Speeches
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
10 August 2021
Prime Minister: Well, good morning everyone. I’m joined by the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction to address the very serious issue of the IPCC report. Before I do that, though, the news out of New South Wales today, hard news, really difficult news. Three hundred and fifty six cases, four reported deaths. We are in a tough, tough fight with this Deltra strain, a tough fight. And, I want to thank everyone across New South Wales, right across the country, other places going through lockdowns as well. But, we know that the fight in New South Wales is the toughest of all of those fights, and there's a lot at stake. You know, I want Australia to get to Christmas, but I want everybody around that table at Christmas time. And, that’s the seriousness of this issue and that’s the seriousness with which it’s being addressed by I know by the New South Wales Government and our Government, and we will do everything we can to ensure we achieve that goal.
And, on another very serious matter, the IPCC report, which once again affirms the serious challenge that we face here in Australia because of the serious implications for Australia of what's happening globally, but also for our region. And, just last week I met with the Pacific Island leaders again, and their advocacy on this has been consistent and strong, and something I've been very mindful of and listen to carefully. A serious challenge not just for Australia and advanced countries around the world, but all countries around the world. And, the IPCC report affirms to me again my fundamental belief about how we must address this global challenge.
We must take action, as we indeed are, and continue to take action, as we will continue to, in developed countries, in advanced economies. But, we cannot ignore the fact that the developing world accounts for two thirds of global emissions, and those emissions are rising. That is a stark fact. It is also a clear fact that China's emissions account for more than the OECD combined. Now, I make that point not to say that we should be posing taxes on this, these countries. Quite the contrary. I totally understand and accept that the advanced world, the advanced economies of the world have developed their economies over a long time, principally on the basis of fossil fuel industries. That is accepted. And, I think it's a very fair argument that the developing world makes, which says why should our economic futures be denied when advanced economies around the world have been able to go forward on that basis of their energy economies over a long period of time? I think that's a very fair point. But, it doesn't change the calculus of climate change.
The Australian approach is not to tax them or deny them the employment and the jobs in the industries that they should have, just as we should have them here in this country. But, to enable them. World history teaches one thing, technology changes everything. That is the game changer. Governments, political leaders can pretend to these things but, I'll tell you what makes the difference, technology changes on the ground. And, that is why our approach is technology, not taxes, to solving this problem. It's not enough for the technology to work with a tax in an advanced economy. That doesn't solve the problem, because it doesn't solve the problem in India. It doesn't solve it in India, in Vietnam, or in Indonesia or in China or in South Africa. It doesn't solve the problem. The emissions keep going up because of the choices that they will necessarily make. And, so, what's important is that we ensure that the technology breakthroughs that are necessary to transform the world over the next 10, 20 and 30 years are realised.
When I was at the G7, we spoke about a number of issues. We spoke about this issue. But, the day before we spoke about COVID, and we talked about how science and technology is helping us, in fact, enabling us to ultimately beat COVID-19. And, we discussed how important it was to get vaccines right around the world in order to be true to the principle that unless the world was vaccinated, then we would still have serious issues when it comes to how this virus would continue to impact on the planet.
It's no different when it comes to addressing the challenge of global climate change. Unless we can get the change in the developing countries of the world, then what we're seeing in these IPCC reports will occur. And, so, we need to take a different approach. We need to focus on the technological breakthroughs that are necessary to change the world and how we operate, and make sure that is done right across the world, not just in advanced countries. It's not enough. Australia is, must and continue to do its part, and Australia has a strong track record of performance, and we intend for that to continue to increase in the years ahead. And, Angus will speak more to that, about what's being achieved and what's being planned and how that is occurring.
Australia is part of the solution. Our emissions have fallen by 20 per cent since 2005. We are the only country to our knowledge, that engages in the transparency of reporting our emissions reductions, every sector, every gas, every quarter. No other country, to our knowledge, does that. They may do it on this one or that one. But, not every emission, not every sector, every gas and every quarter. Australia's record of reducing emissions stands above those who are claiming to achieve bigger things in the future, but haven't achieved it to date. They haven't achieved it to the extent that Australia has. They can't claim the highest solar uptake on households in the world. They can't claim a rate of renewable uptake eight times the global average per capita, like Australia can. Australia is part of the solution. Australia is doing its part as part of the solution, and Australia will continue to do more as part of that solution, because we understand what it means for our own country.
Our commitments are backed up by plans, and we don't make them lightly. We consider them carefully. Australians deserve to know the implications and the costs and what the plans are. I did that before the last election. I said what our 2030 commitment was. I explained how I thought we would get there. I explained the costs to Australians, and Australians supported us. I will do that again as we go into the commitments later this year. I'll do it again before the next election. I won't be signing a blank cheque on behalf of Australians to targets without plans. We will set out a clear plan, as we have been working to do. Australians deserve to know, and they will from us. Regional communities should not be forced to carry the national burden, and I won't let them. I will ensure that we have a plan that addresses the need for jobs and industries that can be supported by new energy technologies, both now and into the future. I will not be asking people in the regions of this country to carry the burden for the country alone. I'll be ensuring that we have a plan that addresses their, their critical needs, that addresses their anxieties, and seeks to bring the whole country with us on this very important task that we have together.
So, we have an Australian way to deal with this challenge and it's been put into place. I'll tell you what the Australian why isn't, the Australian way is not what we have seen with the vandalism in our capital today. I don't associate, in any way, shape or form, that foolishness with the good-hearted nature of Australians who care deeply about this issue, as I do and my Government does. I don't associate them with this. They have no part with that foolishness today, any more than we've seen in other selfish protests around this country. Australians care deeply about this issue, and so does our Government. Action will be taken against those who have committed those offences in our capital today, as they should and, I think Australians who, regardless of what their position on this issue, would agree with that. That is not the way we go forward. There is a woman that I wave to almost every morning when I come into this building, as I drive up. And there's often people, as you all know, who will be putting their point across peacefully and calmly down there on the ramp coming up into Parliament House. She's there almost every morning and she makes this point every day, and she gives me a wave and she gives me a smile. I'll tell you what, I'm listening to her. I'm listening to Australians about this issue. And, more than that, we're taking action that I think will actually make the difference. We need the technological changes that will transform the global energy economy of the world. It's not good enough for it to just happen to Australia and the United States and in Europe. It must happen in these other countries, and they must have prosperity. Otherwise, we will not fix this. That is the Australian way. Angus.
The Hon. Angus Taylor MP, Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction: Well, thanks, PM. And of course this report underscores the enormous importance of the work that Australia is doing to reduce our emissions but it also underscores the importance of coordinated global action to reduce emissions. It underscores the importance of practical solutions to bring down global emissions, find those pathways that allow countries across the globe to strengthen their economy, at the same time as they’re bringing down emissions. And the pathway to do that is technology, not taxes, not defacing buildings. The technology investments that we know solve hard problems, have been solving hard problems for humans for a long, long time. That means commercial, competitive technology that developing countries can adopt, just as Australia is adopting at a rapid pace, to bring down their emissions and strengthen their economies at the same time.
Now, we know in Australia this approach is working. We have the highest rate of installed solar PV in the world. One in four houses in Australia with solar on their roofs. That’s world leading, that’s world beating. We're seeing extraordinary changes in farming practices, in the deployment of soil testing technologies by farmers across this country bringing down emissions, contributing to Australia's performance, whereby we met and beat our Kyoto targets, our 2020 targets, 459 million tonnes. We beat those targets, almost a year's worth of emissions. We're on track to meet and beat our 2030 targets as well. Indeed, in the last two years alone, our performance versus our 2030 targets has been the equivalent of taking every car off the road, 14.5 million cars off the road for 15 years. That's the improvement in just two years. We improve our performance versus our targets every year, and we have done since we got into Government.
Of course, the heart of this is those priority technologies that we laid out in a Technology Investment Roadmap. Clean hydrogen, three of the biggest electrolyser projects in the world announced just recently, 10 megawatt projects in Australia. Just as we've led the world on solar PV, we will lead the world on clean hydrogen, healthy soils, soil carbon. Just as we've led the world on installed solar PV, we will lead the world on healthy soils, energy storage, Snowy 2, a huge storage project to make sure that not only can we absorb the record renewables investment in our grid, seven gigawatts just in the last year alone, more than the entire time under the previous Labor Government, absorbing those renewables, but also bringing down emissions with flexible dispatchable storage. Clean steel, clean aluminium. The change is happening. The change is happening. The investments are happening.
We've committed $20 billion in the coming years. That'll bring forward a total of $80 billion of public and private sector investment in deploying and developing these technologies that will make a difference not just in Australia, but these five priority technologies will either eliminate or substantially reduce emissions across sectors responsible for 90 per cent of the world's emissions. This is the way we do it, partnering with countries across the world. Of the $1.1 billion of additional funding we put in at the last Budget, $568 [million] is for partnerships with countries across the world. We've already signed partnerships with Singapore, with the UK, with Germany, with Japan, and will continue to do so to make sure these technologies are developed and deployed in ways that allow us to strengthen our economies, create jobs, drive investment and bring down emissions at the same time. That's the Australian way.
Journalist: Prime Minister, the US President, the British Prime Minister, the Secretary-General of the OECD Mathias Cormann, they’re all calling for urgency and ambition when it comes to this issue. Are you willing to show more ambition? And, if so, where is the modelling at, would you release it before you go to or the Minister goes to the COP in Glasgow? And, on the other big story of the day, of course the immediate urgency of the Sydney outbreak, should Gladys Berejiklian lockdown harder like Melbourne, or is she right when she says Delta is different, it can't be controlled?
Prime Minister: Let me deal with the, the first point. We need more performance. We need more technology. And, no one will be matching our ambition for a technology driven solution, because I believe that's what will work. And we, of course, will be updating where we’re up to on our, what we expect to achieve in 2030, when the Glasgow summit is held. We will definitely do that. As I said, Australia is the most transparent country in the world when it comes to our reporting on emissions reductions. And, I'll be calling on the rest of the world to match our transparency. They should. One of the reasons it's so hard to compare Australia's strong performance against other countries is because you have to go back several years, because that's the latest data you can get from so many countries.
I think the reporting arrangements and the transparency that sits around emissions reduction is a key tool. Angus makes a very good point about what's been achieved on households and on soils. See Australian businesses, Australian farmers, Australian manufacturers, Australian miners, they're making the change now. It's happening. There's not a shop floor I walk into, a mine I go down in. There's not a farm I visit that is not already making changes. And a point I make, particularly to those overseas, that's one of the biggest movers in transforming how they move to a net zero business is our mining and resources industry, whether it's what Andrew Forrest is doing in Fortescue and his work in hydrogen or indeed what Rio and BHP are also doing in those areas. Our biggest miners are having the biggest performance outcomes in how they're transforming our businesses. Australian businesses, Australian farmers, Australian manufacturers are transforming what they're doing. Why? Because they get it. They get it and those Australians get it. They know where the world is heading and they know the changes that they need to make to be competitive in that world and to be successful in that world. Our policies are supporting that. The changes that they are making, our policies have been supporting. And that's why Australia has been able to reduce its emissions more than so many advanced economies around the world.
