Julian Simmonds (Ryan, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes:

(a) the developments worldwide on vaccines for COVID-19;

(b) that the Government has announced a $1billion agreement for two of the most promising COVID-19 vaccines, namely the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and the University of Queensland/CSL vaccine;

(2) acknowledges that under the agreement, the Commonwealth has secured 84 million doses which will be almost entirely manufactured in Australia; and

(3) recognises that the Government is contributing significantly to COVID-19 vaccine, treatment, research and development work in Australia and around the world with an investment of $362 million.

I rise to move this motion today very proud of the incredible work that Australia's top health scientists are achieving and in particular to pay tribute to those working on the vaccine in my electorate of Ryan. As the world races to find a vaccine to the crippling coronavirus, Australia is a key player in vaccine development, with direct investment in the work being progressed at the University of Queensland, St Lucia, in our electorate of Ryan.

The Morrison government is steadfastly committed to ensuring that a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine will be available as soon as possible. Our national goal is to make sure that every Australian who wants to be will be vaccinated by 2021 or in 2021. An effective vaccine will not only save lives; it will reunite families and boost our economic recovery. The Morrison government has announced production and supply agreements for the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca and the University of Queensland/CSL COVID-19 vaccines. Australia will acquire 33.8 million doses of the University of Oxford /AstraZeneca vaccine and 51 million doses of the UQ/CSL vaccine, with both likely to require two doses per person.

In October, the Prime Minister, when visiting our electorate of Ryan, was able to hear firsthand from the team at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology at the University of Queensland and to be updated on the vaccine's development. Then, just two weeks ago, the Minister for Health, also on a visit to our electorate of Ryan, attended the same labs to hear some excellent news from Professor Paul Young, who is leading the research team. Professor Young revealed that the early data from the phase 1 clinical trials indicated that the vaccine is safe and has been incredibly well tolerated amongst the trial participants. Professor Young also declared that these results showed that the vaccine induces a strong immune result and an antibody response equivalent to or better than what has been seen in COVID-19 patients. Importantly, the University of Queensland's COVID-19 vaccine trial is running ahead of schedule.

Professor Young and his team, as I commented on the day, are incredibly humble and modest people, but the reality is that they are working incredibly long hours and insanely hard. It is not only them but their families who are making sacrifices to make sure that they can work those long hours on behalf of Australians and the worldwide community. It was such a thrill to be there in the lab with the Minister for Health and the Prime Minister to talk to those researchers one on one and to hear about their efforts to create the vaccine, to hear their passion for the project, to hear how well the collaboration is working worldwide, with colleagues right around the world, who they are working together with every single day, and to hear how well the team is working within the lab itself. I have to say that, after such an anxious year for so many of us, holding that vaccine in my hand was quite a thrill.

Not all heroes wear capes, and in the Ryan electorate many of them wear lab coats. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank and honour the team that I met and all those behind them that are the hidden heroes behind this history-making research. I want members in this chamber and in the House to understand just how much work has been done in such a short time frame. On 10 January, the UQ team had their first official meeting and, from that day on, it was full steam ahead on vaccine creation. The very next day, 11 January, their own molecular clamp technology was put into action in the development of the candidate vaccine. By March, the team had selected their first vaccine construct and, by June, 120 volunteers had already been recruited for the trial and then, by September, an agreement for 51 million doses had been reached. The University of Queensland obviously has form when it comes to vaccine. It was in the electorate of Ryan that the very successful vaccine Gardasil was created, which helps women around the world with cervical cancer. Even with that success, this kind of speed for the team was something that they hadn't experienced before and it took an incredible amount of work. I would really like to thank all of the heroes that I met, particularly the brilliant scientists of the UQ vaccine team, Professor Paul Young, Professor Keith Chappell, Professor Trent Munro and Dr Daniel Watterson, for all their efforts in leading a team of over 105 special people, for whom Australia owes a great deal of gratitude.

Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Terry Young (Longman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm very pleased to speak to the member for Ryan's private member's motion today, noting the worldwide development for the COVID-19 vaccine. I also want to acknowledge the government's recent announcement of the $1.7 billion agreement for two of the most promising COVID-19 vaccines: the University of Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine and our very own University of Queensland CSL vaccine. The agreement will see the vaccine manufactured entirely in Australia. I'm especially excited about the prospects of the vaccine because, being a Victorian, I can say with relief that today marks 31 days of zero cases, zero deaths and zero active cases. This is a very fine achievement by my fellow Victorians, because we have emerged from one of the toughest and longest lockdowns in the world. My electorate bore some of the brunt of the pandemic. It is so exciting to speak to this motion today, because my electorate of Calwell is at the centre of where Australia's COVID-19 vaccine is going to be manufactured, and that is at CSL Broadmeadows. CSL Behring has a long history in Broadmeadows. It's an iconic institution and we are proud as a community to be part of this very exciting venture.

Last week, I visited CSL with the shadow minister for health, Chris Bowen. We received a briefing from CSL which confirmed that it will begin manufacturing the University of Oxford AstraZeneca AZD1222 COVID-19 vaccine candidate at its advanced manufacturing facility in Broadmeadows. We were also taken on a tour of where the manufacturing will be happening. CSL has separate contracts with AstraZeneca and the Australian government to manufacture approximately 30 million doses of the AZD1222 vaccine candidate, which are planned for release in the first half of 2021, pending the outcome of clinical trials and regulatory approvals. The manufacturing process will start with the four vials containing vaccine cells. The cells, frozen under liquid nitrogen to preserve their integrity, need to be thawed in preparation for replication in the bioreactors at the company's Broadmeadows facilities. After growing in the bioreactors, the vaccine is filtered and purified, leaving just the antigen, or the vaccine product. It is then ready for final formulation and filling into dosage vials. The vial-thaw milestone follows several months of close collaboration and preparation by CSL and AstraZeneca technical experts, which I'm told is a first. It is first that CSL is manufacturing someone else's vaccine. During 2020-21, CSL will manufacture eight large-scale batches of vaccine drug substance. Should the vaccine demonstrate its safety and efficacy in clinical trials that are currently underway, it is anticipated that it will require a two-dose per person regime. The vaccine will not be released for use, of course, until the relevant clinical trials and manufacturing data are reviewed and approved by the Australian government's regulatory authority, the TGA, the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

The Australian government has provided support to CSL in order to augment its capacity and capability to manufacture the AZD1222 vaccine, and this support has enabled the acquisition of specialised equipment and production inputs, the recruitment, training and redeployment of dozens of additional production personnel, and the reconfiguration of air handling and structural modification to the manufacturing facility. Through extensive company-wide coordination, CSL has scheduled production of AZD1222 in addition to manufacturing the UQ-CSL V451 COVID-19 vaccine candidate, while also maintaining its commitment to manufacture the company's vital core biotherapies. Multiple doses of the UQ-CSL V451 vaccine candidate have already been manufactured at the Broadmeadows facility and are held in readiness to progress the vaccine to phase 2 and 3 clinical trials. CSL's chief scientific officer Dr Andrew Nash said:

This is an important milestone and marks the end of many months of around the clock preparation by our skilled personnel globally within CSL Behring, Seqirus and research and development. Both campaigns are still technically challenging but at this time we are tracking well and expect to produce the AZD1222 and the UQ-CSL V451 vaccine for Australia by mid-2021.

This is indeed great news. There's great cause for hope, and I look forward to Australians receiving a COVID-19 vaccine at some stage in the course of next year.

Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As the representative of Goldstein, it is a great pleasure to support this important motion, particularly as it has been moved by my good friend, an outstanding representative of his community, the member for Ryan. He's moving this motion because of the critical role of the vaccine innovation and research that's being done in his electorate through the University of Queensland.

We know that universities play a critical role in innovation, research and development in this country. They don't stand alone, but they are a critical part, particularly in primary science and bringing about important health treatment options and vaccinations. One of the best things about our universities is their international outlook. Because of their international outlook they are able to collaborate with research institutions all around the world to be part of international efforts, particularly in crises such as these.

