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

[by video link] My question is to the minister for health. On 24 June the minister told the House that having no Australian ICU due to COVID was the real measure of the government's success. So is having over 110 Australians in ICU today a measure of the government's failure?

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

The world has faced a pandemic the likes of which we haven't seen in 100 years. Australia's achievements have been extraordinary, but we've not been immune. Last year we faced a devastating outbreak in Victoria. Last year we faced a devastating outbreak in Victoria where lives were lost on a significant basis. With almost 690,000 cases worldwide yesterday, and almost 10,000 lives, 10,000 souls, lost yesterday, we are also not immune. But every life saved—the 30,000 lives saved compared with the OECD average, the 45,000 lives saved compared with the United States and the UK average—is a profound gift of life, and that is something that we should be acknowledging. Every life lost is a tragedy. There is an outbreak. We know that. It's not a game. It's life and death for people, and what that means is, yes, there are at this point in time 119 Australians in ICUs. There are 44 Australians on ventilation, 670 Australians in hospital. It's important to acknowledge the challenge that each one of them and their families face, but it's important to acknowledge what we've done as a nation in the midst of a pandemic.

Sometimes it does appear and feel as if there are those that would airbrush a global pandemic and pretend this is an Australian phenomenon. It's not. What we see is a pandemic which has ravaged and ripped apart so much of the world, which has been present in Australia but on a vastly different basis. Those things that we've done—the rings of containment, the borders, the testing, the tracing, the distancing—yes, they have made those differences. Is it different with Delta? Yes, it is, as we see with the United States having over 130,000 cases a day, as we see with the UK having over 30,000 cases a day and as we see with almost 100 lives lost daily in the UK now. This pandemic evolves and it throws new challenges, but do I think we're up for it as a nation? I do. Do I think what we are doing will protect Australians? Absolutely. Do I think the national plan is fundamental? Absolutely. As Pat McGorry was saying, in terms of mental health, in the last two days, these things give Australians hope, and hope is what is fundamental to helping people through these difficult times. That's what we're doing—hope and safety.