Mark Coulton (Parkes, Deputy-Speaker, Minister for Regional Health, Regional Communications and Local Government) Share this | Hansard source

I can relate to the member's anxiety and frustration at this time, as someone who has a border community myself. In some ways, there are added complications and issues when there's a lockdown like we've got in Victoria. I might comment on where the member finished. I also am a fan of the multipurpose services. In the little town where I live, the multipurpose service is provided by a dedicated staff and two very dedicated doctors. They provide a wonderful service, not only aged care but emergency services as well.

What tends to happen in this place—and I suppose it's only natural—is that the conversations focus on where things mightn't be quite happening as they should, and the great work that has been going on doesn't get recognised. The member for Indi mentioned GPs and how they're tired and overworked. But we should give credit to the over 4,000 GPs who have stood up and taken on the responsibility. I've visited quite a few of those around the countryside in the last couple of months. Indeed, my wife and I are having our AstraZeneca shots at four o'clock on Saturday afternoon at a GP clinic that's working extra hours to make sure that they're keeping their community covered.

We need to be careful in this place. I think the breakout of a number of COVID cases in Victoria and the subsequent lockdown have probably been a bit of a wake-up call for the rest of the country. Because of our success, we did have a level of complacency. For a period of time, we did have vaccines that were sitting in vaccine fridges in clinics and GP services around the country and were not being taken up at the rate that they are now. That has turned around. The member mentioned that in her comment. We're now finding that people are really taking the opportunities when they come up. Just as an indication of how this is ramping up: the first million doses took 47 days to deliver, the second million took 19 days, the third million took 17 days and the fourth million took 13 days. That will continue to escalate as more vaccines become available to the public and as we broaden out the number of ways and the number of locations for people across Australia to go and obtain vaccines. Last week in Queensland the community pharmacies signed up to deliver doses across some of those country areas where there might not be GP services. I know state health departments are doing the same.

The member's matter of public importance is 'the urgent need to respond to the public health challenges facing the nation'. We shouldn't forget the response at the start of this COVID pandemic that led Australia to be one of the safest countries in the world. We shouldn't forget that the telehealth program was brought in in a matter of days—10 days—and we still are using that telehealth system. We've had, I think, 60 million telehealth calls, so people have been able to get the advice and the medications they need and have been kept relatively safe. The reason that Australia has done so well is not a fluke. It has done so well because of the policies that have been put in place. More importantly, it has done so well because the Australian people have stood up and taken the advice they were given and, as a result, we are in a very enviable position.

The member spoke about the need for a broader approach, a multidisciplinary approach, across regional Australia, and I agree with her. The government has recognised that need. We've funded some trial sites around the regional areas, looking at building a multidisciplinary team. She mentioned the Rural Health Commissioner. We've actually also contracted two deputy health commissioners, one with experience in allied health. The first Indigenous pharmacist in Australia is now a deputy rural health commissioner. The other deputy rural health commissioner has extensive experience in nursing. We contracted these deputies so that we can look at broadening that team approach. But we shouldn't forget that, across the regions with our Stronger Rural Health Strategy, already over 700 extra doctors have gone into regional Australia along with a similar number of nurses. In the budget we changed the rural bulk-billing incentive, so that those doctors that go to work in regional Australia are remunerated for the fact they are more likely to have to bulk-bill in communities that don't have high levels of income. We've recognised that process.

Last Friday I was with the Deputy Prime Minister to announce that the Royal Flying Doctor Service will be servicing 30,000 people across rural and remote Australia and the issue of hesitancy from the fears that people have in some of those smaller communities will be largely alleviated because the Royal Flying Doctor Service is such a respected organisation. If they give advice to a community that this vaccine is the right thing to do, that community will take it up. The success story—some might even say the miracle—of the COVID-19 pandemic is that we've managed to keep it out of those remote communities, where the level of chronic ill health and the lack of intensive care beds would've been an absolute disaster should COVID have come into play.

With reference to measures around COVID-19, the government has expended $1.7 billion to extend the health response package and another $1.9 billion for the vaccine purchase and rollout. The rollout is growing exponentially. I think we in this place have a responsibility to the press because a lot of the fear that has been generated around the vaccine rollout has been from debates that have happened in this place. I'll take up some of the points the member raised. We need to have a united voice because the science is in, and having the vaccine to protect us against COVID is the best way to protect ourselves as individuals and to protect our families. It's also the best way to protect our communities. A number of articles that we're seeing that are generating uncertainty and fear and some of the contributions that are made in this place, I think, have led to that uncertainty. I believe that, with what's happening in Victoria and the lockdown that is having such a devastating effect on that community, that might be the catalyst that will see Australians step up and take the opportunity to have the vaccine when it arrives.

This government understands the importance of protecting Australians. We acted quickly at the start of the pandemic. As a result, we have a record that is enviable around the world. There's more to do. We can all play our part in this. We're putting in the resources and the Australian people are putting their shoulders to the wheel to make sure that this country continues to be the safest place on the planet to live.

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