It's important that it's done not just with the hard work and effort of our medical researchers and scientists, but also through the commitment and support of the federal government. In the 2021 budget we allocated a total of $2.3 billion to support development and production of a safe, effective vaccine in sufficient quantities to ensure that all Australians have access to such a vaccine for COVID-19. We know this is critically important not just for protecting the health and wellbeing of the Australian population––though that is absolutely critical––but it is important because it provides the foundation on which we can have the investment to rebuild and continue to strengthen our economy as we get Australians back to work, travelling internationally and connecting with their families and loved ones. The benefits are not just in dollars and cents; they aren't just in lives; they're also in connections. That's what we're slowly seeing as we've been able to keep COVID-19 largely out of the Australian community. It's being able to rebuild the bonds that have suffered as a consequence of this virus and the response measures that have been introduced.

Australia is playing a critical role in the development of a COVID-19 vaccine not just for our country, but for the world. We have four vaccine candidates that have commenced clinical trials in Australia, which is an important step towards a safe and readily available vaccine. They include candidates developed by the University of Queensland, as I mentioned before, represented by the good member for Ryan; a Flinders University vaccine; Novavax and Clover Biopharmaceuticals. So at every point we have both the private sector and universities working together to be part of building Australia's vaccine future. A total of $363 million in Australian government support for COVID-19 R&D has been announced so far, including $96 million through the Medical Research Future Fund for research into COVID-19 related vaccines and treatments, as well as for further preparedness.

As we know, it's about not just having a vaccine, although that's important, but getting delivery of it out into the Australian community, so much of the resources that the Commonwealth has allocated are to make sure that when we have a vaccine available it gets to the affected communities, particularly taking care of older Australians; those who are vulnerable and need extra health support; our critical health-care workers, whom we once again thank for the role they have played in containing and managing this virus; people from communities who are susceptible to the risks, who manage comorbidities or other health conditions; and the general Australian community, so they can go about their lives as well. That's why the research—for instance, at the University of Queensland, with $5 million from the Australian government for its innovative molecular clamp vaccine technology—is so important. It's why all of the different pathways, including the University of Oxford, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, BioNTech, Janssen, Novavax and Moderna pathways, are critical. There is never any one foolproof solution, because everybody has different health conditions and some people respond to different vaccines in different ways. Making sure we have available vaccines that can be rolled out and given to people in the community so they can go about living their lives is a critical path to getting from what is now for us a kind of COVID normal back to simply normal. That's what I think Australians desperately want, and that's why the Morrison government is providing so much funding, so that we can get back to normal from a COVID normal and be in a position to have a successful Australia into the future.

Josh Burns (Macnamara, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the motion moved by the member for Ryan on a COVID-19 vaccine. I think we in this House all agree —

Mr Tim Wilson interjecting—

I remember the member for Goldstein's electorate. I think we all agree in this House that it's not a matter of politics but a matter of science to support vaccines. We must be guided by science in our support of vaccines. I've said before publicly and I'll say again that vaccines save lives. Vaccines have been a miracle of modern medicine, of science, of understanding, of study, of evidence and of facts.

I will start my contribution by saying thank you. Last week I was joined by the shadow minister for health, the member for McMahon, in visiting the Burnet Institute in my electorate. The Burnet Institute is one of the top medical research facilities in Australia, and it is proudly located in my electorate, even though it does have plans to head north, to the Parkville precinct in Melbourne. The Burnet Institute is led very ably by Professor Brendan Crabb, who hosted us with the leader of the Doherty institute, Professor Sharon Lewin, who is a board member of the Burnet Institute and who also was there. It is a highly collaborative ecosystem in the medical research space. We had the privilege of walking around and speaking to the Burnet Institute. They are doing amazing work on instantaneous COVID tests, blood tests that will be able to determine whether you have COVID and how long you've had COVID for or whether you're free of COVID or have antibodies in your system. It will be a really important test that will be able to tell you instantly whether you have COVID with a very high success rate and a very low mistake rate, which is obviously an important piece of information. They also are continuing a lot of work on the other aspects of their research, including on malaria drugs and supporting work around vaccines for malaria. There is actually a vaccine coming out for malaria. It only has a 30 per cent efficiency rate, but that is better than nothing. That is being explored at the moment.

