Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to the previous answers. Isn't it the case that at least 17 countries have signed and sealed at least 49 agreements to secure potential COVID-19 vaccines? Together, these deals guarantee over six billion doses, but Australia hasn't actually signed a single deal for a single dose. Why has the Prime Minister provided false hope with a big announcement of a deal which simply doesn't yet exist?

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm very pleased to respond to the member for McMahon's question. Let me quote, specifically, the response of AstraZeneca to this so-called claim. This is what they wrote to the authors of the article, in particular, at Pharma in Focus: 'We stand behind what was stated at this morning's press conference between the Prime Minister, Professor Kelly and ourselves. AstraZeneca is thrilled. Your interpretation is incorrect. We have not questioned the veracity of the letter of intent. We have never questioned the deal'—and I want to repeat the phrase from AstraZeneca, 'We have never questioned the deal'—'and we are not perplexed about the deal and the agreement. We are really disappointed with the approach Pharma in Focus has taken.' Deal, agreement: signed by Melissa Millard, Head of Communications, AstraZeneca.

I am sorry if those two words offend the shadow minister. I realise that this is not the portfolio he wished for. It is not the position he chose, and it shows because there is not much work or research. He got very excited about two words, 'deal' and 'agreement', and they're the words from AstraZeneca. But, stepping back, where is Australia in all of this? We are in the fortunate position that, because of our onshore manufacturing capacity, because of the ability to work with CSL, because of the ability to deliver whole-of-population support, we have been able to identify, carefully, as one would want, the best in class of the vaccines, the most capable, the most prospective, the most likely to deliver an early outcome, a safe outcome and an effective outcome for the Australian population, and that's precisely what we've done, already, with AstraZeneca. But more is to come as well as the onshore manufacturing and, therefore, the delivery of whole-of-population vaccination outcomes.

Do you know why we can do this? Because we've just delivered record vaccination rates in Australia as well for five-year-olds. We've also delivered on the PBS. We were not the ones that stopped the listing of medicines. We were not the ones that held up the funding for the PBS—in particular, for medicines for schizophrenia and medicines for endometriosis. These are the things that they stopped. We'll deliver whole-of-population vaccine, exactly as AstraZeneca has said, through whether you call it the deal or the agreement—both are their words—but that's what we'll deliver the Australian people.