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

The response to that, in part, is contained within your question there, Senator Hanson. And that is that we are not about to introduce legislation to override the states and territories in these matters. We have supported vaccine mandates only in the most limited of circumstances, as Senator Colbeck and others have worked through. Those limited circumstances are for high-risk settings such as aged care. Beyond that, we have strongly encouraged all Australians to get vaccinated and more than 94 per cent have responded by being double-dose vaccinated. We have strongly encouraged people to have the third-dose booster, and many millions have responded by receiving the third-dose booster.

But the decisions of state and territory governments to apply their own mandates in different circumstances are matters between them and their electorates. Of course it is for parties, oppositions and people to make their own determinations in those states and territories.