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

[by video link] What a pathetic excuse for a question there from Senator Watt. As a government, we are proud to have Mr Morrison leading us through the most uncertain of global times. We're proud of the fact that, as a country, the cooperation shown by all Australians right across this nation has ensured, despite our current difficulties, we do have world-leading outcomes when it has come to the management of COVID-19.

The policies and approaches put in place in Australia have saved lives, tens of thousands of lives, compared with the rest of the world. The economic responses put in place in Australia have saved businesses and saved jobs—hundreds of thousands of jobs—relative to the challenges that have been faced in the rest of the world. These are uncertain times. The delta variant has thrown additional challenges at us, but we are confident Australia will come through it. We won't let those opposite talk this nation down, talk it into some sort of economic abyss. We will see once again, I am certain, with the economic support— (Time expired)