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

My question is to the Minister for Health and Aged Care. Will the minister please provide an update to the House on the current COVID situation in Victoria and what actions the Morrison government is taking to assist?

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

I want to thank the member for Higgins for her question and for her work. I also want to thank all of those in Victoria who have come forward in record numbers for vaccination. In the last 24 hours there have been 40,389 vaccines administered in Victoria. That has contributed to a record figure on Monday for Australia—119,139 vaccinations in the last 24 hours—which comes on top of a record week of 630,000 vaccinations in the seven days to Sunday. These are important steps forward in Australia. Victorians are stepping forward, and Australians everywhere are stepping forward. But we also know that Victoria is facing difficult challenges. At this point, the advice I have is that there are 54 active cases in Victoria. We know that we can manage challenges. New South Wales, for example, had over 200 active cases in a one-month period, from 16 December to 16 January, and was able to manage and contain those cases. Victoria is doing a very good and important job.

The Commonwealth has stepped in with 130,000 additional vaccines and offered contact tracing and ADF support. I'm advised that 160 defence personnel are on the ground, as we said last week they would be. They are on the ground and they are available and being tasked, in conjunction with Victoria, for operations. We have activated asymptomatic testing from the Commonwealth respiratory clinics. In addition to that, the Chief Medical Officer and his team are leading meetings of the national medical expert panel, the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee. The Commonwealth medical officer declared a hotspot on 27 May, which was in concert with the Victorian government's announcement of restrictions there. As a result, that includes the provision of PPE from the National Medical Stockpile. In line with the advice of the AHPPC of 9 November last year, which was tabled at the national cabinet on 13 November last year, that also leads to the single-site workforce payments in Victoria, a system which was, as I say, endorsed by the AHPPC last year and tabled at the national cabinet. Furthermore, in terms of total vaccines available in Victoria, what we see is that the Commonwealth has provided approximately 787,000 vaccines, and Victoria, to their credit, have administered 494,000 of those.

These are difficult and challenging times, but the nation is coming together to protect Victoria. We know how to do this and we will do it again. (Time expired)

Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health and Aged Care. The minister said that first-dose COVID vaccinations for Victorian aged-care facilities were complete, but I have confirmed this morning that residents in an aged-care facility in my electorate have still not have had their first vaccine dose. How can the minister's statement be true?

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

I would be happy to receive the details of the facility, because I have confirmed on multiple occasions with my department that all Commonwealth facilities have been completed. We did have drawn to our attention one facility which was misidentified as a Commonwealth facility which in fact is under the responsibility of the Victorian government. I don't know if that is the facility, as the member has not named it, but the department has reaffirmed, in advice to Senate estimates today, that all Commonwealth facilities have been completed, including the Jewish Care house which was raised by the member for Macnamara last week. That was completed as we said it would be. I am aware that one case was raised on a television program last night. We have spoken with the granddaughter, I believe, of the resident in question, and it has been confirmed that it is not a Commonwealth facility. Our advice is express, clear and absolute from the department—that all Commonwealth residential aged-care facilities in Victoria have had a first dose.