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

We know that people want to just get back to normal. It's been an incredibly tough period for our country. They want to be able to travel without restrictions. They want to be reunited with loved ones, their friends and their colleagues in the workplace and to put this pandemic behind them. This means when states and territories reach 80 per cent double vaccination rates our support won't stop. It will wind down, though, over a period of two weeks because the COVID disaster payment is just that: it's a disaster payment. It was never intended to be long term. Once phases B, C and D of the national plan are reached, we will no longer be in a state of disaster. We are not abandoning workers, like those opposite have claimed—a claim that is completely unfounded, given the continued commitment throughout this pandemic of the federal government to both individuals and business support payments. After the disaster payment is tapered down over a two-week period, we will continue to support Australians who have been unable to transition back to their usual employment through our existing strong safety support network that is run through Services Australia. (Time expired)