Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As the representative of Goldstein, it is a great pleasure to support this important motion, particularly as it has been moved by my good friend, an outstanding representative of his community, the member for Ryan. He's moving this motion because of the critical role of the vaccine innovation and research that's being done in his electorate through the University of Queensland.

We know that universities play a critical role in innovation, research and development in this country. They don't stand alone, but they are a critical part, particularly in primary science and bringing about important health treatment options and vaccinations. One of the best things about our universities is their international outlook. Because of their international outlook they are able to collaborate with research institutions all around the world to be part of international efforts, particularly in crises such as these.

It's important that it's done not just with the hard work and effort of our medical researchers and scientists, but also through the commitment and support of the federal government. In the 2021 budget we allocated a total of $2.3 billion to support development and production of a safe, effective vaccine in sufficient quantities to ensure that all Australians have access to such a vaccine for COVID-19. We know this is critically important not just for protecting the health and wellbeing of the Australian population––though that is absolutely critical––but it is important because it provides the foundation on which we can have the investment to rebuild and continue to strengthen our economy as we get Australians back to work, travelling internationally and connecting with their families and loved ones. The benefits are not just in dollars and cents; they aren't just in lives; they're also in connections. That's what we're slowly seeing as we've been able to keep COVID-19 largely out of the Australian community. It's being able to rebuild the bonds that have suffered as a consequence of this virus and the response measures that have been introduced.

Australia is playing a critical role in the development of a COVID-19 vaccine not just for our country, but for the world. We have four vaccine candidates that have commenced clinical trials in Australia, which is an important step towards a safe and readily available vaccine. They include candidates developed by the University of Queensland, as I mentioned before, represented by the good member for Ryan; a Flinders University vaccine; Novavax and Clover Biopharmaceuticals. So at every point we have both the private sector and universities working together to be part of building Australia's vaccine future. A total of $363 million in Australian government support for COVID-19 R&D has been announced so far, including $96 million through the Medical Research Future Fund for research into COVID-19 related vaccines and treatments, as well as for further preparedness.

As we know, it's about not just having a vaccine, although that's important, but getting delivery of it out into the Australian community, so much of the resources that the Commonwealth has allocated are to make sure that when we have a vaccine available it gets to the affected communities, particularly taking care of older Australians; those who are vulnerable and need extra health support; our critical health-care workers, whom we once again thank for the role they have played in containing and managing this virus; people from communities who are susceptible to the risks, who manage comorbidities or other health conditions; and the general Australian community, so they can go about their lives as well. That's why the research—for instance, at the University of Queensland, with $5 million from the Australian government for its innovative molecular clamp vaccine technology—is so important. It's why all of the different pathways, including the University of Oxford, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, BioNTech, Janssen, Novavax and Moderna pathways, are critical. There is never any one foolproof solution, because everybody has different health conditions and some people respond to different vaccines in different ways. Making sure we have available vaccines that can be rolled out and given to people in the community so they can go about living their lives is a critical path to getting from what is now for us a kind of COVID normal back to simply normal. That's what I think Australians desperately want, and that's why the Morrison government is providing so much funding, so that we can get back to normal from a COVID normal and be in a position to have a successful Australia into the future.

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