Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Roberts for the question. I note the court case and the decision that has been made. I think in times of emergency—a one-in-a-hundred-years pandemic—decisions that state governments and the Commonwealth government took were difficult and, as is always the case with human rights, they balanced up a range of factors when landing on making those decisions. That is always the case. Human rights are not absolute. They are seen in balance, and I think governments did what they believed was in the best interests of their communities in protecting Australia, whether it was the border closures, vaccines, closing schools or having lockdowns. With the benefit of hindsight, people will always argue whether or not those decisions were right, but I think the decisions were made in the interests of the community.