Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

All of us in this chamber and this country have looked in horror at the scenes that we have witnessed, particularly overseas in many parts of the world, as a result of COVID-19. I certainly know that I won't forget in a hurry the images of panic in hospitals in Italy, and there are many other similar scenes that all of us have witnessed in recent months as a result of COVID-19 overseas. Thankfully, Australia, while suffering greatly from COVID-19, has been spared what we have seen in many other countries, although we do need to remember that, despite best efforts, we have seen 97 Australians lose their lives as a result of coronavirus, with a total of 6,948 cases in Australia all up.

Behind these numbers are personal stories, like that of Garry Kirstenfeldt, the second Queenslander to die from coronavirus and the first to die in Queensland. Mr Kirstenfeldt, 68 years old, died on 25 March this year in Toowoomba after recently disembarking from the Voyager of the Seas cruise ship in Sydney. His family say that he was an avid traveller. His children described him as a man with much more life in him. It's truly tragic to see people like Mr Kirstenfeldt cut down by this virus, in his case at the age of only 68.

We know that, without the efforts of many people, there would have been many more like Mr Kirstenfeldt. On behalf of the opposition, I want to thank everyone who has worked on this crisis, in particular in what we're focusing on today—the health response. I want to thank all of the governments, federal, state and territory, for the efforts that they have put in. I know from my participation on the COVID oversight committee, with Senators Gallagher, Keneally and others, that there are officials of this government who have worked incredibly hard over the last few months to protect Australians from this virus.

More than anyone, I want to thank the frontline workers in our health system—the doctors, the nurses, other health workers, the disability care workers, the aged-care workers, the cleaners, and the orderlies in our hospitals, who have really gone above and beyond to look after their fellow Australians. As the Labor leader, Mr Albanese, has said this week, we can't forget them when this crisis is over.

Finally, on behalf of the opposition, I want to thank Australians generally for having risen to the challenge, for by and large listening to the health advice that's been provided, for practising social distancing and for making sacrifices over the last few months, not just to protect themselves and their own families but to protect Australians generally. It is a pretty incredible achievement from Australians, and it has demonstrated some of those values of Australians that we all do cherish.

Labor's approach through the coronavirus crisis has been one where we have attempted to be constructive and look for solutions, not arguments.

We have supported every single initiative that this government has put forward to tackle coronavirus. Where the government has needed criticism and answers have been required, we have made those criticisms and we have sought those answers. Chief among them has been the government's handling of the Ruby Princess cruise ship, something that I know Senator Keneally has been very active on. I know that we are all still seeking more answers about what went on there.

We've made a number of suggestions in a constructive spirit that have been taken up by the government and we thank them for listening. I want to put on record my thanks to many of our own Labor team, who have worked incredibly hard to both support the government in its efforts and also to provide these constructive suggestions. In particular our shadow health minister Chris Bowen has worked day and night on behalf of our Labor team, along with many other members of caucus. I do want to single out for attention the members of our own First Nations caucus committee, including in this chamber senators Dodson and McCarthy, who have put in a huge amount of work focused on protecting remote First Nations communities across our country. So collectively, all of us—governments, oppositions, health workers and Australians in general—have managed at this stage at least to flatten the curve and they deserve our congratulations.

Inevitably, attention is now turning to when restrictions can be eased. As someone who, like many, is working from home with a spouse who is working from home, with two school-aged children doing their schooling from home, I know many Australians are looking forward to restrictions being eased and life going back to normal. But the decisions that we do take from here must continue to be guided by health advice. We can't see political decisions being made or political point scoring being taken in the decisions, particularly in states and territories, around the easing of restrictions. We can't be reckless with these decisions because, even today, clusters remain. Look at Newmarch House and the Cedar Meats abattoir. We have seen in other countries around the world the risk of a second wave of infections. We must ease our restrictions gradually, steadily, sensibly and always based on the best health advice.

In closing, I want to congratulate the government for its efforts and for taking up some of those constructive suggestions that the opposition made. And I again want to congratulate all Australians for what we've achieved so far. Let's make sure it stays that way.