Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services) Share this | Hansard source

COVID-19 risks the lives of those most vulnerable in our society, and the government have prioritised those most at risk—our senior Australians and our frontline workers. We are protecting those who are most likely to experience serious disease. We are maintaining the functioning of healthcare and other essential services to preserve health, social and economic security and are extending the vaccination to the general population as quickly as possible. Each phase of the rollout strategy is structured to align with specific population groups based on their risks as advised by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation. At every step, our highest priority is to safeguard our most precious of resources—our people. Our No. 1 aim is to prevent death and severe disease and limit the transmission of this insidious virus to the maximum extent possible.