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

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Gallagher. This week the Queensland Supreme Court found that measures relating to COVID were mandated on a number of Queensland workers—in this case, police officers and ambulance workers—without adequate consideration of their human rights, as required under the Queensland Human Rights Act. Clearly, this failure is not isolated to Queensland, given that the Queensland government's approach was applied through the National Cabinet, of which the Commonwealth is a member and the chair. Minister, does the Prime Minister accept that vaccine mandates were the National Cabinet's mistake?

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

I thank Senator Roberts for the question. I am aware of that court case which has been recently handed down in relation to vaccination for police and ambulance workers in Queensland. This is a decision of a Queensland court that relates to a vaccine mandate that was a decision of the Queensland government.

The government's position on COVID-19 vaccinations is that they are voluntary, as are all vaccinations in Australia, although we do encourage vaccination and aim to have as many people vaccinated as possible. I would say that there is no doubt of the success of the vaccination program in Australia, and the number of Australians who got vaccinated, particularly in those early waves, protected millions of vulnerable Australians, including Australians in aged care, Australians who had a disability and immunocompromised Australians, who were protected—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Rennick!

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

by the fact that we were able to manage—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, please resume your seat. Senator Rennick, I have called you to order, and you continue to shout out. This is not your question. It's Senator Roberts's question, and the minister has the right to be heard in silence. Minister, please continue.

Minister, please resume your seat. Senator Rennick, I have just called you to order, and you continue to completely disrespect me and not follow my direction. Minister Gallagher, please continue.

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

The public health advice on vaccinations remains very clear. That advice is that vaccinations prevent seriousness of disease—the level of illness that you get—and it prevents hospitalisations, which allows our health system to deal with other health issues, as it's always meant to. Vaccination protects people from serious disease and death. So, from the government's point of view, if you're due for your COVID-19 booster, go and get it, but it is voluntary and, obviously, people will make that decision for themselves. I would also say that, when state governments were having to deal with maintaining services and protecting employees in a pandemic—in an emergency—they made some very, very difficult decisions to protect their communities. National Cabinet supported that, and we support that.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Roberts, first supplementary?

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

Minister, do you acknowledge that human rights were ignored as part of the Commonwealth's response to COVID?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to 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.

Sue Lines (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

Minister, does the Prime Minister agree that only a royal commission has the resources and the powers to fully deal with the legal consequences from this failure to respect human rights?

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

As Senator Roberts knows, we have an independent panel that's currently undertaking the COVID-19 response inquiry. They will bring together the knowledge from all the existing reviews. A number of reviews have been done in the states and reviews have been done in the Commonwealth, in addition to about 200 previous relevant inquiries, and will make recommendations. That panel is independent.

I presume Senator Rennick and others that you are making submissions to that. I am sure you're involved, and I'm sure that the panel will consider your submissions seriously. We believe that because of the number of reviews that have been held and the time frames involved the independent panel that is being commissioned by the Prime Minister will provide us with good recommendations going forward if there are any further areas we need to address.

Opposition senators interjecting—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Order on my left! I have constantly had to call many of you to order over and over again. Question time is the opportunity for the person who's been granted the question to ask the question and for others to listen in silence. There are other opportunities for you to make your contribution. This is not the time for them.