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

I'll deal with Senator Hanson's question and then quickly try to deal with one or two other matters that she raised. The question in relation to state actions around lockdowns and border controls is a reminder that we operate in a federation, where the Commonwealth and the states and territories have constitutional functions and also constitutional and legal rights. The Commonwealth has granted no additional or new rights to the states or territories during the course of the COVID 19 pandemic. They've been exercising rights that they have always held under the Constitution of Australia. Of course, those rights are subject to testing through court or other legal processes, but the Commonwealth does not act as police or a watchdog on the states and territories. They have those rights. However, through the Doherty institute modelling and the work in having that presented to national cabinet, we have sought to provide information, education and understanding and to move towards agreement and consensus around the fact that under all circumstances that are currently known and understood, as the current vaccine rollout progresses, states and territories should be able to step away from widescale lockdowns and restrictions and the use of border restrictions and move progressively to much more targeted approaches, such as the testing, tracing and isolating regimes that are envisaged in the Doherty modelling.

I will deal very quickly with the vaccine matters that Senator Hanson raised and emphasise that the vaccines approved for use in Australia—the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the AstraZeneca vaccine—have both gone through Therapeutic Goods Administration processes in Australia—the normal TGA processes, not expedited like they were in some parts of the world—to assure Australia of safety in relation to those vaccines. The efficacy of those vaccines is proving to be very strong: having two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is estimated to reduce mortality by 92 per cent among those who contract COVID-19 and having two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine is estimated to reduce by 90 per cent mortality in the event of contracting COVID-19. Both are highly effective vaccines, both are safe and both are vaccines that Australians should embrace and use.

In relation to indemnities provided to vaccine manufacturers and to those who administer the vaccines, those indemnities are not about providing money to the company or to the doctor. They are about ensuring that in the very rare instances of there being an adverse reaction to the vaccine the government will provide support for individuals who face those rare consequences. Rather than individuals having to go and sue the doctor or the company, the government will make sure that assistance is there.