Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Health, Senator Cash. Could the minister advise the Senate how the Morrison government's health response to COVID-19 is helping to underpin our economic recovery and secure Australia's future?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Smith for his question. We know that around the world COVID-19 is continuing to spread. Globally, we have now reached 66.4 million COVID-19 cases and, sadly, we have lost 1.5 million lives. We see that outside of Australia: the challenge of COVID-19 is significant and it is tragic. But when we look at the situation here in Australia, compared with other developed nations, we are in a very good position. In the United States, for example, the death rate is 23.9 times what we have seen in Australia. In the United Kingdom the death rate is over 25 times what we have seen in Australia. So our success in managing the health crisis, as a country and as a government, has built the foundation for our economic recovery. We've had real challenges and genuine loss, but the outcome that we are currently seeing in Australia is certainly one which other parts of the world envy.

In Australia, we have now had 27,965 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and, sadly, 908 deaths. As of 4 pm yesterday, we have had zero cases of community transmission in the past 24 hours. Certainly, that is a good thing. In terms of our response to COVID-19, more than $18.5 billion has been committed to support the emergency COVID-19 health response. As a government, as you know, we took early action to close the borders and institute quarantine arrangements. We've established 147 GP respiratory clinics, and we've now conducted more than 10.1 million tests in Australia since the pandemic commenced.

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

Senator Smith, a supplementary question?

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister explain how the testing capacity of Australia supported this health outcome which is enabling our economic comeback?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Smith. Certainly, in terms of the testing, as I've said, Australia has now conducted over 10.1 million COVID-19 tests. This has, indeed, been a critical component of our health success and our ability to track, trace and, as we've seen in the statistics that I referred the Senate to, contain the COVID-19 virus. The work that our health agencies have undertaken to build testing capacity is quite remarkable, and we congratulate them. When you consider that in January of this year there was no such thing as a COVID-19 test, when you look at the work of our health agencies and the fact that Australia has now conducted in excess of 10.1 million tests, they certainly deserve our thanks. We've also taken a number of steps to ensure that we could build this capacity, including putting in place Medicare funding for COVID-19 tests and sourcing the material needed to keep our testing supplies— (Time expired)

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

Senator Smith, a final supplementary question?

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

How will the Morrison government's approach to securing and rolling out a COVID-19 vaccine ensure that Australians are safe and position our economy for recovery from a COVID-19 recession?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When you look at the situation in Australia today, certainly compared to the rest of the world, it enables us to take precautions when it comes to rolling out the COVID-19 vaccine. While there are rapid rollouts, and we've certainly seen them announced last week around the world, the situation here in Australia is quite different. In fact, it's unique. Locally, the Therapeutic Goods Administration has given priority assessment to three different vaccines. The TGA is currently assessing all of the available medical evidence of these vaccines to verify that they are, indeed, safe for use in Australia. The safety of the vaccine program is, of course, our top priority as a government. We've made a deliberate decision to diversify our vaccine portfolio with a range of vaccines and all of the different data. The rollout of the Pfizer vaccine in the United Kingdom will provide us with additional information to assess the safety of the rollout of the vaccine in Australia.

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

Order, Senator Cash.