Sorry, on the other matter. I was asked on the other matter, I have always said very clearly that in the suppression phase, lockdowns have to work. Vaccines certainly support it. And Delta is like nothing else we've seen and is a complete game changer. And I want to stress something I said yesterday. To get to Phase B when we go into seventy per cent of the country having been double dose vaccinated, the stronger we go into that phase, minimising the number of cases, you can't eliminate COVID. We all understand that and no one's seeking to do that. That is not any government's policy in this country. But minimising those cases is going to ensure that we go into the next phase a lot stronger. You know, Australians have made great sacrifices to be able to get us into the position we have been in. We are not going to squander that. And it's really important. That's why I say to my fellow Sydneysiders, it's important we stay home. It's important we make this lockdown work. It's important that we don't give up on it. It's important that we apply ourselves to it and make sure it works. And we will be giving every support we can to the New South Wales Government, whether it's in the work we're doing through COVID Assist or COVID Shield, getting additional vaccines into New South Wales to support that effort. As we've done in other states and territories, we'll give them every support. But the lockdown is important to suppress the virus. So when we get to the next phase, we go in stronger, not weaker. Too many Australians have done too much to put us in a strong position. We cannot squander it.
Journalist: You mention Andrew Forrest, he says that the report proves the human race is slowly cooking itself. Do you agree with him? And also, there are still people within the Coalition who don't believe in climate change or don't believe it's occurring to the extent that this report has outlined. Matt Canavan this morning said that the coal assumptions in the report are overstated and therefore the numbers can't be trusted. How do you bring people like that on board with your commitment to actually take action on this issue?
Prime Minister: The Government's policy is clear and the Government's position is very clear. We need to take action to address climate change and are. It's also the Government's job, in fact, it's everybody in this building's job to take all Australians forward with us on this. There are many Australians right across the country, whether they live in our suburbs or in regional areas, who have great anxieties about these changes and what it means for them. Will they have a job? Will their kids have a job? Will their electricity prices go up? They have real serious concerns about that. And we can't be flippant about those or dismiss them. I don't. I take them very seriously. And that's why the sensible, responsible action that our Government is taking in having a plan to achieve these things and explaining it to Australians, as I did before the last election on our 2030 commitments and we'll continue to do, is so important because we're a very big country. The pressures on Australians are different right across the country and we can't be blind to them. We need to be open to them and we need to explain how the policies we're putting in place is protecting them and their future, their jobs, but also their future. And that's what our policies are designed to achieve. Greg.
Journalist: You've just said that in response to Kieran, that you will take an updated projections, I suppose to 2030, to Glasgow.
Prime Minister: Nothing new about that.
Journalist: But are you considering updating the formal 2030 target or taking a 2035 target to Glasgow, or is that, are medium term targets off the table for that conference?
Prime Minister: We will meet and beat our targets and we will update what we expect to achieve by 2030, as we always do. And we will make that very clear about what Australia is achieving and what we intend to achieve. And we'll make further statements about that between now and that summit. But Angus, did you want to add to that?
The Hon. Angus Taylor MP, Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction: Yeah, that's exactly right PM. The point I would make is that we are already on track to meet and beat our 2030 targets. We update our projections every year. We have an extraordinary track record of beating those projections and we'll update them this year, as we always do.
Journalist: When you flagged net zero by 2050 at the Press Club earlier this year, you said agriculture would be exempt from the heavy lifting because they'd already done enough of the burden with Kyoto.
Prime Minister: That’s exactly what I said Phil, I mean, what I've said is that I'm not going to allow regional Australians to carry the burden for the country. I'm not. I'm going to find ways to achieve these goals, which takes the agricultural industry forward that I haven't made any comments about exemptions or any things like that.
Journalist: [inaudible] make the sacrifice?
Prime Minister: Well, I don't want other Australians to have to do that, not just in regional areas. I want us to have a way forward that enables our economy to grow and we continue to reduce our emissions and we transform our economy for the simple reason that we are very aware of the risks that are set out in the IPCC report. But I'm also very aware of the significant changes that are happening in the global economy. I mean, financiers are already making decisions regardless of governments about this. I want to make sure that Australian companies can get loans. I want to make sure that Australians can access finance. I want to make sure that our banks will finance into the future so they can provide the incredible support that they provide to Australian buying homes and all of these things. The world economy is changing. That's just a fact. And Australians, we need to continue to change with it to remain competitive. And this issue is clearly directing a lot of that change. And we're conscious of it. And that's why we're seeking to position Australia to be successful in it, to address the very real and environmental risks that are set out in these reports, but also to ensure Australia is economically competitive. And I want our neighbours to be competitive, too. I want Indonesia to be competitive. I want Vietnam to be competitive, because these are our trading partners. And the more successful Indonesia is and other countries in our region, well, the more successful Australia will be because we are trading nation with them and we have excellent trading arrangements and agreements with them. But yep sure, sorry Phil.
Journalist: You said in your opening remarks you don't want regional Australia to bear the burden. Is that a shift from what you said earlier in the year? Are you going broader than just agriculture?
Prime Minister: No. I mean, what I'm saying today is what I've been consistently saying for a very long time. Australia under my Government will have a plan to achieve what we're setting out and we will be transparent with Australians about what it means. I don't make blank cheque commitments. I'll leave that to others. You know, blank cheque commitments you always end up paying for and you always end up paying for it in higher taxes. That's what the alternative approach is. That's not my approach. That's never been my approach. My approach is finding practical solutions to what are very practical problems. And that practical problem is ensuring that the technology that works here needs to work in other parts of the world and we're positioning Australia to be in the forefront of that. And our hydrogen strategy, our carbon capture and storage, our soil carbon, all of these initiatives are about positioning Australia to be successful in that world. Chris.
Journalist: Are you saying that when we get to Glasgow at the end of this year, that the dispensation that's been given to China should end?
Prime Minister: What I'm saying is that focusing on political solutions won't solve this problem. Focusing on technology solutions will. And technology needs to work and be competitive with the fossil fuels alternatives in developing countries. That must be our goal. That's what we must invest in because otherwise we won't achieve it. The technologies won't be taken up, commitments will be made and commitments won't be met. We've seen that before, not from Australia, I hasten to add. But commitments are only as good as the plan that backs them in and the technology that makes it work. So the most important thing is having the technology that makes it work. Now both Angus and I have had, you know, very, very useful and positive discussions and agreements that we've been able to put in place. And Angus, you may wish to refer to those in the discussions you've been directly having. I mean, John Kerry put it best. He put it best when he said "if China went to zero tomorrow with the United States, we would still have a problem. So every country has to come to the table. This is the single biggest multilateral global negotiation the world has ever known. I agree with that. He said that if America reduced its emissions to zero and China kept going where it was, well, we wouldn't make a lick of difference, basically. And that's the point. We need a solution that addresses the real commercial challenges of developing countries to solve this problem. So it's not about punishment. It's not about politics. It's about technology and technology that works in countries that need it to transform their economies, provide jobs and livelihoods for people to ensure that they can prosper as we have in advanced countries like ours. I recognise that equity issue. I think it's a very real issue. But the thing that solves it is not political commitments. It's real technology. That works on the ground. Kath.
Journalist: Will you embrace the target of net zero by 2050 and will you go to Glasgow?
Prime Minister: I'm asking Kath. Kath had her hand up.
Journalist: I had a question but a different one. Just two things. I'll have another go on 2030, because the Minister says you're taking projections to Glasgow. You're saying you'll take projections to Glasgow and we might get back to you on something else. So what is it?
Prime Minister: Well, I just said I'll make further comments about this before Glasgow and we update our commitments every year so if there's anything further to say at that time, we'll say it at that time.
Journalist: And if I may, if I may, you've dwelled a lot in your comments today, in your comments up to today, about the cost of action. And you're not going to allow regional communities to shoulder the cost of action etc, etc. The point of the IPCC report is the cost of inaction. Will any government modelling that you're currently undertaking to put costs in front of people also include a cost of inaction?
Prime Minister: Well, the need to take action is informed by that very point. By that very point. The cost of inaction globally is very clear in what the IPCC report sets out today. The government needs no further motivation about the need to take action. That's why we're taking it. That's why we've invested $20 billion over the next 10 years and the technology that transforms this. So it's quite clear that my government understands the need to take action because of the broader cost. I want to be very clear though, that there is not a direct correlation between the action that Australia takes and the temperature in Australia. I don't think anyone is suggesting that. The temperature in Australia is determined by what's happening all over the world, we all understand that. But Australia has to be part of that. Australia is part of that. Australia is performing as part of that. And Australia will continue to perform and we will continue to do more and more and more. And I'm going to seek to take the entire country with us on that to ensure that, that all Australians have a future wherever they live today. And they're able to do that based on an economic and environmental plan that helps them achieve that which we're transparent about and we're very clear with Australians about. We've got time for one more.
Journalist: Prime Minister, you mentioned the importance of minimising cases before entering Phase B. With 350 cases in New South Wales today, do you have confidence that the state can get back to around zero cases, or is Delta too widespread? And you also said you want Australians to make it to Christmas and be around the table. Are you willing to take greater control under the Biosecurity Act to contain the outbreak, such as sending in the ADF?
Prime Minister: Well the ADF are already in. The ADF are in at the direction of the lawful authorities in New South Wales. I would caution you against over assuming about what the powers of the Biosecurity Act do. The ADF can be there and are there and they are most effective when they're operating under the lawful direction of the state government authorities, the police, because they are the sworn officers. And that's what the ADF are doing right now. And I'm very pleased that the New South Wales Government took up that invitation for the ADF to be there, as indeed Premier Andrews did last year. And they did a great job in assisting with the success ultimately of the lockdown in Victoria. And so that's why they're there and that's why we're very pleased that we're able to make that assistance available to them. What I've said is Delta makes getting to that zero cases infectious in the community incredibly difficult. I don't doubt that for a second. And far less likely than it was under previous strains of the virus, which that was able to be achieved without lockdowns, which New South Wales did achieve without lockdowns, I hasten to add.
