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

Among all the big things we have in Australia, nothing is as huge as the debt of gratitude that we owe our healthcare workers. As we start to see glimmers of life beyond the pandemic, I want to thank those who have got us this far: nurses, doctors, paramedics, carers, orderlies, the receptionists whose faces are the first we see as we walk into a clinic, the cleaners who make others' work possible, everyone who has wielded swabs at a testing station and everyone who has analysed them, everyone who has ensured that vaccination hubs run efficiently, everyone who has given us a vaccine that is our ticket out of this. The same spirit we saw among firefighters during the Black Summer, we see among you. When families couldn't visit, you were there, holding hands, giving comfort. This long season of COVID has taken its toll, with some of you falling sick with the very virus that you have protected us from. Yet, you keep putting yourselves on the line for your fellow Australians, sometimes friends, but mostly strangers. All of us are united in our thanks to you. We owe you a great debt. We also owe you to recognise this debt when we think about the wages and conditions that many of you work under, because you deserve much better than you're currently getting.

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

In accordance with standing order 43, the time for members' statements has concluded.