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

Yes, I can. The pandemic continues to have a profound impact on Australia's economy, as it does on our Pacific and South-East Asian neighbours. Economic recovery is a shared challenge, and we must face it together. Australia has continued to be a strong and steadfast partner to nations in our region throughout the pandemic, and all Australians, I think, can be proud of the significant support we are providing to our friends and neighbours.

The economies of the Pacific, especially those reliant on tourism, are suffering badly. Australia is committed to supporting our Pacific family and is ready to respond to new challenges as part of our Pacific Step-up. Through our Partnerships for Recovery, the government has made our highest ever contribution to Pacific development in 2020-21, providing an estimated $1.7 billion to the region. Our funding is supporting the twin goals of health and economic recovery in the Pacific. The funding delivers critical financing to the Pacific and Timor-Leste to help mitigate fiscal crises, maintain essential health services, sustain aviation connectivity and protect the most vulnerable people. Our funding is providing direct financial support to Fiji's budget, which is bolstering social protection schemes for those in need. In PNG, we are supporting a new child nutrition grant, the first social protection payment of its type to be introduced. We've also restarted Pacific labour initiatives to boost economic activity and incomes for Pacific families as well as to support our farmers and industries to meet critical workforce needs. Australia has also directly facilitated the delivery of over a million vaccine doses—which will reach 1.5 million by the end of this week—and over 100 tonnes of humanitarian supplies on more than 400 Australian supported flights.

Our commitment and support to the Pacific and Timor-Leste are deep and enduring, and we'll always support our Pacific family in their time of need.