But what I do think remains really important in New South Wales and not just for those in Sydney, but for the rest of the country, the whole country, Australians have worked so hard to get us to the situation we're in right now where we have been able to keep the cases relatively low compared to the rest of the world. We have one of the lowest death rates in the world from COVID, and we want to be able to continue to achieve that as best as we possibly can as we continue through the suppression phase. And that's why there aren't any shortcuts to lockdowns. You've got to make them work as best as you possibly can. So in Sydney, please stay home unless you really have an urgent need to go and do something outside the house. For other states that are going through similar lockdowns now, then please do the same thing because we need to keep those cases low. I want to get there by Christmas, but I want everyone around the table at Christmas. Thank you very much.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
9 August 2021
Prime Minister, Minister for Health and Aged Care
PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon everyone, I'm joined by the Minister for Health and Aged Care Greg Hunt, but I'm also joined today by the head of the Therapeutic Goods Administration, Professor John Skerritt, today, John, and can I thank you for all the great work the TGA has been doing throughout the course of this pandemic, making sure that the vaccines that Australians have access to are safe. This is very important. Australia has one of the best records in the world when it comes to the administration of vaccines. We don't cut corners when it comes to vaccines. We ensure that the world class regulators that we have and Professor Skerritt is certainly one of those leading an outstanding organisation that has a very straightforward task. And that is to ensure that what they give the stamp to, what they put their support for in the approvals they give means that you can get those jabs, whether they are for your children on immunisation or indeed for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today we have been given the green light to take another very important step forward to implement our national plan on the path forward out of COVID-19. The Therapeutic Goods Administration has given provisional approval for the use of Moderna for Australians aged 18 years and over. This means we have an additional 25 million doses of Moderna to add to the 125 million Pfizer doses and 53 million AstraZeneca doses we have already started rolling out. We will have 10 million of Moderna doses arriving before the end of this year. The first one million doses is on track to arrive next month and will go to pharmacies. Then we will have three million on October, three million in November and three million in December. This is another important tool that we have in our battle against COVID. We'll have it in our hands and we'll have the jabs in our arms starting next month. This is our plan to ensure that we get Australia to where we need to get to this year. We have more Pfizer, we have more AstraZeneca, and now we have Moderna. We have more doctors. We have more nurses, we have more pharmacists. We have more jabs in arms. And now 10 million Moderna to add this year.
With more than 1.3 million vaccine doses delivered in just one week, that is almost the population of the city of Adelaide, with 676 pharmacy sites, with 5,765 GPs enlisted and out there providing jabs and providing important advice. With the state hubs that are in place and rolling out, the national plan to get the jabs in arms, to implement the national plan is working. We have a plan to get to 70 per cent of Australians vaccinated before the end of the year. We can do this because we are doing this. Every vaccination saves lives. Every vaccination gets us a step closer to where we want to be. And I want to thank, as I did in Question Time today, all Australians who rolled up their sleeves and thank Australians who are coming forward to roll up their sleeves to arm themselves against the COVID-19 pandemic. We still have a journey to travel together, but that's how we will do it. We will do it together. Australia will get this job done. Greg.
THE HON. GREG HUNT MP, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE: Ah thanks very much PM and Professor Skerritt. Moderna is the next vaccine to help save lives and protect lives in Australia. It comes on top of AstraZeneca and Pfizer and it will be complemented by Novavax and supplies from the COVAX facility. The Prime Minister set the achievement out in the approval. John will set out more of the details. I'll just give a very brief update on the vaccination programme.
As we know, over 1.33 million vaccinations in the last week. And as the PM said, that's almost the population of Adelaide, it's the population of Canberra, Newcastle, Geelong together. And it gives you a sense of what's being achieved. On five days last week, there were over 200,000 vaccinations and with 240,000 vaccinations on one day, that's the equivalent of more than three million vaccinations a day in the United States. And so that acceleration has actually happened. But these additional vaccines will allow it to continue further.
Just to provide another brief update, as the PM mentioned, we now have over 5,700 primary care points of presence and the pharmacies are now over 670, 676 are ready to vaccinate this week, and that will increase to over 1,500 by next week and over 2,500 two weeks from now. So additional vaccines, additional vaccination points, a record number of vaccinations, all of that has led to over 13.7 million vaccinations in Australia. It's led to a situation where AstraZeneca has been the workhorse with more than 7.4 million vaccinations and Australians are stepping forward and are continuing to do that. We've seen the reports that, confirmed reports, that Victoria is opening up new channels and we thank them for that. And so what that means is that with the arrival in Australia, we've just had 1.2 million Pfizer arrive in Australia in the last 24 hours. That's what's allowing us to expand to some of the states by bringing forward doses. With those arrivals, this week, we're expecting to distribute two million vaccines for the states, approximately 670,000 Pfizer and 41,000 AstraZeneca. For primary care, 447,000 Pfizer and 832,000 AstraZeneca are the orders that have been placed and will be delivered over the course of this week. Taken together, all of these doses offer Australians the chance to step forward, to continue to be vaccinated and to protect their lives and to protect the lives of everyone they love. John.
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR JOHN SKERRITT, HEAD OF THE THERAPEUTIC GOODS ADMINISTRATION: Thank you, Prime Minister, and thank you, Minister. So as the Prime Minister and Minister have said, we're delighted to have provided regulatory approval to the Moderna vaccine just within the last hour. It's also known as Spikevax (elasomeran), but like many things, the trade names will probably stick. And it's the fourth vaccine to receive regulatory approval in Australia. As many people will know, that regulatory approval is advised by a committee of external, medical and community experts, and they strongly supported its regulatory approval.
Now, some of you may be aware that very recently Europe has authorised or at least recommended its use for children in over 12. We made the decision in conjunction with the company to do the adults first because that enabled us to reach a decision earlier, which can then start the whole process of access to the vaccine in Australia earlier. The data on the teenagers does look good and we should be able to make a decision, again, convening the expert advisory committee within the next three or four weeks on an application for use in 12 and over. It’s highly efficacious. And of course, we can build on widespread global experience. So in the US alone, there has been over 140 million doses of Moderna used. The other really encouraging thing about Moderna is even after six months, it's proving to be 93 per cent efficacious against any infection, 98 per cent against severe disease and 100 per cent against death. And that's really exciting.
Now, none of us has a crystal ball and no medical expert will be able to say you will need a booster on a certain date. But it's very exciting to see such sustained activity of that vaccine six months after. It also seems to be quite efficacious against variants, although the company is doing some further work on development of variants. A little bit different from Pfizer, it does require two doses, 28 days apart, although like Pfizer, it's a messenger RNA vaccine.
Now, I've been asked to briefly talk also about Sitrovomab and some of the medical evidence underpinning that substance. Now, I do need to emphasise it is still under evaluation by TGA and given the need to ensure there's access to supplies as per vaccines, it's entirely appropriate that an advance purchasing agreement was made. And we're looking at the use of that product in teenagers and adults over 12 years old who have mild and moderate disease but have risk factors for progression to serious COVID. And again, our advisory committee will look at that on this Thursday. We're working closely with GSK, but a regulatory decision should be able to be made very soon so this drug can be made available to those who need it, especially in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and other cities that are managing the pandemic.
And finally, there's other drugs coming through. And drugs will not replace vaccines. For most viral diseases, it's important to have both drugs and vaccines. And so my team is not only still working on second and third generation vaccines, but we're also increasingly working on a range of about half a dozen really exciting drug candidates. And we're also talking to a number of companies about further drug candidates.
Finally, I've been asked to touch very briefly on rapid antigen tests. Now, these tests have attracted a lot of interest in recent times. And not only is the Commonwealth working with the aged care sector on trials of these tests, but we're also working very closely with industry. And I particularly want to call out the Business Council of Australia, where some of their major members, such as the Commonwealth Bank, are already using these tests in their branches who are providing essential services in western and south western Sydney during these challenging times. Now, as many of you know, these tests are not the gold standard PCR tests, but they are useful, adjunct to it. And the message is, if you come up positive in a rapid antigen test, go ahead and as soon as possible, isolate and get tested for the PCR gold standard test. We're also working on wider availability of these tests, but clearly there are a range of things that have to be resolved, such as collection and recording of data. One of the reasons why Australia has been able to manage the pandemic so well compared with other countries, and I would remind you that even in the UK just last week, there were many days of over 100 deaths. Fortunately, we haven't been anywhere near that at any stage during the pandemic. And so we're working on a number of things, such as can these tests being used more widely, but clearly recording of data, making sure people go and have that positive test, making sure these tests are used at the appropriate time. For example, they work most reliably when there is a concentration of possible cases and also, for example, when you are immediately infectious. And so we're working very closely with business and the aged care sector and others and the states and territories have shown a lot of leadership in this area. And we do expect that while they will never replace a PCR test, they will continue to have an increasing role in testing for COVID-19 infection. Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you, Professor Skerritt. Yes, Lanai.
JOURNALIST: So what can you tell us about whether or not Australian children aged six months to 12 will participate in the Moderna trial? And secondly, the IPCC report is out later this afternoon. Will your government commit to net zero emissions by 2050 before Glasgow?
PRIME MINISTER: I'll come back to other questions, non COVID-related later in the press conference after Professor Skerritt leaves us, which is our usual practise, as you know. So while we're on the COVID issues, I'll ask Professor Skerritt to address them.
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR JOHN SKERRITT, HEAD OF THE THERAPEUTIC GOODS ADMINISTRATION: Thank you, Prime Minister. So, Moderna has made statements, but like many other companies in this business, they're major competitors. They are interested in testing the efficacy of our vaccines in children even as young as six months. And we welcome that because while preschoolers and young children, we have to be absolutely convinced about safety, as this, as we move to learn more and more about COVID, it is important to understand the role of these vaccines in children, the same with flu vaccines. At this stage in Australia, there's been no application to conduct a clinical trial in Australia. The company did make a statement, but there was a number of countries they may consider running a clinical trial. But we do not have an application to run a clinical trial at this stage.
JOURNALIST: Can I follow on from that? What's the process for Moderna to set up that trial, which it has indicated it wants to do? Does it first have to gain approval from the TGA to even give its vaccine to somebody as young as one or two years old? And then does it require TGA approval for the trial itself? Can you just go through that?
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR JOHN SKERRITT, HEAD OF THE THERAPEUTIC GOODS ADMINISTRATION: The process essentially would be that they would apply to relevant major hospital networks and the ethics and research committees of those, and they would make a decision based on the safety and the appropriate controls and informed consent and all of those things. That information would then come through to us. It is generally a, it's technically called a notification, although we often do discuss trials of particular interest with the companies. But it is a rapid process as far as we are concerned. But the most important thing is that the major hospital systems, which in this case would be the state and territory public systems, would have oversight of any trial, even if the actual trial was done in an outpatient setting. It is possible that some of these trials can also be done in the private sector. But again, it requires oversight by research and ethics committees and a formal notification of the details of a trial to the TGA.
JOURNALIST: [inaudible] batch testing obviously has to be done. When will the first shots of Moderna go into arms? And secondly, just in the last few minutes, I think the last hour or so, South Korea are saying that its Moderna supply for this month is going to be half and it's blaming global supply problems. What assurance, maybe the Minister there, what assurance have we got from Moderna that we will actually get this vaccine?
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR JOHN SKERRITT, HEAD OF THE THERAPEUTIC GOODS ADMINISTRATION: So I'll just cover off on batch testing. We have already received reagents from Moderna because one of the things about any new laboratory test is the team, first of all, has to be trained in it. And secondly, they have to test with practise samples. The team has been doing that for the last couple of weeks and we're now on top of the testing processes. We have all their methods. So we will be batch testing. Now that can either be done in our labs or a small number of laboratories with whom we have very close working relationships in Europe. But every batch before it goes into Australian arms will be batch tested from Moderna.
