Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister acknowledge that he had two fundamental jobs this year, to get the COVID vaccine rollout right and to create a safe national quarantine system, and this week he has been shown to have failed at both?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have had two very important jobs from the day this COVID pandemic first hit this country in January 2020: to save lies and to save livelihoods.

Hon. Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Members on both sides!

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That is what our government has been working to do in concert with all state and territory governments around this country and, most importantly, with the people of Australia, whether it is frontline health workers, those keeping Australians employed in their businesses, those working in community organisations all around the country or those manning the phone lines and supporting people with their mental health.

Mr Watts interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Gellibrand will leave under 94(a).

The member for Gellibrand then left the chamber.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Wherever they may be, Australians have been doing their job, and we have been doing our job to support them each and every day, whether it was through the JobSeeker and JobKeeper initiatives or the more than $20 billion in health support that we put in place in concert with the states and territories who have added that amount. Each and every single day, Australians have been working together and our government has been working together with the state and territory government to ensure that Australia is in a position, even despite the very significant challenges that we now face in Victoria—

Opposition members interjecting—

In Victoria—as I've just remarked outside of this chamber—they will go through a difficult period over the next seven days. But we have faced these challenges in the face of COVID before and we will overcome them again. The way we will do that is by working together, staying focused on the problem and solving that problem together and ensuring that we open up Victoria as soon as possible.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Just before I call the next question, I again reiterate everything I said yesterday, so members aren't surprised if they interject they'll be ejected. I heard one interjection after I asked the member for Gellibrand to leave, saying, 'That took two minutes.' There is no time limit on which I'll wait to eject someone. It is very simple. The standing orders are very clear. They're outlined in the book you all have—and, in fact, you all voted for them. So I am just making it very clear indeed.

Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister please inform the House how the Morrison government's ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to protect lives and livelihoods, especially in my home state of Victoria?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Higgins for her question. I thank her and the many members of this chamber who have shown such strong support to their communities over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the member's medical background and experience, I've greatly appreciated her counsel and advice over these many, many months—18 months, in fact—over the course of this crisis.

Once again we are faced with another challenge in combating this virus. It is not the first challenge that we have faced, and it won't be the last. But this is a challenge now in Victoria that we will face together with the state government of Victoria, and I commend them on their efforts to date in addressing this latest challenge. It's a challenge and a battle, but we have overcome these many times. There are no certainties in the fight against the global pandemic, whether here in Australia or anywhere else. There are no guarantees. Our best defence is the steadfast resilience of the Australian people working together to put in place the protections that have been so enabling to Australians to come through to this point in the virus. That is what will sustain us all into the future, continuing on in that cooperative, collaborative and supportive way all around the country.

The next seven days will be important. They will be difficult for Victorians, as the member for Higgins and many members from Victoria in this chamber know. They will be difficult but, in my discussions with the acting Premier this morning and yesterday as well, we are determined together to ensure that we provide every support and assistance to assist Victorians through this next difficult period. It is important nationally as well. It isn't just relevant in Victoria; it is important nationally. I know that all Australians will be supporting Victoria in every way they can to ensure that they overcome this latest challenge, as other states and other communities around Australia have combatted these challenges in the past and equally have overcome them. I particularly want to thank the many contact tracers working as part of the Victorian government's effort right now.

This latest outbreak is a very complex one with many points, and I especially want to thank the 40,411 Victorians who came forward for testing yesterday. I want to thank the 30,426 Victorians who came forward and were vaccinated yesterday. I want to continue to encourage all Australians. Whether you are in Victoria or any other part of the country, the vaccines are there with the GPs. They are there in the state clinics that have been established for that purpose. The events in Victoria will remind all Australians that, despite the fact that we have been able to live in this country in a way that virtually no other country around the world has been able to live, it comes with its challenges, as Singapore, many other countries and even Taiwan have realised in recent times. But I would encourage all Australian to get vaccinated and to take up that opportunity.