Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Minister for Emergency Management and National Recovery and Resilience) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you so much, Senator Bragg, for the question and for your ongoing advocacy for the people of New South Wales. Throughout this entire pandemic our government has stood side by side with Australians and carefully monitored their needs to ensure that our recovery remains on track. More than 65 per cent of the eligible population have done the right thing and rolled their sleeves up and are now fully vaccinated. But a few states are leading the way, and there is no doubt this is due to the fact that they have had to endure lengthy lockdowns that have meant millions of workers have been unable to work or have seen their hours significantly reduced.

The Liberal and Nationals government has been there to support those Australians and it has paid more than $11 billion to over two million people throughout this period through the COVID disaster payment. That's a payment that was always intended to be temporary and to ensure the financial viability of Australians while we slowed the spread of the virus and increased vaccination rates. It's a payment that has kept food on people's tables, kept fuel in the car, kept the heater on and removed financial stress at a time of such uncertainty. Without these payments, a lot of people wouldn't have made it through.

As more and more Australians are getting their vaccination, states and territories have been able to safely ease restrictions and we are finally beginning to see the end of these lockdowns. This has meant that people have been able to not only get back to work but get back to doing things they love and they are learning to adjust to living with the virus. This week, we have seen Victoria, the state with the longest lockdown in the world, bring forward their plan to ease restrictions. Canberra has one of the highest vaccination rates of any city across the globe, with over 99 per cent of the population having received their first dose. The transition back to normal life means there will be less need for the COVID-19 disaster payment. It served its purpose and will continue to do so until vaccination rates reach 80 per cent in states and territories.