THE HON. GREG HUNT MP, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE: As late as the weekend, the advice from Moderna to me directly was that we're expecting one million in the second half of September. And as exactly as the Prime Minister set out, three million in each of October, November and December. But as we do, we are constantly, with all of our suppliers, checking and pushing to bring forward. But that advice was provided over the weekend.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, we're five weeks away from the mid-September deadline for aged care workers to have their first dose of a vaccine. Given how close that is, and that we're still a long way off getting the full workforce vaccinated, at what point do aged care providers have to seriously consider letting staff who say they will not be vaccinated go, so they have time to …
PRIME MINISTER: I just couldn’t hear that last bit, sorry.
JOURNALIST: At what point do providers have to ask staff who refuse to get vaccinated to leave so they have time to replace that workforce? Or, what happens in mid-September if we don't reach the one dose quota for every worker?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, well, I’ll, the Minister may also want to add to what I'm saying. We've been working closely with the aged care providers. That's what the Federal Government has been doing to achieve these rates of vaccination amongst the aged care workers. What I'm very pleased about is that the work we put into making sure that the residents of aged care facilities have been vaccinated at the, way higher than 80 per cent level, up to about 86 I think it is …
THE HON. GREG HUNT MP, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE: Eighty-seven now.
PRIME MINISTER: Eighty-seven per cent on first dose and 83, I think, on second dose. That is proving to be enormously helpful in preventing what we saw in Victoria last year, which was terrible. This year in Sydney, and the outbreak we've seen there, those double dose vaccinations across all aged care facilities have proved to be extremely effective. But, you move to the next level, as we have been, and working consistently on this. This has been one of the highest taskings of Operation COVID Shield and General Frewen, and they've been working through it systematically. Now, at this point, there is, there are no states or territories that have put in place public health orders on this matter, that has mandated that requirement, and that is a matter for them. But, what we are doing is working with the providers, ensuring that there will be a transparency, not just at a state level, but at a facility level to ensure that residents and their families understand what is occurring at those facilities and the levels of vaccination. But, I would say this to families too. I would urge you, when your, if your loved one is going into an aged care facility, please ensure they’re vaccinated first. That question will obviously be raised by the aged care facility when they go into that facility. But, it's even better that the answer is yes when they go in. And, it's important to have, it's important to have that discussion because we know that if a resident is in an aged care facility and they haven't had vaccination, they still remain very vulnerable, as we have seen, sadly, very, very recently. But, Greg, did you want to add to that?
THE HON. GREG HUNT MP, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE: Sure. Just to Clare’s question, we have no reason to believe the states will do anything other than proceed with the public health orders. I think that was where you were going. Secondly, the plan that we have and we've worked on, and I was working in this building on Saturday with Lieutenant General Frewen on precisely the question of age care worker vaccinations. I set out in Question Time the channels, but very specifically every aged care facility in Australia is expected to, and on the advice that I have, does have a plan to complete that vaccination process over the course of the period between now and the middle of September. In particular, as part of that, there is also an exceptional circumstances provision that if there were a barrier such as, for example, a lockdown which prevented workers being vaccinated, there's common sense which backs it up.
PRIME MINISTER: Chris. Chris.
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible] has repeatedly said that she's aiming for a 50 per cent vaccination …
PRIME MINISTER: I can’t quite hear you.
JOURNALIST: New South Wales Premier has repeatedly said that she's aiming for a 50 per cent vaccination rate. Does that mean, given where the rest of the states are, that New South Wales will be effectively isolated from the rest of Australia for the foreseeable future?
PRIME MINISTER: I think there's a lot of misunderstanding about this point. I addressed this question on Friday. I understand the Victorian Premier also addressed it today. The Premier in New South Wales is not referring to moving to Phase B at 50 per cent vaccinations. She is not suggesting that. She is not aiming to do that, to go to Phase B. The vaccination rate required to get to Phase B of the National Plan, which the New South Wales Government is an enthusiastic supporter of and has agreed to, is 70 per cent, and then 80 per cent for Phase C. The whole country, on average, has to get to 70 per cent, and then that state itself has to get into 70 per cent. What the Premier is referring to is how New South Wales might seek to manage their suppression phase measures of restrictions in that phase. That is what she's referring to. So, I think these two issues have been at cross purposes and hopefully that clarifies it very clearly, that the Premier is not going in another direction to the National Plan, and New South Wales, all states and territories, affirmed their strong agreement to the National Plan on Friday, and those vaccination targets for moving to Phase B and phase C. This is about the management of the lockdown in New South Wales and what what steps they may take in managing that lockdown while they remain in the suppression phase. But, the important point is this; the lower the case numbers are when we go into Phase B, the better - not just for the nation's health, but for the nation's economy as well. As Professor Skerrit has already noted in terms of what is occurring in countries that do have above 70 per cent vaccination rates, they are still seeing deaths in the United Kingdom that we would hope never to see in Australia at those levels. So, it is very important that the suppression phase continues to work effectively, as we are seeing it do right across the country. But, there is a very big challenge, as we've seen in New South Wales, in arresting the growth in those case numbers, and it remains the goal. It remains the task to suppress those case numbers down. So, when, ultimately, we can get to 70 per cent, which we hope to achieve this year - and based on the vaccination rates we’re achieving, the maths backs that up - then we would be able to go into that phase in a much stronger position, because this is the difference between Australia and the rest of the world. The rest of the world has not seen the very low fatality rates that we've seen in this country. They have not seen the economic recovery, by and large, that we have in this country. They have not seen the very low case numbers. So, we're going for the trifecta. We're going for low case numbers. We're going for low fatality rates, and we're going for a vaccinated country. And, on top of that, a strong economy. So ...
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible] The employer groups are saying they want federal and state public health orders to give them some clarity and they don't want to be left open to the legal limbo and being challenged for decisions they make. Can you rule out any public health orders? And, also, as a federal employer, what is your inclination with things like the federal public service and NDIS workforce, for example?
PRIME MINISTER: The vaccination program in Australia is free and it is not mandatory. That is a very important principle. We are not going to seek to impose a mandatory vaccination program by the Government, by stealth. That is not what we're going to do. It is a non-mandatory program. Now, I set out on Friday that there are already existing powers that employers have, both in terms of lawful directions, reasonable directions to their employers. Equally, business owners have property rights in terms of who they can allow to come in and out of their premises. Those property rights, those authorities that they have for their employees, already exist. Now, we will seek to provide as much careful advice as we can to help them make those decisions. But, it is important that Australians know that we are not going to seek to impose a mandatory vaccination program in this country by some other means. There have been some isolated cases which have already been identified - quarantine workers and aged care workers. They are the only areas that any states or territories or the Commonwealth has suggested that we’re providing some statutory or a public health order enforcement of such a mandating.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, why did Richard Colbeck not know the latest intensive care numbers? And, given his form in this area, why does he deserve to be a member of your health team in your Government, managing such a difficult rollout?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, by the time I was asked the question, I'd had a more updated brief.
JOURNALIST: But, why didn't he know?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, he had the most recent information available to him.
JOURNALIST: He had no information. He said he had to take it on notice.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, he has that information, and I'm sure if he's asked, then he'll provide the appropriate answer.
JOURNALIST: Do you have confidence in him?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, I do.
JOURNALIST: Just following up from Sarah’s question on mandating, you've made it clear that, by and large, employers are going to do the mandating, if anyone's going to do it.
PRIME MINISTER: If they, if they wish to. That is a matter for the employer.
JOURNALIST: But, then employers take on the liability in the event, God forbid, something goes wrong after a vaccination. The Commonwealth's indemnifying GPs in order to give people vaccinations. Would the Commonwealth consider indemnifying employers who take on the mandating, well, role?
PRIME MINISTER: Let me, I understand the point you're making, Kath, but there's a presumption in the question that says that the Commonwealth wants to mandate vaccines. We are not seeking to mandate vaccines. That is not the Government’s policy. That is not how Australia has successfully run vaccination programs in the past. We've done it because Australians know their value. We know there is an inbuilt incentive in a vaccine. You're less likely to get it. You're less likely to get seriously ill from it. You're less likely to transmit it to a loved one or a friend or someone you meet in the street, and you're less likely to die from it. They’re four very good reasons why it's important to go and get the vaccine, incredibly important reasons why we need to do that, and why every Australian is coming forward in record numbers to get those vaccines. Now, managing things in the workplace, look, we'll continue to engage with, with the various industry and business groups that are raising these issues. And, they're getting, I'm sure, quite a lot of very helpful legal advice about what their authorities are to do this. But, I wouldn't want it suggested that either the Federal Government or the state and territory governments are somehow seeking to impose a mandatory process on this vaccination program for Australians. We've been very clear about that.
JOURNALIST: That wasn’t my question, though. It was, it was about will you consider an indemnity for employers?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, if we were to take that step, I'll let the Minister for Health, that would be there, thereby endorsing some sort of mandatory process.
THE HON. GREG HUNT MP, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE: So, there are two different things here. There’s mandating, which the Prime Minister set out very clearly, is not something that we're proposing, other than in those exceptional circumstances, either with regards to the vulnerability of the worker or the vulnerability of their clients, being quarantine and aged care. In terms of the indemnity process, that automatically, by definition, under the terms that the Prime Minister set out when he announced this, that process covers anybody who takes a Commonwealth sponsored vaccination, so long as it's administered in an appropriate way.
PRIME MINISTER: I’ve got time for one more, because I've got to chair a Cabinet meeting.
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible] change the travel rules for Australian expats wanting to enter the country?
PRIME MINISTER: Sorry, can you start that again.
JOURNALIST: Sorry.
PRIME MINISTER: I apologise. For those who are watching on, the media are rightly wearing masks at the press conference, and sometimes it's hard to hear them.
JOURNALIST: So, last week your Government changed the travel rules for Australian expats wanting to enter the country. So, when are these measures expected to lift? Are they going to be attached to vaccine targets or thresholds? And, what are you doing to increase quarantine capacity into the future so Australians who are overseas can return?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, first of all, the rules regarding returning expats, well, the only change we've made most recently to those is those who would would claim to have had a usual residence overseas, and they previously would have received an automatic exemption, and that is no longer the case. And, that is already in force now because we're seeking to prevent people going out and in and out and in, because that obviously has an impact on quarantine spaces. And, we obviously want to maximise those to have as many as possible who are returning home, and that's why we're seeking to do that. So, that's, that's the only change we've made to those set of arrangements.
JOURNALIST: Sure, but people still want to come back for say, for funerals or milestones.
