Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National 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 is continuing to deliver on its plan to secure Australia's path forward to a stronger and more secure future on the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic?

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

I thank the member for Moncrieff for her question and for the strong advocacy she has been putting forward for her community, particularly the small businesses in the Gold Coast and the international education providers as well, not just in the tourism sector but in the education sector, which is very important to that community there on the Gold Coast.

The pathway forward is set out in our national plan, agreed by all governments in this country, brought together by the federal government. It sets out clear targets to direct our way as we move into the weeks and months ahead. It builds on the achievements that Australians have been able to achieve in our COVID response over the course of the last 18 months—achievements that have seen Australia avoid the deaths of more than 30,000 Australians when so many other countries have achieved fatality rates that are just completely disheartening, tragic and devastating. But here in this country more than 30,000 lives have been saved—and one million jobs, having come back after last year's COVID-19 recession. Even though we are going through the challenges we are going through now, we know that our economy is resilient and will bounce back.

The national plan was strongly endorsed by Professor Tony Blakely, from the University of Melbourne. He asked:

… what do I make of the national plan announced by the federal government … It is actually pretty good.

…   …   …

… it both provides targets we can aspire to with collective carrots when we get there, and clearly explains the role of non-vaccine measures during these transitions.

Professor Ivo Mueller, from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, talks about the plan providing:

… an excellent framework for safely guiding Australia from its current state of aggressive suppression of community transmission to a COVID-safe future where we are able to live with few restrictions and be reconnected with the rest of the world.

The national plan that this government has led, that as framed has secured the support of all Australian governments at the state and territory level, does provide the pathway forward. But right now we need to focus on the achievements that are necessary in the first phase—that is, to suppress the virus. The stronger we go into the next phase, the better it will be for all Australians in that next phase as we reach those 70 per cent and 80 per cent targets. But, now, we must keep those cases as low as we possibly can, to ensure we go into the next phase in the strongest possible position.

In response to the last question, the vaccination program is hitting its marks. It is at 14.2 million doses now, an average of more than 200,000 a day—255,964, so more than a quarter of a million Australians vaccinated in one day. That is what we need for that plan to be implemented, and it is being implemented.