Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Fawcett particularly for this important question, because, throughout COVID-19, the Australian government's sole focus has been on protecting the health and the wellbeing of all Australians. Our domestic response has been guided by expert health advice, and it has been amongst the most successful in the world.

We believe that transparent scientific investigation of how this virus emerged is essential to preventing future global pandemics. Last week, the WHO-convened scientific team studying the origins of COVID-19 concluded its mission to Wuhan. Those investigations are, of course, critical. I particularly want to acknowledge and recognise the contribution of Australia's Professor Dominic Dwyer, a renowned microbiologist from Westmead Hospital in Western Sydney. Australia has consistently advocated for the expert scientific team visiting China to have access to all data, information and key locations relevant to their inquiries. Australia join our key partners—including UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan—in reiterating the need for full access to all information relevant to determining how this pandemic emerged. While there was a lengthy press conference at the conclusion of the mission last week, we are yet to see a formal report with findings, analysis and recommendations for future work. We will consider those scientific findings carefully when they are released, and Australia reiterates again the need for transparency and independence throughout this process. The World Health Assembly resolution of May last year delivered a very clear mandate: to identify the source of the COVID-19 virus and how it was transmitted to humans. Our collective ongoing work is vital, as we all want to establish the origin and spread of this pandemic so that we can learn the lessons and prevent future devastating outbreaks of disease.