Matt O'Sullivan (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Over 200 Australians are being vaccinated every minute. The agreement that the national cabinet reached, based on the modelling by the Doherty institute, has set out a clear path back from this pandemic. It's been a game changer. It's a compact that we now have with the Australian people. It can be summed up by the Prime Minister's comments that Australians will be able to spend Christmas with their families should our vaccination thresholds be reached. And as a nation, we are on track to reach them. We have the doses, we have the infrastructure to administer them and we have Australians coming forward.

Our agreement with the Australian people spells out a clear plan, a time line for when we will be able to reopen life after lockdowns—certainly for businesses and those they employ. But as Proverbs says, 'Hope deferred makes the heart sick.' We can't have parts of the nation go rogue. Lockdowns into next year in pursuit of eradication were not part of the plan, but some of our premiers are letting down the side. I'm sure my Queensland colleagues will have something to say about their own state, but in Western Australia we have a premier who is addicted to having his finger over the big red button, waiting to press it at any moment and keep pressing it into next year. Lockdowns and border closures are necessary right now, but they are not sustainable. Australians know that, and they are getting tired of them. This is why they are stepping up at world-record rates to get us to 80 and 70 per cent fully vaccinated. We have one of the highest weekly uptake rates in the world.

It's clear that the McGowan government lacks confidence in our ability to deal with the next stages of reopening. The reality is that it's not a case of if but when the delta strain breaches the Western Australian border. As our east coast states are showing, it's almost impossible to shut it down. A vaccination rate of 80 per cent means that we can live with the virus like we do with the flu.

Claire Chandler (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order, Senator O'Sullivan. Senator Patrick.