PRIME MINISTER: Of course they do. And, this is why we’re running the facilitated commercial flights. This is why we've expanded the facilities up at Howard Springs, which is where those flights are coming into. That's why we're increasing those flights. We want to be able to provide as many of those opportunities as we can. But, equally, as I'm sure Australians understand, that in this phase we took the decision to halve the amount of people coming back into Australia at the moment because of the Delta strain of this virus. I can't stress this enough. Delta now accounts for 80 per cent of cases in the United States. And, in the lowest vaccination states, it's even higher. Ninety-seven per cent of hospitalisation in the United States is the unvaccinated. The Delta strain is a complete rule changer for everything. Everything we knew about COVID before has changed. All the tools that we had - test, trace, isolate, quarantine - all of this proved very effective against earlier strains, and did enable jurisdictions to be able to continue to keep much of their states entirely open on on occasions. Delta has changed all of that. It's changed all of the rules and it means we've had to change with it to keep Australians safe. And, that means, right now, we are going through one of the toughest parts of this COVID pandemic. And, I know Australians are frustrated. I know they're sick of it. I know they're angry. And, I know they want it to stop and for life to get back to where they knew it. But, what we have to do now is recognise the reality of the challenge we have in front of us. None of us likes it. None of us likes to have restrictions. None of us likes to have the situation we're having now. And, I can understand that Australians will go, well, you're the Prime Minister, or you're the Premier, or you're the Government. We don't want it to be this way, believe me, I get it. I don't want it to be this way either. I don't want it to be like this for you and your family. I don't want it to be like that for your kids, who I know you want to go to school. I want my kids to go to school, too. We all want that. But, there are no shortcuts here. Delta has made it clear, of this virus, that we have to get through the suppression phase and keep it at bay as best as we can. So, if you're in an area that's in a lockdown, please stay at home. Don't go out for hours on end, don't congregate in areas of Sydney. Don't do it. Stay at home. Only go out if you absolutely have to. The lockdown has to work for the lockdown to be lifted. And, we have to get those case numbers down, because when we get to that next phase and we're at 70 per cent, I want us to go into that phase as strong as we possibly can. So, we have to bear down at this time. We have to push through. We have to not let any voices of negativity overwhelm our optimism for the future, and we have to push through. We have achieved what few countries have. We can't throw it away now because of any impatience. I understand the frustration, but I know Australians will be able to push through. Now, I do have to chair a Cabinet meeting, so thank you very much for your time. And, thank you, Professor Skerritt.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
6 August 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon. National Cabinet has met for the 50th time today, and we’ve met at a time when so many Australians are now subject to lockdowns because of the Delta variant of this strain, which is causing a third wave all around the world. And, we met together today to further strengthen and do everything we can to support Australians as they’re going through this very difficult time. Strengthening our supports, whether they be economic, continuing to support the efficacy of the lockdowns so they can be effective. And, the sooner they're more effective and the sooner they are effective, the sooner they end. And, of course, to continue to rollout the vaccination, the national vaccination program, which today, in the most recent data, has hit another very significant mark, with over 240,000 vaccines delivered in one day. Now, that per capita matches, and in fact, betters, the peak of the seven day average per capita of the UK's vaccination program. So, as I remarked earlier this week, the national vaccination program here in Australia has certainly turned the corner. The challenges that we have had, we have been overcoming them now for months, and the rates of vaccination that we are now achieving are matching those that were achieved in many countries around the world. And, that's what's needed to get this job done. And, so, today we reflected on those issues.
Today, we fully agreed the national plan that I outlined to you last Friday. We said it was agreed in principle last week, and today it was confirmed and fully agreed. The national plan, that pathway that takes us to the position where we live with this virus, and we live with the virus where we ultimately start saying goodbye to lockdowns, once we reach 70 per cent vaccination of the population, and then ultimately move away from them in the third phase, Phase C. Of course, all public health measures are necessary when you're dealing with a global pandemic. But, these important changes, affirmed again today by all the Premiers and all the Chief Ministers fully agreeing to the national plan that I announced last Friday at The Lodge after our meeting last week.
Today, we also agreed for further work to be done by the Doherty Institute. We were joined by Professor McVernon from the Doherty Institute with further follow up work that has, that will be done, to support both the states and territories and the Commonwealth as we prepare to move into Phase B and Phase C of that national plan, further understanding the calibration of public health measures and the impact on how that follows through with the virus and how it may behave. Similarly, looking particularly at further studies into the more vulnerable populations, whether they be Indigenous populations or other vulnerable populations around the country, what the potential impact is, and understanding scenarios that could occur when we eventually start opening up borders and we have additional people coming into the country, and understanding what the scenarios might be in those circumstances. They're not predictive. They're about understanding particular scenarios and how that might play out. And, so, we can have pre-considered our responses to those issues.
We also had a very, very extensive discussion today on rapid antigen testing, and I'll ask the Chief Medical Officer to speak more to this in his remarks. Might I make it clear that it's not that it's not being used, it actually is being used, but it is an important tool to be used at the right stage of the process. It is being used now in essential workplaces. It is being used now in, for medical workers and in aged care facilities, and things of that nature. It has a very specific purpose at this point. But, when you're in the suppression phase, that is Phase A of this virus, what is very important is that we need to know who's tested positive. And, if you're doing voluntary rapid antigen testing at home and things of that nature, then the state health authorities won't know. And, so, it's important that we can know and then do contact testing and tracing to ensure that we can follow that through in the suppression phase. While you're in the suppression phase, knowing who has it, knowing who they've been with, and being able to follow that up and isolating close contacts and all of that is a very important part of the public health response to the outbreak.
So, rapid antigen testing has a very important role to play. There's no doubt about that. And, particularly when we get into Phase B and Phase C, when we're moving from managing cases and moving to managing hospitalisations, serious illness and things of that nature. So, there will be further work done preparing for those phases and how rapid antigen testing can be better used in those phases. But, for now, it will continue to be used in a very targeted way. And, we will continue to work with the Therapeutic Goods Administration to see more of those tests becoming available so they can be used for those purposes.
We also heard, and I asked for the Solicitor-General to join us today to share his advice on a number of important issues, which both Premiers, Chief Ministers and I, and our Ministers, have been dealing with, and that deals with where employers may be seeking to require employees to have vaccines. Similarly, if a business or establishment may seek to deny access to a premise or a service in relation to people who are vaccinated or are non-vaccinated. Now, it is not the intention of the Commonwealth, nor of the states and territories, to create any special laws in these areas. The only area where that has occurred to date has been public health orders around quarantine workers, and also an agreement amongst Premiers and Chief Ministers for those who are moving to put in place those public health orders for aged care workers.
But, the advice makes clear that there are matters regarding discrimination law and a reasonableness of any direction made to an employee, and that reasonableness goes over four tiers. And, all of this is explained through the Fair Work advice, which is available on the Fair Work website to assist employers. But, ultimately, employers need to consider these matters and make their own decisions. Remembering we do not have a mandatory vaccination policy in this country. We do not have that. We are not proposing to have that. That is not changing. But, an employer may wish to make a reasonable directive to staff, and if they do so, they would need to do so consistent with the law. And, that particularly would deal with a situation where an employee may be in direct contact potentially, or becoming infected, and acquiring the virus. And, so, they are workers who are working in quarantine facilities, obviously, which are covered by public health orders. Where there's a public health order, the legal position is very, very clear. But, it may include people like airline workers or others in those situations where they are coming in close contact with those who may be carrying the virus.
You have a second tier, which are those who may be working with people who are quite vulnerable. And, that's why the consideration has been given to groups like aged care workers and others who are coming in close contact with people who are vulnerable. And, it may be that a business would take a decision in that respect. A third tier are those who are in a position where they are publicly, public facing in their daily work. So, we’re talking about retail, supermarkets, things of that nature, working in essential occupations where there's a lot of contact. Now, again, these are all legal positions which have to pass that reasonableness test, and they are ultimately decided by the courts. And, employers need to obviously consider those matters very carefully if they're looking to make directions of that nature.
Now, then you have the balance, who are those who may be public servants or those who are not in often close contact with others in the course of their work. And, these basically work on a sliding scale, if you like, in terms of how the reasonableness test might be applied. That is the advice that we're receiving. And I'm sure employers who are considering these things would be also taking their own advice on those matters.
The Solicitor-General, though, did indicate that when it comes to issues of discrimination, then discrimination would relate to the discrimination laws. And, so, that would be in relation to discrimination against a person, in relation to a disability, for example, or something like that. Now, it would be unlikely that a person being vaccinated or unvaccinated would be related to whether they are of a particular gender, or whether they're of a particular disability, or of a particular race, or something like that. And, these are the matters that, as indicated to us, that would have to be considered in making that judgement. Not having a vaccine is not a disability. But, of course, if people do have particular medical conditions or issues that might prevent them from being able to be vaccinated, well, of course, that would be a different issue. So, these are not being spoken of by me as any sort of direction, but to convey to you what was conveyed to Premiers and Chief Ministers today in our understanding of the situation and and how we are seeking to simply make that information available. But, ultimately, their choices for the businesses themselves.
Then, of course, you have the right to whether people are denying access to a property or deny access to a service or something of that nature, well the property law issues kick in there, where where an occupier can deny, are subject to any positive legal requirements. So, those positive legal requirements, again, things like anti-discrimination laws. But, those anti-discrimination laws have to be tested against whether someone being vaccinated or unvaccinated relates to anything that would have to do with who they are as an individual and whether they're being any characteristic that is protected under an anti-discrimination law would be relevant. Finally, there are some privacy issues there under the privacy laws where they apply. They relate to the collection of information, not to the provision of information. And, they are two separate issues.
We also went further today to go to a very important issue, which was raised some months ago by myself and the, and the Premier of Queensland. And, we have now received all of the jurisdictions, state and territory jurisdictions, responses that go to their Women's Economic Security measures that they've been moving through their own governments, and the supports that are there. And, we agreed today that we should now put together a nationally consistent reporting framework on Women's Economic Security measures to ensure that we're always aware of where gaps may exist. And, and that can be something we can, we can review on a regular basis. And, that can inform all of our budgets and can inform all of the measures we’d seek to put in place.
As you know, our Government put in a very significant Women's Economic Security Package at the last federal Budget. And, in fact, the last several Budgets, and indeed also a very significant Women's Safety Package. All states and territories have also given their formal responses now to Respect@Work, and we are now moving forward then to work on the National Plan to End Violence Against Women, a very successful program in its previous iteration. And, those gatherings will be going ahead very soon, and all states and territories will be engaging with those.
So, a 50th meeting of the National Cabinet today, dealing not only with our ongoing response to what is a very serious situation around the country when it comes to COVID, but also continuing the work of National Cabinet, addressing the broader issues that require national cooperation, women's economic security, women's physical safety, women's safety and ending violence against women.
I should have also noted we further progressed matters on the transport code today, and we're getting close to a resolution of those issues. And, the Chief Medical Officer may wish to make mention of that.
And, of course, on economic supports, with Victoria going back into lockdown, the seven, the COVID Disaster Payments at $750 and $450 and $200, eligibility for that commences with the start of the lockdown and then the the Commonwealth hotspot, which was declared at midnight, I think it was last night, Chief Medical Officer. And so that application process kicks in after seven days. Those in Melbourne and across Victoria will be very familiar with that. And, this time around it, for those who have already registered for the previous one, they will need to go back and register again with the new lockdown. But, that process given they've done it before should be very seamless. In addition those payments are also progressing well when it comes to south east Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia.
