Zed Seselja (ACT, Liberal Party, Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

Well, you got it wrong. We're not going to take your advice and hold back the additional assistance at a time of crisis. The government has demonstrated again and again that we will allocate new funding in response to the need in our region. COVID-19 has created a highly fluid international environment, and the government's temporary and targeted measures are exactly the right tool to respond to that environment. In the year ahead, we'll provide $262 million to support our region's vaccine procurement and $156 million to address the economic impacts of the pandemic. In 2021 we delivered approximately $1.7 billion in ODA to the Pacific, over 50 per cent higher than Labor delivered to the region when last in office, so we're not going to be lectured to by the Labor Party about our commitment to supporting our Pacific family and our Pacific neighbours.