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

I thank Senator Small for his question and, in thanking Senator Small, I want to, in particular, thank all Australians, whom we are indebted and grateful to for all they have done, throughout 2021, as a nation, to stand together—particularly in the face of the once-in-a-century global pandemic that our nation and the world has been grappling with, which has resulted in the largest economic shock to the world since the Great Depression. Australians have demonstrated their resilience, and they should be congratulated and thanked for the efforts they have made, including coming out in droves to get vaccinated, with more than 39 million doses administered nationally, more than 92 per cent of the eligible population over 16 having had a first dose and more than 87 per cent now having had a second dose.

COVID continues to be an enormous challenge right around the world. Only a few months ago, the delta strain was wreaking havoc here—as it has across so many nations, as the dominant variant. But lockdowns and restrictions that were put in place have helped to save lives and livelihoods, alongside the strong economic policies and support measures that have been in place.

Australia has fared far better than much of the rest of the world. On a per capita basis, the UK and the USA have had over 40 times the number of COVID deaths compared to Australia. By avoiding death rates such as those in OECD nations, we've managed to save over 30,000 lives. We've also fared far better than most countries on the economic front. Whilst we saw a contraction in the September quarter, this was during the period of the lockdowns across New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT. But our economy has been roaring back. Job ads are more than 30 per cent higher than they were at the start of the pandemic. In fact, they're at a 12-year high. More than 350,000 jobs have come back since the start of September. We're on a pathway to see unemployment at or below five per cent for a sustained period—only the second time that has happened in 50 years. That's the strength, and that's thanks to the hard work of Australians.