Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Brockman for his question. I know his enduring work and interest in relation to Australians seeing through the short-term challenges and immediate challenges our nation faces and also the importance of continuing to build a stronger and more secure Australia in the long term.

Our immediate focus as a government continues to be dealing with the immediate health and economic crises but also on setting out a pathway to the return of more normal life. It's built on the clear premise that, by getting people vaccinated, we can make current approaches to lockdowns, border closures and restrictions ultimately a thing of the past. It's not necessarily eliminating safeguards and precautions that have to be taken in relation to infectious diseases but being able to move forward. Just last week the national cabinet agreed, in principle, to our updated four-step plan to chart our path out of the pandemic and the targets we need to reach to get there. It is a uniquely Australian plan, based on clear medical, scientific and economic evidence.

Today we've shared that expert advice from the Doherty institute and the Commonwealth Treasury with Australians. It's a plan that gives every Australian a goal to work towards as a way out of this pandemic. It ensures that, as we get through each phase that we as a country need to reach with the vaccination target on average and for each state and territory, we also know the different steps that can be taken in changed management approaches to COVID-19, whilst still keeping Australians safe. For example, once we get 70 per cent of eligible Australians vaccinated, we'll move to the next phase, where lockdowns will be less likely, restrictions can be eased and many freedoms can be returned. Those steps will be enhanced even further at the 80 per cent stage, as the Doherty institute evidence outlines.

Australia is in a unique position amongst nations of the world, having had the ability to work through such an expert scientific approach that can enable us to work through our vaccine rollout and continue to manage the pandemic in ways that can best position our country for the future.