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

I thank Senator Grogan for her question—her first question. The national plan is designed to provide protection and provide advice to governments—state, territory and Commonwealth—as to the parameters with which we can start to reopen the national economy. Once we've reached 70 per cent of the population fully vaccinated, which we have now, we can start to take some measures, and we've seen those things commencing in the states and territories.

The whole purpose of the national plan is to minimise the number of infections of the virus, and also, subsequent to that, hospitalisations and presentations at ICUs and, of course, to minimise the number of people who pass away. The whole objective is to minimise those numbers. That's the point of the plan, and that's why we continue to encourage Australians to access vaccines. We've reached 70 per cent of the population over 16 who are vaccinated. We encourage more Australians from every walk of life in every state and territory to go out and access the vaccine so that we can continue to do that, because the whole purpose of the exercise is to minimise the number of cases that we have in the community, and that, of course, minimises the number of Australians who may be hospitalised, who may be subjected to ICU or who, unfortunately, may pass away. We know that there will be COVID circulating in the community. The best way that Australians can protect themselves, their families and their communities is to get vaccinated. The more people who are vaccinated, the fewer the people who will be subjected to the virus, to hospitalisation and to ICU.