Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Health, Senator Colbeck. In recent months more than one million Australians have participated in freedom protests around our country, with many not wearing a mask and not socially distancing and most being unvaccinated. Opportunity for person-to-person transmission of COVID runs into the tens of millions, which we're told is inviting mass outbreaks. Yet the only case I know of COVID transmission at a freedom rally was a cluster that occurred in the Melbourne rally, and that cluster was amongst antifa antifreedom protesters. Minister, in the last three months how many COVID clusters—that's two or more infections—have occurred at freedom rallies?

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Roberts for the question. I don't think that there have been any attempts to attribute specific COVID infections to any such public event of that nature, and the government doesn't hold data in relation to that. Although, it may be that some of that information is held at a state level, where the contact-tracing processes for COVID-19 are conducted.

I'll go back to something that I've put to the chamber on a number of occasions: the whole point of where the government is going in relation to the vaccination program is to get as many Australians as possible to be vaccinated. We know the vaccine works. We know that it's safe, we know that it supports in protecting us from COVID-19, we know that it protects our families and we know that it protects our communities. One of the really fortunate things that we've seen in this country is the willingness of Australians to go out and get vaccinated. In excess of 92 per cent of Australians have now had a first dose, and in excess of 86 per cent of Australians have now had a second dose. It's one of the reasons that we are able to start to reopen our economy, to reopen our communities, which is what I think the people who are participating in these protests are looking for. They want to see us be able to get around more freely. The decision to take up a vaccine which we know is safe and which we know works is really important.

We continue to monitor circumstances globally, as I said in my answer to Senator Smith's question earlier in question time, so that we can understand what's happening with new variants and so that we can take appropriate actions to protect Australians from those new variants while we learn more about them and get to understand the impact that the vaccines might have on those new variants so that we can keep Australians safe. We will continue to take all of the actions that we need to to do just that.

Slade Brockman (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Roberts, a supplementary question?

Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A European study found that the death rate per 100,000 double-vaccinated subjects averaged 2.5 per month, while the unvaccinated rate was lower, at 1.1. The government has authorised the third booster shot and so must have modelled death rates against overseas experience and have an anticipated outcome from the booster program. Minister, what is the anticipated death rate for triple-vaccinated Australians as compared to unvaccinated Australians?

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

(—) (): One of the things that we've seen here in Australia, and around the world, and one of the things that we've been concerned about as the pandemic has continued to progress is the impact of the virus on the unvaccinated. I know when I was in Japan earlier in the year the reporting out of the US, that I saw on a daily basis, was that in the United States it was becoming very much a pandemic of the unvaccinated. Somewhere between 90 per cent and 95 per cent of those in hospital suffering severe symptoms of COVID-19 were actually unvaccinated. Some figures out of New South Wales earlier this year indicated that similar proportions, 90 per cent to 95 per cent of those in hospital with severe illness, severe symptoms of the virus, were unvaccinated. The data is very clear. It shows up in the circumstances of the most vulnerable, in this country, that the vaccine works. (Time expired)

Slade Brockman (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Roberts, a second supplementary?

Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The South African health minister said on Sky News that the scientist who isolated omicron never said it would be vaccine resistant. Angelique Coetzee, the South African Medical Association chair, stated on Fox: 'Symptoms are so mild we don't know why so much hype has been driven.' Yet Australian media have dialled fear to the maximum. Freedoms are again being removed and big pharma are raking in billions from boosters. Minister, will the death of the Liberal Party be counted as a COVID death or as self-inflicted?

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

(—) (): I suspect a party as proud as the Liberal Party will probably be around for a fair while longer than Pauline Hanson's One Nation party, and I look forward to that. I do agree with Senator Roberts with respect to us needing to take the time, take the moment, to understand the circumstances of this new variant. That's why the government has taken the proportionate measures that it has done to ensure that we have the time to understand what the impacts of this variant might be, with respect to vaccination, with respect to transmission and with respect to the seriousness of its impact on the communities, before we continue the processes that we'd undertaken with respect to opening up. That's why we took the appropriate precautionary response, at the weekend, to say nine nations will cease access to Australia. (Time expired)