Barnaby Joyce has blamed hoarding of rapid antigen tests by the public and businesses for crippling supply shortages across Australia, as the Morrison government was forced to defend the slow rollout of free kits to pensioners and other concession card holders.
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The Deputy Prime Minister also used a radio interview on Monday to lash WA Premier Mark McGowan over his decision to keep the state's border shut, putting him at odds with senior Coalition colleagues who have so far avoided publicly attacking the move.
"It's just a sign that the Prince of Perth can't manage his health system," the Nationals leader said Mr McGowan's decision to abandon the state's planned February 5 reopening.
The national shortage of home testing kits remained in the spotlight on Monday as about 6.6 million Commonwealth concession card holders became eligible to collect free testing kits from local pharmacies.
Card holders are eligible for up to 10 testing kits over the next three months, including a maximum of five per month.
But card holders were told they'd struggle to find any tests at all as the program kicked off due to the ongoing supply shortage.
The warnings from pharmacists prompted further accusations that the federal government had been too slow to secure rapid tests for Australians throughout last year.
Mr Joyce rejected those suggestions, saying the government had purchased the kits and brought them to Australia - only for them to be "hoarded" by the public and businesses.
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"People have been buying not what they require, but more than they need," he told ABC's RN Breakfast.
"It has certainly been a factor and to tell you otherwise is also not telling the truth. Hoarding has been a factor and we've got to make sure we manage that."
Labor's health spokesman, Mark Butler, described Mr Joyce's hoarding claims as "wild, baseless accusations ... not made by anyone else whatsoever."
Later in the interview Mr Joyce was forced to quickly correct himself after claiming that nobody was dying from COVID-19 in Australia, despite record daily death tolls being recorded in recent weeks.
A total of 54 deaths were reported across NSW, Victoria and Queensland on Monday.
Responding to Mr Joyce's comments, Health Minister Greg Hunt said pack limits had been introduced at supermarkets and pharmacies to prevent customers hoarding the in-demand testing kits.
Mr Hunt said there had been cases of hoarding, including from people who were buying kits to resell at inflated prices.
The Australian Federal Police last week announced a special taskforce had been set up to investigate price gouging of rapid antigen tests.
Mr Hunt said pharmacies were confident there would be "adequate" supplies of home tests, with 16 million kits expected in stores through to the end of January and another 33 million in February.
He said the concessional card holder scheme was a "staged program" in which more pharmacies would join as more supplies came into the country.
Authorities hope the option of the protein-based jab will encourage unvaccinated people to finally roll up their sleeves.
About 93 per cent of Australians aged over 16 are fully vaccinated according to the latest figures.
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Dan Jervis-Bardy
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
