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

I thank the member for Curtin for her question. Another milestone has been reached—that is, more than 90 per cent of Victorians aged over 16 have now been vaccinated. This is a significant achievement by the people of Victoria, and I want to thank all those in Victoria for rolling up their sleeves, getting vaccinated and pushing through what has been the hardest experience of this pandemic. I thank them for pushing through, and I know this will be a moment that they can savour.

The national plan, which gets Australia open safely so we can remain safely open, is working. We're seeing it again with these achievements in Victoria today. We have already seen South Australia open up this week, the return of students and skilled migrants, and the opening-up to Japan, Korea and Singapore, which is underway. Over the course of this pandemic, what really matters is we have the one of the lowest fatality rates in the world as a result of our response to COVID. We have one of the strongest economies of the advanced world in how we have come through this pandemic, and we now have, as Victoria has demonstrated again, one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. That sets Australia up. Australians have worked hard to achieve that to set up the opportunity we now have to secure Australia's economic recovery.

Those opposite might want to play games in this parliament, but we are very focused on securing the economic recovery for Australians. That's what our focus is. That's where we're looking. We are looking forward to that economic recovery which Australians are depending on and Australians are relying on. That is the most important issue that our government, working together, is pursuing, to ensure jobs, skills and investment and to put downward pressure on the cost of living. That is what the Australian people are expecting from their government, and it is being delivered.

We are driving investment through our instant asset write-off. We're increasing jobs. We're boosting skills, with some 217,000 people in apprentice training. We've got lower taxes. We've got a million people back working in manufacturing right now. We're getting electricity prices down. This is what matters to Australians—their jobs, their economic futures, their ability to plan for their own futures with confidence. You cannot take the economic recovery for granted. You cannot take it for granted with the challenges Australians are facing. Our government has demonstrated its economic management credentials, and that's what can give Australians confidence.

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