Zed Seselja (ACT, Liberal Party, Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

There is no higher priority for countries in our region than access to COVID-19 vaccines. Senator Payne and I already have reached out to our counterparts in the Pacific and South-East Asia to underline our commitment and to advance the next steps on vaccine rollouts, including $523.2 million over three years for a COVID-19 vaccine access and health security initiative for the Pacific and South-East Asia. Previously $80 million was committed to the multilateral Covax Facility's advanced market commitment to support vaccination for the populations at greatest risk in 92 developing countries. This initiative offers full vaccine coverage for the Pacific and Timor-Leste, and will enable the procurement of vaccines and provide technical support to prepare for vaccine introduction. We're working closely with New Zealand, France and the United States to ensure our Pacific family have vaccines that are safe and effective and can be accessed to support the economic recovery of the region.