Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to highlight and defend Australia's profound dedication to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and our post COVID recovery. I think there are very few people in Australia who don't actually believe that we are in a very good position in this country and that we are very lucky to be Australians. That is not down to any accident; that is down to the good governance of this country by the federal parliament, led by the Morrison government, the state governments and territories working together and, indeed, local councils. Australia actually should be celebrating our achievements in the year 2020. That's not to say that quite remarkable tragedies haven't happened across this great country, but the framework that has been put in place—firstly, the response to the bushfires, followed by the response to COVID in 2020—is something to be remarked on and celebrated in this great nation.

I'd like to firstly say that our response to COVID has been quite special and unique internationally. Australia took very early steps to close its borders internationally. That was internationally regarded as something quite unexpected. In fact, when you speak to experts who informed the evidence for that decision, you understand that it was a decision that had not been made lightly and had not been undertaken without a great deal of discussion and forethought. Indeed, the decision to close the borders was the greatest public health decision made in this country. That included bringing quarantine measures to Christmas Island so that those who were returning initially from Wuhan returned through Christmas Island. There was great international outcry that this was a negative step, but it has been seen to be a very important first step to keeping this country safe. Then there has been a whole ream of measures undertaken for aggressive suppression, understanding we remain connected internationally to the rest of the world but knowing we have to learn to live with this virus. We can't lock down the whole country without making sure we are keeping the economy safe.

What I would like to say is that the dual economic and health crisis that this country has faced has been well addressed by this government's response to COVID, and, more importantly than that, this government cares about the things that are important to Australians. That includes the dignity and respect of having a job. We can see that clear philosophical understanding by this government, about the respect people have for the dignity of work, in the economic response which was JobKeeper. I have had so many of my constituents write to me, email me and phone me about what a lifesaver JobKeeper has been. Last week the Prime Minister came to visit Higgins, and I was able to introduce the Prime Minister to a number of businesses in my local electorate and show him the impact JobKeeper has had, with the temporary transitional support given to them to help them through what has been an unprecedented health and economic crisis in this country.

The issue about JobKeeper is the philosophical underpinning that it was about keeping employees connected to their jobs, connected to their workplaces, connected to the dignity of work. We are seeing now that JobKeeper has been a wonderful transition to the other side of COVID. We are now in a good position nationally, albeit unfortunately still in lockdown in Victoria, for the COVID vaccine rollout that is coming at speed. The COVID vaccine rollout gives this country a very important opportunity. I welcome the COVID vaccine national rollout, and I hope all Australians get behind this in a bipartisan way because this is going to give us, as a country, an opportunity to get in control of the COVID pandemic in a way that would not have been foreseen one year ago. Being a medical researcher myself, I know that the speed with which this vaccine has been developed and manufactured, and is now about to be rolled out, is unprecedented in medical research history. It is in fact a modern miracle.

The Australian government has got behind this vaccine development and rollout with investments, with partnering. To have the vaccine developed, grown and manufactured here onshore is a really good thing for the Australian population. It will, hopefully, turn COVID from a deadly disease into a serious and nuisance disease. In order to do that, we need to get behind the COVID vaccine rollout. To go forward as an economy and as a nation, we need to have the trust and respect of the Australian people. I think 2020 has shown that we have a government that is sensible, that is pragmatic, that is not ideologically driven and that is going to continue to lead Australia to better outcomes going forward.

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