For business support, you would have seen today our announcement that we'll be going 50-50 with an arrangement that the Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was able to agree with Treasurer Pallas last night, endorsed by both Premier Andrews and I to ensure that we're going 50-50, which we’ll be providing some $200 million of support, both from the Commonwealth and from the state of Victoria, the Government of Victoria. So, $400 million to see businesses through, because we understand with the response that we have now to deal with this Delta variant which, which leaves very few tools available to us other than those that are now being employed by the states where we're seeing these cases. As we know, we have to support people through this. The COVID Disaster Payment is proving to be a highly effective and very timely way to get immediate support to people. These payments are being turned around on application in as little as half an hour, and I know that provides some real encouragement. Similarly, with the business payments, they're administered by the state governments whether it's in New South Wales or indeed in Victoria or South Australia, and in terms of Queensland, should they wish to go forward with something on that matter, then I'm sure the Queensland Treasurer will engage the Federal Treasurer, as his other state counterparts have done on those other matters. And with that I'll pass you over to the Chief Medical Officer. Thank you, Professor Kelly.
PROFESSOR PAUL KELLY, COMMONWEALTH CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: Thank you, Prime Minister. So just to give a quick summary of the situation as we see it from the epidemiology of this epidemic in Australia at the moment. Three states with ongoing local transmission. New South Wales clearly the one most affected at the moment. The current outbreak in Sydney and surrounding areas is at 4,610 cases. 14 per cent of those cases have ended up in hospital, three per cent in intensive care, and less than one per cent deaths but each of those a tragedy, of course over 20 people dying over a range of age groups.
Despite the high testing, that has been incredible really, what how many people have come forward and to be tested, and for the laboratories to keep up with that testing with very rapid turnaround in that PCR testing regime, despite the strict lockdowns, particularly in south western Sydney, but also throughout the Sydney region and as of yesterday, Newcastle and the Hunter. Despite the increasing vaccination in those areas there is still a rise in the number of cases. Pleasingly the that, that outbreak is being suppressed. We would have expected without the vaccination, without the lockdown, without the other measures that are in place, that this would have been much higher rates of illness, hospitalisation and death up to now, and that hasn't been the case.
However, there are still worrying signs in terms of unlinked cases, new chains of transmission, new exposure sites, geographic spread, and the like. There's no sense that that is heading rapidly towards zero, which is what is our, remains our national approach at the moment. There's clearly a need for a circuit breaker. I've had many discussions with my colleague in New South Wales around that. What can, what else could be done to increase the speed of people being diagnosed, the compliance with those public health measures and crucially an increase in vaccination in those areas. And so, New South Wales needs to stay the course and look for those new ways of, of increasing and improving that situation.
In the other two states, in Queensland, the current outbreak or outbreaks in south east Queensland is now 89 cases. I'm much less concerned about south east Queensland. Most of the cases are being diagnosed whilst in quarantine, not infectious in the community and that control seems to be working.
In Victoria the, the outbreak that has been going there over several weeks is now at 232 cases. That outbreak of several weeks ago is showing very strong signs of, of coming to an end. However in the last 48 hours, there's disturbingly been another two so far unconnected outbreaks, small numbers, but geographically spread and a mystery, a mystery in terms of where that's come from. So, that that's something that needs to be addressed.
There are now three Commonwealth hotspot areas in each of those states. That triggers all of the, all of the supports including the Disaster Payments, to those areas, but also importantly, assistance with, with contact tracing, assistance with personal protective equipment if required and other other measures.
The, crucially, and the PM has mentioned this already, we are not alone in this. The whole world is having a wave of illness. It's related to the Delta strain, that is by far the predominant strain around the world at the moment. We know it's more likely to be transmitted. We know that you can get large outbreaks. In the past week, there's been four million cases around the world diagnosed, 64,000 deaths. So, we're not alone in that. What we do know is that whilst there is this other wave, vaccine works. Mostly the the outbreaks in other countries, and including here and particularly in New South Wales, this is a epidemic or a pandemic of the unvaccinated. And, we know that vaccines work to decrease severe illness. It decreases transmission, it decreases death. And, it's clearly the way forward, as we've talked a lot this week after the modelling from from the Doherty. So, the clear message today is get vaccinated. And, I'm sure Lieutenant General Frewen will make that message as well. But, it's worth us all making it. Vaccination is the way out. We know where where we're going with that, and particularly in those hotspot areas, please make an appointment and talk to your GP about your vaccination options right now.
In terms of the rapid antigen test, I think the PM's mentioned, mentioned most things. I’d just say that it clearly has a role. But, at the moment, our primary way of testing is PCR. That's because it's more accurate. But, also, and crucially, the points the Prime Minister made that it’s part of our public health response. We need to know who's positive so we can make those, those right public health responses and give the clinical care where it's required. But it's, now is exactly the time to be thinking about other ways of doing, doing testing, so that we can prepare for a time where we are accepting of, of cases in the community and, it will be a different way of dealing with those. So, on-site for essential workers, supervised testing where positives are confirmed by PCR testing, and any, any results of any of the tests collected by the public health authorities. These things are, are the way forward and are happening right now in Sydney and other places.
Just briefly on the freight code, so this is a very important component. With so many outbreaks in different areas of Australia, particularly and potentially affecting our freight distribution system, we need to consider that the virus is an important thing, but it's only part of many important things. We do need to have our distribution systems working. And so the freight code was introduced last year about frequent testing of, of freight drivers, particularly those going interstate. And we are working with with our transport colleagues to make sure that that's proportionate, it does what it needs to do to protect a state where there are no cases, for example, for freight drivers coming from a hotspot area. That it’s proportionate to that risk, that it's a national, nationally standardised and implementable, as well as clear for both industry, for drivers themselves and the people that are implementing that that task. So, so that's work we've undertaken in AHPPC with transport areas. So, I'll hand over to General Frewen.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL JJ FREWEN, COORDINATOR GENERAL OF OPERATION COVID SHIELD: Thanks, PM. Thanks, Professor. As you mentioned PM, a real momentum building in the vaccine rollout now. More than 13.3 million doses have been administered to people in Australia. We've hit record days every day over the last seven days 240,000 doses in a day yesterday. We've had more than 1.2 million doses administered across the last seven days. We've now got over 20 per cent of the Australian population fully vaccinated. And, we've now got over 80 per cent of the over 70s have had their first vaccination. We have increasing points of vaccination coming on board in addition to all of those that have already been established, GPs and other hubs. We've got almost 300 pharmacies now providing AstraZeneca. By the end of next week, we'll have almost 700. And, I'm very encouraged by the rising uptake in AstraZeneca again. As Professor Kelly mentioned, I would encourage all Australians not to wait and to get booked in for whatever vaccine you can access at the moment.
PRIME MINISTER: Ok. Happy to take questions. Yes.
JOURNALIST: Yeah, PM, you talked about the legalities of the employer situation. One of the cases that we learnt of today was about 12 staff at a KFC in Sydney being infected. You went through the, the legal arguments, but on the testing and on vaccinations for staff, first can I get you to say, look, do you think that it's actually not just a legal question, but isn't there a moral question about employers asking or requiring their staff to get vaccinated? Do you think that they should ask their staff to get vaccinated? And on the testing, with the antigen tests, do you think that there's a role for the Federal Government to play in getting more of those, bringing more of those tests into the country and just sending them out to employers so that they've all got them? I mean, they're freely available in the UK, for instance. Do you think that that is something that the Federal Government can do here?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I might get Professor Kelly to particularly address the second part of that question. But, on the first question, the national vaccination program in Australia is not a mandatory vaccination program. That is, that is not the policy of the Government. Where there are specific areas where public health orders have been put in place, and that has been done consistent with policy, I should say, a consistency of policy at both the Commonwealth and state level. But, there is the law of the land as well, and the law of the land, the rule of law does provide employers to give reasonable directions to their staff, and I've set out the advice that we've received from the Solicitor-General that provides the spectrum of, of where such directions may indeed be reasonable, where an employee may be at great risk of actually contracting the virus, the employer would be, in those circumstances, seeking to afford some protection for their staff and be upholding perhaps, in their view, their obligations regarding to the occupational health and safety of their staff. For those who are working in an area where they're taking care of very vulnerable people, that is another set of circumstances. Another is where you will have staff that are in regular contact with the public. And, there is the broader evidence, as we've seen from the vaccine and the impact on transmissibility and the operation of those premises and the risk to the business themselves. See, in our country everyone has choices, and they have choices that are supported by the rule of law, and simply making the point that those choices have to be exercised consistent with the rule of law. But, in terms of the Commonwealth Government or the state governments, making mandatory or issuing public health orders or taking some sort of statutory approach, then well, except in the areas I've already nominated in the areas of quarantine and aged care both the Commonwealth and the states are not making any moves in that area. Otherwise, the rule of law applies as it normally does. Now, on the other matter, on rapid antigen testing and their availability.
PROFESSOR PAUL KELLY, COMMONWEALTH CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: Yeah, so, so there are, there are many rapid antigen tests that are available in Australia. They are registered by the TGA for particular uses. I think the key point now, as I made earlier is, how they should be used, how they can be used in the best way to assist with, and be another arm of our.
JOURNALIST: Sorry, can employers just go and buy them? If so, where can they get them? Are they available in volume to those employers now?
PROFESSOR PAUL KELLY, COMMONWEALTH CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: So, so we’d need to be very clear about what the registration says for the rapid antigen test. They can only be used under supervision of a medical practitioner or a health practitioner that's registered under the Australian practitioner.
JOURNALIST: Why not change that?
PROFESSOR PAUL KELLY, COMMONWEALTH CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: We're certainly looking at that as a component of our next steps, but at the moment that's the case. So, it would need to be very carefully worked through by an employer to actually start doing massive rapid antigen tests. They're not without their issues. They're certainly part of the solution in the future. And, that's exactly, you know, we've set upon the task of building on the work we've done over the last 18 months on this, how can we use these best.
PRIME MINISTER: And, the point I made before, David, as we discussed today, it's not that they're not being used. They are being used. They're being used in essential workplaces, they've been working in distribution centres, things like this, particularly where people in New South Wales in, in hotspot areas are coming into areas of employment. Because what we know, as the, as the Premier has said publicly, the risk is people who are contracting it and taking it back to their household. And, so, where it's taking place, it's, it's taking, it's taking place in an organised setting, because when you're in the suppression phase, you need to know who's got it so you can speak to them and you can do the contact tracing and you can isolate contacts. That, in a suppression phase, is how you try and stop the spread. So, it is a tool that has great use, but its use will change as you move from one phase in the next. In the United Kingdom, well, of course they have vaccination rates there, double dose greater than 70 per cent and they're closing in on 80. So, it has its role to play in the phases that you get to.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you mentioned the Solicitor-General spoke to National Cabinet about, sorry, can you hear me?
PRIME MINISTER: I know, it’s, I can, try again.
JOURNALIST: … about the legal implications about what employers can or can’t do.
PRIME MINISTER: Yes.
JOURNALIST: There'll be a lot of employers around the country who will be confused about that. So, in the interests of transparency, are you proposing to release the Solicitor-General’s advice? And, another, if I may, given the SG was there, and given yesterday the Administrative Appeals Tribunal determined that the National Cabinet was not a sub-committee of Cabinet for the purposes of FOI Law, was there a discussion at the National Cabinet today about whether or not that decision will be appealed?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, whether it's appealed or not is a matter for the Commonwealth Government and the Commonwealth.