The story of the COVID vaccines at the moment is that there are some promising signs with vaccines. There are promising early signs with the science. Whether it's the AstraZeneca vaccine, the Pfizer vaccine, the Moderna vaccine or the UQ vaccine, there have been early results that suggest there is hope, that we might be able to get to a place where the world as we know it might be severely disrupted by a piece of science and a piece of medical technology that we are so desperate for in the vaccine. Even if we do get there and have a highly efficient and effective vaccine, it is still uncertain how long the vaccine will be efficient or effective for. It is still uncertain how long the vaccine will protect us from coronavirus, so it is important we are constantly based and focused on science, listening to the science, respecting it and assessing the efficiency and safety of a vaccine. However, it is amazing work and we thank all of those putting their time and effort into it.

Before I finish, it is important to say that in Australia we have been guided by science in order to deal with this pandemic. We've been guided by experts. Across the country our health experts have stood up next to our politicians and answered hard questions and questions on subjects that many members of the public haven't had to think about before. They needed to be supported by politicians, and I note that there are many people in this place on all sides of politics who have stood by our public health experts. But there have been members who haven't.

The member for Hughes has constantly undermined our medical health experts in this place. The member for Hughes has constantly undermined our health experts in Victoria and those overseeing the Therapeutic Goods Administration, the TGA. He's constantly spouted dangerous and false medical solutions to the coronavirus pandemic and, sadly, despite hundreds of occasions where the member for Hughes has used his prominent position, the Prime Minister has said nothing. He's said nothing to stop his MPs undermining the health response. This vaccine will be based in science when you respect the science, and we need all government MPs to do so. (Time expired)

Fiona Martin (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion put forward by the member for Ryan on the COVID-19 vaccine. Securing a COVID-19 vaccine is critical to Australia's health and economic recovery. A vaccine will give Australian people and businesses the certainty and confidence they need to reopen the economy and our borders. That's why the Morrison government has ensured that we're ready for an expected rollout of a COVID-19 vaccine in 2021.

Our government is contributing significantly to research and development both in Australia and around the world, investing $363 million in vaccines, therapeutics and COVID medicines, including $257 million in vaccines. As an allied health professional, I have great respect for our scientists and those who work in the health and medical industries, especially with the pressures that this pandemic has created.

CSIRO, Australia's leading science agency, is playing an important part in the development and testing of a vaccine here in Australia. Our scientists and researchers have been doing incredible work, contributing on a global level to finding treatments and a vaccine to COVID-19. I'd like to acknowledge and thank them for their exceptional work.

Under the Morrison government's COVID-19 vaccine and treatment strategy, Australia has secured 134.8 million doses through advanced purchasing agreements. By securing multiple COVID-19 vaccines, we are giving Australians the best possible shot at early access to a vaccine, should trials prove successful. We have invested over $1.7 billion into our two lead vaccine candidates—the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine and the University of Queensland's molecular clamp, which is being developed here in Australia.

These vaccines will largely be supplied through CSL, an Australian based company in Melbourne, who will facilitate the production of the vaccines here in Australia. This means we will be boosting manufacturing in Australia. In fact CSL has begun manufacturing the University of Oxford AstraZeneca's coronavirus candidate vaccine in Victoria, and this will mean that production is starting on approximately 30 million doses of the vaccine. It should be very reassuring to many of us that these vaccines are being produced by a trusted Australian supplier, one that has likely supplied many of our flu vaccines. This agreement shows where our government's priority lies: protecting the health of Australians and backing our economy by locally producing our vaccine supply. To strengthen our position further, the Morrison government has secured two more COVID-19 vaccine agreements. This takes the Australian government's total COVID-19 vaccine investment to more than $3.2 billion.

