Mark Butler (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House of Representatives) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. This morning the Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians was asked if the government was responsible for the vaccine rollout in aged care, yes or no. The minister replied, 'Well, it's not a yes-or-no answer.' So I ask the Prime Minister: is the government responsible for the vaccine rollout in aged care?

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

The government is indeed responsible for the national vaccination strategy, right across the country. We're doing that in partnership with states and territories—of course we are—general practitioners and a whole range of others who are supporting these efforts, and hospitals and elsewhere. The national vaccination strategy was brought together by Professor Brendan Murphy, who chairs the scientific advisory group on immunisations. That national strategy was pulled together, which includes for aged care, and that was taken to the federal cabinet and endorsed and it was taken to the national cabinet and endorsed, and all the roles and responsibilities that all the various levels of government have in delivering that vaccination program.

That's why I'm pleased that yesterday, again, we saw over 100,000 people get vaccinated in this country. In the course of May, more than two million Australians were vaccinated. Since the end of April, the weekly vaccinations have doubled. That followed the intervention that was undertaken by me as chair of the national cabinet, bringing the states and territories together. After we put in place that additional plan which addresses the challenges faced because of the ATAGI advice on AstraZeneca and the challenges on supply of vaccines—we put that plan in place together; we worked together—the vaccination rate doubled within a month. This is what the government does: it addresses problems, it gets people together, it focuses on the issue and it addresses the challenges that Australia faces.

In Victoria we're facing challenges but we will overcome those challenges. The people of Victoria will overcome those challenges. The government of Australia will work with the Victorian government to ensure that our focus is on individual Victorians and to ensure that we open up Victoria as soon as we possibly can. From the data we see, I hope that is particularly true for regional Victoria. From what we see in the evidence that is there in regional Victoria, we look forward to regional Victoria being open as soon as possible, but we will work together, we will follow the health advice, we will listen carefully to it and we will continue to protect lives and protect livelihoods. That is the focus of my government. We'll keep fighting the virus. The Labor Party will just keep fighting us.