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

I don't think the members opposite, including the member for Macarthur, could possibly expect that we would roll out an ineffective vaccine. But it is true that the Australian government has invested $5 billion in these five agreements, including for Moderna, which is coming very soon. The Pfizer vaccine went through a world-class TGA approval, which was on 25 January 2021, after a rigorous assessment and approval process. Australia didn't cut corners when it came to safety. It was the same with AstraZeneca. We knew that we needed to be careful about our international supply. We knew from PPE and testing last year, when there was a secure supply issue, that we needed to manufacture right here.

That is actually not something with which we have full agreement from the other side. The Leader of the Opposition has been repeatedly invited to encourage take-up of AstraZeneca, and he has failed to do it. So if we are to say someone has been 'too little, too late', the Leader of the Opposition has something to answer for. But there are members on the other side who have actually supported the AstraZeneca rollout, and they include the member for Maribyrnong, who has been very clear in his support for the AstraZeneca rollout. He understands that we've got to talk up our vaccine, not talk it down.

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