Our strategy puts Australia at the front of the queue if our medical experts give the vaccines the green light—and trials are proving to be very promising. It means that we're on track for first vaccines to be delivered in the first quarter of 2021, and they will be available for free to those who choose to be vaccinated. Health and aged-care workers as well as the elderly and vulnerable members of our community will be the first to gain access to the vaccine. When Australia has fulfilled our domestic vaccination plan, we will provide additional vaccines to regional partners in the Pacific and South-East Asia. This will allow for a shared recovery across our neighbours, which will not only play an important role in leading humanitarian aid but also mean that tourism and trade across our region can pick up sooner.

Australia has a world-class vaccination program with world-leading vaccination rates. The Morrison government has built on this capacity to secure a COVID-19 vaccine and treatment strategy. It places us in the best possible position to attain a safe and effective vaccine, a vaccine that will be manufactured locally in Australia and rolled out free of charge to all Australians who choose to be immunised. It's an essential part of our plan to protect the health of all Australians and recover from the COVID-19 recession.

Milton Dick (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This morning I speak not only as the proud member of the electorate of Oxley but also as a proud Queenslander. It's been phenomenal to see how, over the last six months, the world has truly rallied together to fight what has been a pandemic like no other. As a proud University of Queensland graduate, I thank the member for Ryan for the work that he has done in highlighting the work of the University of Queensland, in particular.

As a neighbour of the member for Ryan's electorate, I wanted to go on the record today to thank our doctors, research scientists and specialists, who have been working tirelessly and around the clock to create a COVID-19 vaccine. I acknowledge the federal government and the Queensland government for their investment into research and creation of the vaccine. This is a vaccine that opens our doors back up to the world. It opens up Australia for business. It's the vaccine that we need. It has the potential to bring families back together, open up international travel and further Australia's investment and mark on the international stage.

The University of Queensland is the only Australian organisation tasked by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations to develop a vaccine against the novel coronavirus. The funding announced is important for CEPI's ongoing financial support. The world, I believe, one day may thank the UQ vaccination team, including Professor Paul Young, Associate Professor Keith Chappell, Professor Trent Munro and Dr Daniel Watterson for developing the vaccine that stops the killer COVID-19 in its tracks. All eyes are on these brilliant scientists, who are standing front and centre in the war. But thank you also goes to the 105 leaders who have emerged out of the darkness of 2020 offering a bright, unified spirit of togetherness. When interviewed, the scientists shared that they felt the arms of Queenslanders and other heroes across Australia's holding them high and spurring them on. Professor Young said:

The generosity and commitment I've witnessed has been nothing short of amazing. And this enormous group of contributors is still not everyone who's been involved. I'd like to thank absolutely everybody who was part of this broader team in the ongoing journey.

Together they have been working day and night on all fronts, and they have had teams of people and members completing lab work, managing trials, addressing legal and regulatory requirements and, of course, raising the funds to supercharge vaccine production.

But, of course, we need to make sure that, when a vaccine does become available, it becomes available to as many Australians as quickly as possible. That's the objective here. Vaccines don't solve this issue and stop the virus; the actual vaccinations do. That's why we need to make sure that we maximise the number of people who have access to those vaccinations. Alarms bells have gone off for me when I've seen the anti-vaxxers out and about already trying to position themselves—those kooks and people who misspeak—and constantly warning people against vital vaccinations. My message to my community and to the rest of Australia is: trust the science, trust the evidence and trust the leaders in what they are doing to help protect our country. Strategic tactical planning as part of a comprehensive industry policy will help Australia anticipate and be better prepared for such a global challenges and changes ahead.

I want to acknowledge not just the lead scientists but all of the wonderful support staff and scientific community that have been rallying and supporting the work of the scientists. It's important to be realistic. The Australian people know that they need transparency when it comes to a vaccine strategy that puts safety and health first. While hope needs to be lifted in difficult times, it is important we make statements and projections as realistic as possible so families and communities are not set up for disappointment. The aim here, wherever they are around the world, is to protect as many Australians as possible.

