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

[by video link] No, it's not. But Senator Pratt's desire to create division across Australia is absolutely a way to hurt the nation. It's a way of trying to hurt and divide. It's a way that will not help Western Australia or any other part of Australia move through the remaining stages of COVID-19 to a better place once we see those vaccination targets hit, which day by day we get closer to thanks to the record numbers of Australians being vaccinated. More than 307,000 people turned out yesterday across the country to have another vaccination dose or to have their first dose, climbing our numbers, as we've seen with our senior Australians—now more than 85 per cent of whom over the age of 70 have had that first dose and so many of them have had the second. They're setting the example, a positive example, that we want Western Australians, South Australians, Victorians, Queenslanders, Tasmanians, New South Welshmen, the Territorians all to be able to have the opportunity to reach those targets, knowing— (Time expired)