Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I'm pleased today to rise to support and second this very important motion from the member for Kooyong because it goes to the very heart of accountability, transparency and trust that decisions made by government are in the public interest. We should all be very grateful to the member for Kooyong for bringing this issue to the attention of the House. Decisions that were made back in COVID times were decisions that were made under the spotlight, pressure and uncertainty of a global pandemic. We are no longer in that situation. We know that Australians value transparency and fairness in government. This includes procurement and, most especially, spending on health. These values were not swept aside during the pandemic. In fact, they were more important than ever.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments across the world made huge asks of their people, and we were no different here in Australia. When governments ask such big sacrifices of their people, governments must also uphold the faith. That means acting with integrity and being open to scrutiny. In this case, we're talking about the deal between the former Morrison government and international company Moderna in May 2021 to build an mRNA manufacturing facility at Monash University in Melbourne under pressure over vaccine supply. I was here in the parliament at that time and there was enormous pressure. The then health minister, Greg Hunt, announced the government would test the market for domestic manufacturing. Only two credible bids emerged: Australia's CSL and the internationally owned Moderna.

By December 2021, the Morrison government had entered into a confidential agreement with Moderna to build the facility. Now, we know very little about this deal. How much are we as taxpayers spending? What are we getting for our money? What guarantees do we have? We were told this plant would be operational by the end of 2024, producing up to 100 million doses of vaccines for COVID, influenza, RSV and more. This was a significant national investment during an unprecedented crisis, but the details were and, alarmingly, continue to be hidden from the Australian public, and the question is: why?

The parliament and the public do not know what Australia is paying, how much vaccine we are guaranteed or on what terms, and that's simply not good enough. This was a decision made by the Morrison government, but, critically, this secrecy continues, now, into this Labor government. In October 2024, the government tabled a legislative instrument creating what it calls the Moderna Partnership. These regulations grant Moderna exemptions from the usual Commonwealth procurement and assessment processes. What we're debating today is whether the parliament should draw back the curtain on the Moderna partnership between Moderna and the Australian government.

It is our role as parliamentarians to ensure scrutiny of governments and the decisions of ministers, and, thanks to the member for Kooyong, that's exactly what we're doing today. It is exactly what this motion is all about. The government has committed to annual minimum purchases of Moderna's vaccines; however, remarkably, those vaccines will not undergo assessment by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee, which, for decades, has ensured Australians receive the safest and best medicines at a fair price. Instead, the government has proposed an independent health technology assessment pathway, but this pathway has not yet been established. So one multinational pharmaceutical company has been granted a regulatory light touch, but this light touch won't be available to Australian firms or, indeed, to other vaccine producers. Why?

Australia's vaccine procurement system is one of the most robust in the world. It ensures vaccines are safe. It ensures they are cost effective, and it ensures Australians can have confidence that their government is acting in the public interest. By exempting Moderna from these longstanding processes, the government risks undermining that very confidence. During the height of the pandemic, extraordinary measures were justified. We needed vaccines fast, and the government rightly used its discretionary powers. But we are no longer in this emergency phase.

The member for Kooyong has pointed out so clearly why we need to be now putting great scrutiny on this very decision. Australians deserve transparency at the very least. At the very least they deserve transparency. They deserve confidence that their government is buying vaccines fairly, openly and, ultimately, in their interests. The government must release the details of this multibillion-dollar deal. It must ensure that all vaccines, regardless of the manufacturer, are subject to rigorous, transparent assessment, and this government must reaffirm its commitment to public money always delivering public health for Australians and not to the financial interests of international big pharmaceutical corporations.

So I am very pleased to second this motion. I support it and I'm very grateful to the member for Kooyong, and every member of this House should be grateful to her, too, for bringing this issue to our attention and demanding of us that we do our jobs and scrutinise this.

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