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible]
PRIME MINISTER: No, I understand that, but if the decision will be appealed, that’s not a matter for the National Cabinet, that’s a matter for the Commonwealth Government. And, we’re considering those options as we're addressing that issue. But, what I can tell you is the National Cabinet is very, very sure that it wants to be able to operate in the environment that it has regarding the security of the documents that it works on, like any other Cabinet, their own Cabinets, our Cabinet. Fifty meetings. This Cabinet is operated highly effectively. There has been a great candour and security of our discussions and the material that we've had access to, and to be able to make important decisions. And, we think that is incredibly important to the ongoing operations of the National Cabinet. Now, when it comes to transparency, this is living proof of the transparency of the National Cabinet, after every single meeting. This doesn't happen after, with any other Cabinet, I should stress. When, when I hold a Federal Cabinet meeting or the many other Cabinet sub-committees, we don't hold a press conference after every meeting, as you’d know, you've been here for a long time. With the National Cabinet, it has been our practise to be transparent by immediately setting out what was agreed and what was discussed and and what were the matters that came up. So, I think as a National Cabinet, we have got the balance right. We've got the balance right on transparency, in terms of letting the country know the issues we're focusing on and the decisions we're taking, and the decisions we hope to take in the future. But, so we will be looking at the issue of the AAT, it’s an AAT decision. There are appeal rights, potentially the Federal Court and potentially beyond. So, we will deal with that in good course. In the meantime, we will get on with our work.
And, on the other question that you raised, as I said Fair Work and the Fair Work website is already summarising these issues to assist businesses, as they do on so many other employer issues. And I agree, I think it's important. What I'm doing today is hopefully try and ensure that there's a bit more clarity on this issue. I'm sure if it's a large employer they will already be talking to their lawyers, and I'm sure they will have got exactly the same advice. But, for those of other size, then I think this type of information is very helpful to them.
JOURNALIST: Professor Kelly said before that New South Wales clearly needed a circuit breaker of sorts. We've seen that the number of people infected while out in the community has remained fairly stable. So what sort of a circuit breaker do we need in New South Wales?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's really a question of the Chief Medical Officer at the end of the day, because it's a medical question. We have sought to provide every support we can in New South Wales. Just the other night, as you know, we announced that we're able to do the bringing forward of some 180,000 additional Pfizer vaccines. That comes on top of more than a million that can be provided of the AstraZeneca vaccines to New South Wales to support their effort. And we're very pleased to see the uptake of what is occurring with those vaccines. That, of course, comes on top of the 200,000 Pfizer vaccines already provided to New South Wales. Operation COVID Assist in the support of hundreds of our defence forces to assist with the compliance of the lockdown in Sydney. But not just that, with contact tracing and other tasks where New South Wales have sought that support. And so it really is the combination. I mean, the lockdown works when the lockdown has worked. And that's why it's important that the lockdown is effective, because that is what stops the virus moving around. But as I've also said, and the Premier has also said, the vaccines also support reducing those transmission levels. There is more of a delay in terms of there, of that, because of the weeks that it takes for the vaccines to become effective. But that's why we have supported New South Wales with additional vaccines. We have supported New South Wales to ensure that their lockdown can be as effective as it possibly can. But, Paul?
PROFESSOR PAUL KELLY, COMMONWEALTH CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: So I think what the, the key elements here are to decrease the transmission potential. So to decrease that movement of the virus from one person to another. And that's what the lockdown is about. I think looking at ways that they can find people more quickly, make sure the compliance with those orders to stay at home are being complied with. That movement around Sydney and specifically outside of Sydney is not, is as, is enforced, all of these things are absolutely important. How do we decrease the transmission potential? It's about people not moving around whilst infectious and infecting others in workplaces. Households are more difficult than that. The extra vaccines that have been provided clearly are an important component of that. And they need to stay the course.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, listening to Martin Foley today, and he seemed to be suggesting, perhaps Professor Kelly would also be good on this one, he was suggesting that with the mass vaccination hubs, there was a potential problem for 18 to 59 year olds, or under 60s, to go without seeing a pharmacist or a doctor and get jabbed in one of their centres because informed consent was still an issue. And I note that New South Wales has got a different approach, but he was suggesting that ATAGI was going to be changing the rules when it comes to informed consent. What is going on there where Victorians who are under 60 can't get AstraZeneca if they want it and can't get in to see a GP or a pharmacist, which is very common?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'll make two points, but I think it's really a matter for the Chief Medical Officer. The government put in place the arrangement for any Australian right across the country to engage with their GP not for the vaccination, but the consultation about the vaccines and to ask their questions and to have them answered. And so if that's what they wish to do, and that's not mandatory, that is a matter for the individual. If the individual wants to do that, then we have provided financially for that Australian to go and do just that. And once they have done that, they're obviously in a position, a better position to then go and get the vaccine where they choose to go and get that vaccine. Now, the primary place where people are getting their AstraZeneca vaccine is through the GP network. That is where the heavy lifting has, not just been done, frankly, on AstraZeneca, but for the vaccination programme as a whole. The majority of vaccines delivered in this country have been delivered by GPs. So there is both of those avenues for Australians to pursue that, whether it's in Victoria, the Northern Territory, Tasmania or Western Australia or wherever they happen to be. But Paul?
PROFESSOR PAUL KELLY, COMMONWEALTH CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: So informed consent is not an optional thing. Informed consent is a matter of discussion between whoever is delivering a medical service, in this case vaccination, and the person that’s receiving it. So that would be a matter for the Victorian Government to explain why informed consent is not being done, at their mass vaccination centres, if that's what you're suggesting.
JOURNALIST: But if you go to a mass vaccination centre in Victoria and you're under 60 and you want AstraZeneca and you can't get a GP consultation despite the offer, that you can, you can go to that vaccination hub and get one ASAP, just talking to the nurse who's going to deliver it?
PROFESSOR PAUL KELLY, COMMONWEALTH CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: Well, they need to go through an informed consent process, but …
JOURNALIST: I’m trying to work out what informed consent is because Martin Foley clearly thinks that it's not, that you have to see a medic, be it a pharmacist or a …
PRIME MINISTER: Informed consent is up to the individual. It's their consent that they are giving.
JOURNALIST: Yeah, well, Professor …
PROFESSOR PAUL KELLY, COMMONWEALTH CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: It's a discussion between the giver of a medical service and the receiver of a medical service.
JOURNALIST: But ATAGI’s advice has been that you have to go to a doctor, talk to the doctor, and then you can go and get the vaccine with informed consent as well. And I think Victoria is saying that you have to go through that process. You can't just go and get a vaccine after having a quick chat with whoever's giving it to you.
PROFESSOR PAUL KELLY, COMMONWEALTH CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: That's a matter for Victoria.
JOURNALIST: Can I ask a follow up on that, because is it true that you can go to a pharmacist and give them informed consent? So when you've got a lot of AstraZeneca, hopefully, at the pharmacists across the country, anybody can go to the pharmacist and give them informed consent as well and get AstraZeneca regardless of their age, as long as they're over 18. Can you clarify that? Because I think a lot of these messages are being confused.
PROFESSOR PAUL KELLY, COMMONWEALTH CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: So if it's not clear, we can work on the messaging, but I'm not sure that I can be more clear about this. As the Chief Medical Officer of Australia, my expectation is anyone who's putting a jab in an arm will be having an informed consent conversation with the person they're jabbing, wherever that is.
JOURNALIST: PM, just going back to the question about New South Wales and Professor Kelly's comments about New South Wales needing to stay the course. Are you concerned though about the idea of New South Wales easing restrictions when they only have a 50 per cent vaccination rate at the end of the month? I mean, is that going to be a case of cases exploding?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we had a discussion about this today, and I think there's been a mixing of issues here. The national plan, 70 per cent average across Australia. That is when we can start moving into Phase B. And for a state to move into Phase B, which is when there are a different set of arrangements in place and home quarantine potentially, that's being trialled in South Australia, and a range of other issues, including exemptions that may be available to vaccinated residents and things of that nature. Once we get to 70 per cent and the State also by the residents information on the immunisation, gets to 70 per cent, then that's what that number's about. When a state chooses to impose or lift lockdown, that is a matter, that is a decision for that State. And it always has been, always has been. In the suppression phase of the virus, then the goal is to suppress the virus, to suppress the movement of that virus, and to seek to reduce those cases, as far as you practically can, especially cases that are infectious in the community. That is the goal of the suppression phase, because the lower you go in to Phase B in terms of number of cases that are present, the better everyone else is. Now, we've seen that around the world. We've seen that around the world. So it still remains our goal, particularly in the face of this rather aggressive Delta variant, to ensure that we suppress the virus while vaccination levels are where they are. But as we're hearing, I mean, the vaccination levels are growing every single day. The national plan and the process we have been through does not provide or suggest a vaccination level about when lockdowns lift and don't lift. That is a matter entirely for the State and they’d be making those judgements and assessments about when they lift their lockdowns based on the medical advice being provided to them by the Chief Health Officer in New South Wales. So it really is a question for the Chief Health Officer of New South Wales. It does not relate to the plan.
JOURNALIST: You're paying the bills for New South Wales to stay locked down. Does the Commonwealth have a view that …
PRIME MINISTER: The lockdown needs to be effective and when the lockdown is effective, the lockdown can be lifted. And the additional vaccines that we've provided to support New South Wales are assisting them in that goal. But the most effective thing is for people to stay home, to get tested, to isolate, to get vaccinated. There's no shortcuts through this and we understand that. And it is a heavy burden that is placed upon our nation at the moment, a very heavy burden. And that burden comes as a result of this third wave of the Delta strain around the world. And so as we carry it, we are seeking to assist every Australian affected by this through the significant economic supports, which you rightly say are being put in place, and they're put in place swiftly. Australia has been in a position where we have not only been able to save lives and save livelihoods, and as we go towards, even through this most difficult period, this is one of the hardest periods we've had to get through, on the other side of this, hopefully not to far away, is where we have both saved lives, we have saved livelihoods, and we have vaccinated the country. And there are very few countries that will be able to claim those three achievements. But we are very much on our path towards it and we will keep doing that. But given the lateness of the hour, and I'm sure you've got bulletins to put together, thank you very much.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
5 August 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Well, g’day everyone. I’m joined today by Pat Turner. It’s wonderful to be here with you Pat. I want to thank you, as the head of the Coalition of Peaks, bringing together over 50 wonderful organisations doing such an incredible job serving Indigenous Australians all around the country with the passion and professionalism and dedication they do is one thing. To get them all together to form these partnerships, to build this trust, is another. And, I want to thank you for our personal partnership that we’ve worked on so well for these many years now, and realising this day together and so many more ahead of us.
Can I also welcome Fiona Cornforth who's with us here today from the Healing Foundation. I met with Fiona some time ago as we first discussed the major announcement that we've made today regarding the Stolen Generation and the sorry arrangements we've entered into there for the Northern Territory, the ACT, and and right across those jurisdictions. A special shout out to those I know down there in Wreck Bay, which we're able to get a message to you today, as well. And, I know this is an important day for you and all of those who’s worked so closely with your community over a long time.
