Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

and we are going to finish this race, as a government, when it comes to this issue. We're going to finish this race and we're going to run the race all the way to the finish line, but we're going to do it as team Australia. We're not going to do it in a way which seeks to divide Australians and set Australians one against the other. We're not going to do it in a way which seeks to demonise people in this country. We're going to listen carefully to the people of Australia. We're going to listen carefully to their anxieties and concerns, and we're going to work with them.

Our vaccine is free. Our vaccine is not mandatory. It is necessary that during the suppression phase we have the lockdowns and we have the restrictions. They're necessary for the public health of this nation. So my government will continue to focus on the job at hand. My government will continue to focus on the public health of Australians. It will continue to focus on working together with Australians, not on setting them apart from one another. My government will focus on the results that Australians want to achieve. For others, it is up to them. If they want to undermine that effort with misinformation and if they want to undermine that effort by undermining the government's attempts and talking Australia down—if they wish to do that—that is a matter for them. My government will remain focused on the public health, lives and livelihoods of Australians.

As we continue to roll out the vaccine we will, by the end of this year, be able to say that we have saved the lives of over 30,000 Australians, we have put a million people back into work, we have vaccinated the country and we're achieving the goals that we have set. That is what Australians are focused on. They're interested in their health, their jobs and their futures. They're not interested in the politics of COVID. They're not interested in the phony debates. What they're interested in is the results in Australian lives and livelihoods being saved. That's what we're focused on and that's what we will focus on every single day. We do not support misinformation in any way, shape or form. (Time expired)

See this speech in context