Gladys Liu (Chisholm, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Many Australians and citizens across the world will account this pandemic as one of the world's events that shaped society forever. We have faced a change across all fronts of existence. For many countries these changes, while brought on by COVID, have been compounded by the economic shock that followed, but, thankfully, in Australia things have been different. We have weathered the economic storm that has been wreaking havoc for many of our neighbours. Thanks to the firm, yet stable, economic management of the Morrison government, Australian people have been able to return to a sense of normality quite quickly.

The decisive and effective actions made by the Morrison government throughout this period haven't been driven by luck; rather they've been driven by an economically competent government that cares deeply for its citizens. In the 2021-22 budget, the Morrison government rolled out a further $1.7 billion to extend our COVID-19 health response package and a further $1.9 billion for vaccine purchases and rollout. These measures bring the total health-related COVID expenditure to over $25 billion. This figure is enormous, but it's worth every penny. This has been money well spent and has put our economy back on track while protecting the health of all Australians.

As a country, we are in a fortunate position compared to the rest of the world. We have a very low rate of COVID and we have kept the spread to a minimum, thanks to effective quarantine capabilities. We have become a world leader in vaccine management. This gives us considerable flexibility in how we proceed as a country. With that, the Morrison government prioritises putting COVID behind us as quickly as possible. This means providing vaccines for everyone across Australia to prevent further outbreaks. As a government that listens to the sound advice of experts, decisions regarding COVID-19 vaccines have been guided by the expert medical advice of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation. This is a strategy that prioritises the safety of the Australian population.

As we continue to roll out the COVID vaccination, we have also continued to bring Australians from overseas back home. Since hotel quarantine measures were implemented on 28 March 2020, there have been over 378,000 international air arrivals on red zone flights. Among these international air arrivals there have been an estimated 4,006 COVID-19 cases, the majority of which were detected in hotel quarantine. The Australian government has strict border and quarantine measures in place to protect the health of the Australian community from COVID-19. This has provided our first line of defence against the tidal wave that is COVID. Thanks to the Morrison government's measures with border control, we have become enviable at our COVID management.

I don't think any one of my colleagues from any side of the chamber will disagree that this has been a tough time for all Australians, especially early on during the pandemic, but we have demonstrated resilience throughout this period, and now our economy is back on track. Our people are healthy, and we are in an enviable position in a COVID riddled world. The Morrison government has done so much to ensure we are in this position, but we also need to give a hand to the Australian people, who have done such a fantastic job in banding together so that we have been able to survive together.

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