABC doesn’t mention Rudd’s idol(Biden) still blocks US made Covid vaccines to Australia
Well done Mr K Rudd, and Thank you.
Rudd is doing more Prime Ministerial work as a retired PM than the actual current PM.
I would vote for K Rudd again
Business is all about relationships and networking, clearly KRudd had some connections where ScoMo doesn’t and went right to the top. Interesting though reading this and then thinking why this govt can’t solve relationship issues with China 🤔🤔🤔
There goes Morrison’s dreams of herd immunity, letting it rip and the rapture! Guess he won’t be laying his healing hands on anyone lnpfilth
He has to be good for something
Scott who🤔🤔🤔🥴
I call total ABC bullshit.
I can't believe an ex-PM has to intervene since our current PM can't do his job properly 🤦🏽♀️
So...what have we got here...a narcissistic former PM, a businessman who doesn't want to be named, a CEO who's offended because a PM didn't phone...and a Health Minister saying we negotiated more supplies. I know who I believe.
kevin22
What's your response AlboMP?!? KKeneally SenatorWong JasonClareMP JEChalmers AustralianLabor Seriously!! What the Actual....
As usual an anonymous business person. rudd is the only 1 quoted about how good rudd is
I wonder how Murdoch/Ch9/Ch7 will spin this? Rudd interferes with vaccine procurement? How will they spin it?
Thankyou kevin - always a prime minister!
Rudd doing more for Australia in a single zoom call than Morisson has done in his entire term.
1/ Sack the Govt: “continuing reports that Australia had bungled its negotiations with the company in talks going back to June….last year which displayed a ‘rude, dismissive and penny pinching’ approach.”
BravoKevin !!
But Rudd just like his endeavours in politics failed in business dealings too.
DawsonEJ MrKRudd ThanksKevin
Everyone who gets a Pfizer jab needs to thank King Rudd.
One thing we do know is Kevin Rudd gets shit done!!
Everyone here does know that the Israel’s paid double the normal price for the Pfizer vaccine and allowed the company to use all the data collected by the Israel government for there own use to obtain the vaccine earlier and in large volumes.
Well well well - i wish i could say i'm shocked; draw back The Wizards Curtain and we see the mechanics and modus operdani of a truely feeble outfit; they made this situation so much worse than it needed to be; they live in a very strange, seedy and dank denial...
If you believe that you'd believe anything... . . Of course you believe that.
Hilarious, the ABC is gaslighting the Prime Minister. Absolutely nothing to substantiate that the conversations had any impact on the Pfizer supplies being bought forward.
and he told Morrison he was doing it, and followed up with Frydenberg auspol COVID19au
Why did they not 'intervene' in regards to Julia Gillard ?
Thank you MrKRudd
Good idea, and give him a statesmanship role on China relations and climate change.
So Scomo didn’t even bother to pick up the phone and call the head of Pfizer.. what a joke, no that’s criminal.
Wow…. And we let Morrison continue in this job!!! Cmon liberals fix this
Seriously? What’s he going to do - give us all a JB Hifi voucher? A total dud, irrelevant and yesterday’s hero. I’d feel more comfortable if Humphrey B Bear was on the case rather than this narcissistic megalomaniac. Pass
Hasn't aged much
I wonder if Rudd is going to be our saviour finally .
Just when you think ringing up to order a load of Pfizer vaccine couldn't be any different to placing an order of pink bats.
Maybe he can ask his mates where covid 19 started and how it happened
bullshit
jayancot 🤔
Would be funny if the US based businessman was Murdoch
Anyone who believes the nonsense in this article needs to wash their eyes out with lemon juice.
So i read this as business is desperate to keep the lnp in no matter how incompetent they are, they got Rudd to help, he did, and scumo took credit for it? When was the govt going to publicly thank Rudd for his contribution? I'm way over this govt, they politicise everything.
Fuck yeah big Kevin ‘07!
Kevin 007
I just cannot…work out why…… rank incompetence, sure…..laziness, arrogance, in spades….it can’t be frugality as they don’t care about spending our $$ (see all the rorts)….and delivering Pfizer for all would have election in the bag for them for sure….so why
US ditched us albeit we did their dirty work by biting the Chinese hand that feeds us. What a joke
Thanks Kevin Rudd. 🙏🙏
Well written.
Dissolve the federation.
Probably just re labelled AZ who fkn knows with these lien grubs going for the biggest money grab and drug deal in history. Tobacco companies are the same. Kills ya but to much revenue. They couldn't give a damn about your health. Money!!!!!
Wow
while I did not like his style, he is a patriot and deserves our appreciation. Thank you sir
🤣 yeah right.
We should be using all our Australian connections LNP LABOR doesn’t matter let’s get vaccinated now.
Im very intrigued as to who the business person was. I feel we all owe a lot to them to ensure we support this business.
Krud needs to stay the heck out of the way. He did enough harm when he was our PM.
Thankyou MrKRudd well done, at least we have some leaders, not every hero wears a cape.
Five eyes alliance. Why does not American provide Pfizer to OZ ?
Appalling incompetence on the part of our federal government.
Royal Commission needed into the complete failure of this government's vaccine roll-out including insider rorts with AZ
Businessmen turning to Rudd instead of Scomo, shows how desperate we are.
Hope he succeeds. For a while now it has seemed to me that independent rich people should be trying to source adequate supplies of Pfizer as an act of charity.
That’s interesting
Is it wise to engage the man who bungled the home insulation program