Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Half of Australia's population is in lockdown and we are all sick of it. Would there be fewer lockdowns and fewer restrictions across the nation right now if vaccination rates were higher? Isn't the reason vaccination rates are not higher because the Prime Minister failed to order enough vaccines when it counted, and failed also to fix national quarantine?

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

More than half of Australians aged over 16 have had their first dose of the vaccine. More than half—that's one in two. Six million doses of that vaccine have now been delivered in New South Wales and two-thirds of those have been delivered by the magnificent GPs and pharmacists who are doing this all around the country. There are more points of presence where you can get the vaccine in Australia today than you can get a Big Mac around this country because of the excellent work that is being done by Lieutenant General Frewen, by the GPs and by the pharmacists, working together—states and territories together—to get this job done.

It's an important job to get done, because under the national plan that would see 70 and 80 per cent of the population vaccinated. That means Australia will be able to move forward; Australia will be able to move forward and live with this virus. That's why it's so important that people stand up for the plan rather than standing in the way of the plan, like those in the Labor Party seem intent on doing. They come in here, day after day, running down the vaccination program, running down those who are seeking to implement it—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister will resume his seat. The Leader of the Opposition on a point of order?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, Mr Speaker. The question went to—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, you just need to state the point of order.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, on relevance. The question went to too few vaccines, not too many—too few. That's the problem we're in at the moment. That's where the question went to.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. The Leader of the House?

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, in response to the Leader of the Opposition, who quite often gets up to make these gratuitous statements which aren't points of order—they're political pointscoring—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, the—

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is political pointscoring, Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister couldn't have been any more relevant to the question asked—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask the Leader of the House to resume his seat. I will just say to the Leader of the House that I'm not taking closing arguments on relevance. I'm simply going to rule on the matter and we don't have jury decisions on my rulings, thank heavens! I will just say to the Prime Minister that the question obviously went to two policy matters. He certainly started to make some accusations with respect to the opposition. I do think that what he has done so far is okay because this question, as I've said before, had at its heart—at the beginning—an accusation, but he can't spend the rest of the answer on that subject matter. Prime Minister, I am listening—

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

The national plan, which will see our vaccination levels rise to 70 and 80 per cent, will enable Australians to move forward, not stay shut in. That will be achieved by continuing to get on with the job. It won't be achieved by the negativity of those opposite; it will be achieved by the positivity of the government and all those they're working with.