I want to thank the Queensland government, particularly Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk for her tough stance on borders and on protecting Queenslanders. We know in our state that the Queensland government led the way when it came to health and safety. The Queensland election was a flash-point in how Queenslanders saw the performance of our state government and they resoundly returned the Queensland Premier because of her deep commitment to the protection, health and wellbeing of my fellow Queenslanders. I want to thank all members of the government and, in particular, my friend, the Premier of Queensland, who has worked tirelessly this year to protect Queenslanders safe and to do the best for our country. (Time expired)

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

COVID-19 has dominated our lives and wreaked havoc on the health and prosperity of almost every nation on this planet. That said, Australia has done better than most countries in aggressively suppressing COVID-19 and in learning to live with the virus. This is a testament to the Australian people and to the personal restrictions that we have undertaken in order to help keep each other safe. It's also a testament to the trust that we as a country have placed in our Australian governments to deliver safe, secure quarantine arrangements and effective contact tracing. There have been stumbles along the way but, it's fair to say, we have now achieved in aggressive suppression what is to be the envy of the world.

What next for Australia? With an influx of overseas arrivals returning home for Christmas, it is critical that we continue to defend our borders and stringently enforce 14-day mandatory quarantine. We cannot let our guard down on this front. This remains our strongest defence; it is what has kept us safe as a nation. Looking forward over the next months and years, in order for this island nation to effectively connect again with the world in trade, tourism, international students or Australians returning home, we will need an alternative to 14-day quarantining and that alternative is a vaccine.

Thanks to the extraordinary work of researchers here and around the world, a vaccine is ever closer to reality. There are more than 350 vaccines now in trial around the world. Over the weekend, it was announced that National Health Service hospitals in the United Kingdom have been told to prepare for the first deliveries of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine as soon as 7 December; that is one week away. We're on the cusp of a completely new world of COVID management.

So far Australia has entered into advanced purchasing arrangements with vaccine manufacturers AstraZeneca, CLS, Pfizer and Novovax. We have contracted for 134 million vaccines directly. I'm proud to say the Morrison government will ensure the vaccine is provided free to all Australians. Australia also has access to a number of other potential vaccines through the international COVAX facility. We have lots of lines of inquiry open because we understand that in research you can never be sure about what's going to develop. Data on vaccine safety and efficacy is very promising, leading to the confidence of a successful vaccine being delivered here in Australia some time in 2021.

The great news is that there are many vaccines showing promising results, not just those we invested in but right around the world. It is also worth noting that three vaccine candidates have begun clinical trials in Australia, including one by the University of Queensland using molecular clamp technology, one by Flinders University—an Adelaide company vaccine—and one by international company Clover Biopharmaceuticals,. Australia has always punched above its weight in the field of medical research and this time is no different.

It is also incredibly imperative that we make sure every vaccine is safe and effective. One aspect of safety and effectiveness—so that we can ensure there is no vaccine hesitancy about this new development—is that different vaccines may be required for different ages, because our immune systems appear to be responding differently to COVID. So Australia has enabled the most experienced scientists and biotech and pharmaceutical experts to provide advice, through the COVID-19 Vaccines and Treatments for Australia—Science and Industry Technical Advisory Group. This group is essential, because we want to ensure we continue to have the trust of the Australian public in this incredibly important development. The advisory group is led by Professor Brendan Murphy, our former Chief Medical Officer, whom many will have seen on a daily basis in press conferences, who does have the trust of the Australian community. He will lead this group of experts to assess and work through all viable options to test, secure and administer a safe and effective vaccine if and when one is finally ready to be delivered. The vaccine will go through Australia's safety tests. While we all encourage people to take it, it will remain voluntary.

The world is looking hopefully to a future where we will have curtailed and controlled COVID. This is a crisis the likes of which we have never seen. But what distinguishes this crisis from those of the past is our ability to respond, in an unprecedented way, with globally collaborative research to develop diagnostics and treatments and vaccines to beat this pandemic. This is an incredibly exciting time for the world's scientists.

Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.