Small businesses in Australia are pushing for the right to fire anyone who refuses a COVID-19 vaccination when it becomes available.
The government hopes a vaccine will reach Australia early next year and while Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he would like to make it "as mandatory as possible" he does not have the power necessary to make it compulsory.
It follows Morrison signing a memorandum of understanding with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to secure a supply of the promising Oxford University vaccine when it becomes available.
The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia has since proposed law changes which would allow bosses the power to sack workers who don’t get vaccinated.
Council chief executive Peter Strong told 7News he wants zero tolerance for people he considers "a threat".
"If you don't sack them, you don't have a business, especially if you're in a high contact area where you've got a lot of customers. It's not discrimination, that's a business decision," he said.
But it's not just businesses rallying against anti-vaxxers - Australia's federal health minister says he hasn't ruled out stripping welfare payments from those who refuse a jab, and blocking them from entering the country.
"I'm confident that a very, very large amount of Australians will take [the vaccine] up," Greg Hunt told 7 News.
"But we reserve the right, subject to medical advice, to take steps that might assist."
Morrison said in a press conference on Wednesday the government will address issues around vaccinations as they present themselves.
"[We will] consider what steps are necessary at the time."
Some people are unable to take the vaccine for legitimate medical reasons. Everyone else must be vaccinated to protect them, he said.
