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

Australia has one of the highest double-dose vaccination rates in the world. In fact, when we set out in late February and early March we said that all those who wanted to have the vaccine would be able to have it in October, and that's exactly what happened. In fact, despite the challenges that we had early on, we turned that around and ensured that that timetable was actually met, and the vaccination rates that we have now achieved—that Australians have achieved—are amongst some of the highest in the world. Our vaccination rates are higher than the United Kingdom, even higher, on a first dose basis, than the Netherlands, higher than Germany and higher than Israel—all of those that had some early success. And now we go into next year with those high vaccination rates, which enable us to back in Australia's incredible achievement to have one of the lowest fatality rates of COVID of anywhere in the world and, on top of that, one of the strongest advanced economies in the world.

Only the Labor Party would want to talk that down. Only the Labor Party would want to talk down the achievements of the Australian people of having one of the lowest fatality rates, one of best economies and the highest vaccination rates in the world. What that speaks to is an opposition that have been so intent on playing politics with the pandemic that they cannot see the achievements of the Australian people and they cannot understand how much the Australian people are looking forward to the hope that is ahead of us.

Our government has a plan for that. It was also set out in last year's budget and the budget before that: securing that economic recovery, investing in apprentices and the trades and skills that ensure that they are equipped, investing in our digital economy—

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