David Van (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Government Services, Senator Ruston. Can the minister update the Senate on how the Morrison government is using technology to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and help support our economic recovery?

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Senator Van, for your question. It is absolutely unquestioned that Australia is doing an extraordinary job to flatten the curve of the coronavirus pandemic and to contain the spread, which means that we have saved many, many lives of Australians through this process. But now is not the time to be complacent. As restrictions are being eased in our communities it is absolutely important that all Australians remain safe and they understand what it is that they need to do to remain safe, because it is critically important, not just for us as individuals, that we don't just protect ourselves but we look out for others.

That's why, through a society-wide effort to make sure that we have the appropriate response in place for the coronavirus, we are a world leader and the envy of the rest of the world in areas such as testing, tracing and containing the virus. We've worked absolutely tirelessly over the last few months to make sure that we have got the capacity in place, and that includes making sure that all Australians have got access to the kind of digital capabilities that they need to navigate their way through this pandemic and as we go forward. It is absolutely vital that all Australians are empowered to proactively limit the spread of the coronavirus and protect the community. That's why the Prime Minister launched Australia's contact-tracing app, COVIDSafe, to help protect the lives and health of the Australian community to make sure that we are in a position to quickly respond and be able to trace people if they have come into contact with somebody who has the virus. The app complements the existing manual process by which we currently trace and track people. Those processes are being undertaken by state and territory officials. It is absolutely essential that we have this in place as we ease restrictions on social gatherings.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Van, a supplementary question?

David Van (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Minister. How else is the government ensuring information is available to all areas of the Australian public?

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Australian government is assisting the Australian public in many ways including, in particular, by making sure that we have an easy-to-access, single place of information through the Australia.gov.au website. It is the central source, it's the authoritative source, it's trusted and it's regularly updated because we want to make sure that all Australians have got the information that they need regarding the coronavirus to keep themselves, their family, their friends and their community safe. This website brings absolutely crucial information together across all government agencies so that when people are seeking advice, whether it be about health measures, financial measures or welfare measures, they are able to access it in one place. This is guidance for businesses, individuals, travellers and people with disability. Every Australian can access this site and get the kind of information that they need to navigate their way through this pandemic. Over 22 million people have visited the Australia.gov.au website so far.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Van, a final supplementary question?

David Van (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Minister. Could you tell us what the government is doing to assist those more vulnerable in the Australian community?

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As restrictions begin to ease, it is really, really important that every Australian downloads the COVIDSafe app so that we can make sure we can resume life as well as we can and that we can get people back into jobs and get people back out socialising, but to do that we also need to protect the most vulnerable, and the best way people can protect the vulnerable in our community is to make sure that they have the COVIDSafe app on their phone. So far, it's been really strongly received by the states and territories, and it is being recognised as a very valuable tool which has enabled states and territories to lift the restrictions and make sure that this virus isn't silently creeping its way through our communities. But, in addition to the COVIDSafe app, we're encouraging people to make sure that they make themselves available with all forms of technology and all forms of information so that they know what they need to be doing to protect the many vulnerable people in our community, because we have an obligation to keep them safe and not just ourselves.