Of course, to the Minister for Indigenous Australians, who reminds me and all of my Cabinet that we are all ministers for Indigenous Australians. And, that's the way Ken works. Ken is a true inheritor, I think, and a carrier of the legacy of those who've gone before him in this place, particularly Senator Bonner. And, he has carried this forward in a way that only Ken could. The opportunity to appoint Ken into this role and the way he has conducted himself in this role has has been healing. It's been practical. It's been engaging. It's been wise. And, his counsel, we have all relied on through this process; his calm spirit and his wise counsel. So, Ken, it's wonderful to be here with you also today.
Today in the Closing the Gap Implementation Plan, which I tabled in the Parliament, it reflects an important partnership. It reflects the fact that these goals that we have set now for many years, that we've provided greater detail to, have required and need a different way of delivering. It needed a different way of working together. That is not a criticism of previous efforts. All of these efforts have been well-intentioned. All of these efforts have been well-motivated. But, good government and the delivery of important services is achieved by ensuring that you get your processes right, your partnerships right, you get your structures right, you get your systems right so you can deliver on the ground. Because, at the end of the day, the only thing that matters when it comes to closing the gap is closing the gap. And, that only happens when more than 50 Indigenous organisations are empowered and supported to go and do the work they're doing, delivering services around this country. It only happens when state governments are doing what they need to do, when Federal Governments are doing what we need to do, and local governments are doing what they need to do. And, that's what this new partnership is about.
There's accountability. There's transparency. I can tell you, as Pat will agree, there's candid discussion, there's real discussion. But, that has been made possible because of the trust that we have worked hard to build, that we can have the hard conversations, and there will always be, even with the commitments of more than a billion dollars today - the single largest response that our Government has made to the Closing the Gap commitments - there will still be the scrutiny. I have no doubt that through the Joint Council that Pat and Ken chaired together, that that work, that scrutiny, that that pressure will continue to come, as indeed it should, because that's how good systems work. That's how good partnerships work.
So, I'm pleased we're able to act further today across a whole range of areas, whether it's in health, whether it's in justice, whether it's in education, which it's giving young people that hope. Because, at the end of the day, as I said in my speech today, when a young Indigenous boy or girl can grow up with the same expectations of any other Australian, not until that day is the gap closed, not until that day. So, I want to thank those who've co-laboured with us on this, and will co-labour with us into the future. I'll pass you on to Ken and then Pat and then Fiona. Thanks Ken.
THE HON. KEN WYATT AM MP, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: Thank you very much, Prime Minister. And, I also want to acknowledge my partner in the work that we've done together, Pat Turner, and Fiona, in terms of the work we've done in respect to the Healing Foundation. What makes this extremely unique is that every word and every paragraph has been jointly negotiated and agreed to by the 51 peak organisations, our Government, every state and territory government, including ministers, officials, and then the sign off by National Cabinet endorsing the approach and endorsing the 17 targets that are in there, that we will all work collectively to report on and to make achievements in gains against each of those targets.
It's always been the Commonwealth that has reported in the past in the, using aggregated data. This time what we've done is state and territory parliaments will now report on these targets within their parliaments, within their jurisdictions. Substantial difference. Pat’s work with her 51 peaks, and the state and territory peak organisations, will play a critical role in the partnership that has evolved from the work that we have done. The first meeting Pat was at in Redfern she took a leadership role, and in that leadership role brought together 51 different organisations to work side by side, focusing on that the outcomes would be not about our organisations or our Government, but for the children of the future, for our communities, and for those who have been affected by government policies over a period of time. This is unique. It's an arrangement that I've not seen prevail at any other tier of government or any other government in the past, because we now all take joint accountability for this strategy. And, it's a significant journey forward.
The level of resourcing that our Government has committed are in key and critical areas that focus on health, some of the infrastructure that is required for clinics, but more importantly, in the early years and the foundation years of a child's journey, through both health and education.
And, then the other most significant plank is the partnership and joint accountability to each other. I have been buoyed by the responses of state and territory ministers in this whole process. I also want to acknowledge every Cabinet Minister in the Morrison Government who have played a critical role in their own portfolios in committing to the directions that we have negotiated and co-designed with Aboriginal leaders, Aboriginal organisations, and them through the communities that they engage with.
This now is owned by all of us. As a nation, this is a game changing outcome, and the accountability and transparency will be a significant factor. But, I want to congratulate everybody who has been involved, and the Prime Minister. I want to acknowledge your support, because leadership is absolutely critical in giving us the scope and latitude to explore what it is that we need to consider in achieving closure of many of the gaps. Some have become major areas that we need to do substantially more work in.
I’ll now hand over to my good colleague and friend, Pat.
PAT TURNER AM, CO-CHAIR, JOINT COUNCIL ON CLOSING THE GAP: Sorry about that. Thank you very much, Minister Wyatt. Today is another historic day under the partnership arrangement that was set up in December 2018 between the Coalition of Peaks and all governments on Closing the Gap. I want to acknowledge the leadership of the Prime Minister. It was you who first agreed to the proposal from the community controlled leaders for a formal partnership with governments on Closing the Gap. It was also you who supported the national agreement being built around the four priority reforms that came from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the Coalition of Peaks, and are designed to change the way governments work with our organisations and our communities. Today, the Commonwealth is taking a significant step forward in making commitments a reality.
I also want to thank Minister Wyatt, my Co-Chair of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap. The way in which we are working together is a testament to the partnership we have set out to achieve.
Importantly, I also want to acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community controlled leadership around the country, and those that make up the Coalition of Peaks. We came together to change the way governments are working with our organisations, our communities and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It has been a hard slog, but we are starting to see what can be achieved when we work together for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and when we partner with governments. The Coalition of Peaks also released its implementation plan today. You can find it on our website. We know that having a seat at the table with governments comes with significant responsibilities and obligations to our organisations, to our members and communities that we serve across Australia. Our implementation plan sets out our commitments to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and to governments as part of our partnership. Like governments, we will report on our work annually.
Today's funding commitments by the Prime Minister are very significant. Our people have waited a long time for compensation for Stolen Generation survivors. Fiona will speak with you in more detail about that, and the Healing Foundation is a part of the Coalition of Peaks. But, I just want to say how much this means to me personally. It is important recognition. I also know, however, that there are many survivors that have died waiting for this recognition. My mum being one of them.
The Government is also making some significant commitments in the areas of early childhood, providing much needed additional supports and services, including in our remote communities. I am pleased to see that funding will be spent in line with priority reform to, and delivered through, our own organisations. I am very pleased that there is commitment to address the poor state of infrastructure in our community controlled health clinics across the country - $100 million over the next few years to help us get those up to scratch. We've got a long way to go, but it's very important commitment to which I'm very grateful to Greg Hunt.
We also have some very important commitments to funding justice initiatives for our people and support for the Justice Policy Partnership, which we know, you would know that we established after Joint Council in April this year. We have a long way to go to seeing improvements in the lives of our people across the country and for the gap of life outcomes to be closed. But, this is an important step forward. The Coalition of Peaks will be working with governments over the next 10 years to make sure that we do all we can for our peoples and ensure the full, full implementation of the national agreement. Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you, Pat. And, Fiona.
FIONA CORNWORTH, CEO, HEALING FOUNDATION: The Healing Foundation welcomes today's Federal Government announcement of reparations and wellbeing support for Stolen Generation survivors. We know how long and how tirelessly our community leaders have been working towards this. And, it's an emotional time knowing that they've been heard and that our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community controlled organisations that have done the heavy lifting so long, alongside impacted families, have been heard.
The scheme is practical support for Stolen Generation survivors to address the often complex health and economic needs that are evidenced to be a result of forced removal and forced removal alone. The truth of this is important. Reparations to acknowledge that truth is important. It's something, but it's not everything. It won't provide that end state of a healed nation. But, there is hope in the priority reforms under the national agreement.
I acknowledge Pat, here as lead convenor, and all leaders of the Coalition, driving out better ways to achieve outcomes, alongside governments. I echo Pat’s thanks to the partnerships, to those involved. The reforms are critical and we're grateful to be partners of an agreement and implementing an agreement that we contribute our excellence and our testimonies to collectively. Thank you.
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible] Can you commit to presenting legislation in this term of Parliament that puts [inaudible] voice?
PRIME MINISTER: We will just continue to take the next step and the next step and the next step and Pat, and sorry, Ken might want to add further to this. But, we, I want to thank Marcia and Tom for the great work they've been doing on that. Obviously, working through the processes set up by the Joint Standing Committee, a bipartisan recommendation. That is being actioned, and we will continue to take the steps that are set out through that joint agreement. But, Ken.
THE HON. KEN WYATT AM MP, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: The report clearly sets out the steps we need to take. And, the advice that I have received from all people who are involved in all of the forums was to be methodical and make sure that we get it totally right. And, I'm reading the report and we'll take that to Cabinet for further discussion. And, at some point I'll have a discussion with the Prime Minister as well.
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible] that we’re looking at a longer term initiative than this term?
THE HON. KEN WYATT AM MP, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: No, no, let’s not put, no, let’s not put words into this that detract from the importance of the voice. We want, as Aboriginal people, we want to get this right. We want it firm. We don't want to see the history of bodies being created and I'm done. And, that's why all of the work that the committees have done has been done in deliberation with Indigenous leadership right across this country. It's like the partnership, the partnership with the 51 peaks will be enduring. What we want is an enduring structure where our people at the community level can also have a voice to governments, along with the relationship that we have already established with Pat and the 51 peaks.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, should states like WA that don't have compensation schemes be matching the Government’s Stolen Generation Redress Scheme? Minister Wyatt, obviously you're from WA. What do you think about what our State Government should be doing?
PRIME MINISTER: I'm pleased that we're doing what we're doing. I'm very pleased we're doing that. We're acting within our responsibility. And, I'm, I'm pleased we've done that. I'm incredibly pleased. I’m pleased for Pat’s mum, I'm pleased for her family. I'm pleased for all of the families, Fiona, that I know will welcome these news. And, so, it's for others who have responsibilities to exercise theirs. Ken.
THE HON. KEN WYATT AM MP, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: And, I would encourage state governments to give serious consideration to what we've done, because we've got to remember the policies that were implemented did tear apart families. My own mother was a member of the Stolen Generation and she and her brothers and sisters never got to see each other until they were in their 20s. So, the first 18, first 20 years of their life, they were not together. But, when they did, they reminisced about the families from the missions they were in, who were their families, but also their maternal families. You can't undo the emotional impact that that has. And, you can see the reaction when Pat talked about her mother. It stays with us, because those memories are very strong. And, the decent thing that we should do as human beings is consider what we've done and consider options to support.
JOURNALIST: A gap you haven’t spoken about is the difference between full vaccination amongst Indigenous Australians and the national statistic. General Frewen today said it's only 10 per cent amongst Indigenous Australians. What are you doing to make sure that that is increased? And, Pat, can I ask you, is the 80 per cent target to reopen, is that enough to protect Indigenous communities?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, let me address those, and then ask Pat to address them as well, because we're working together on this. Through the agencies, the figures I have is that at least one dose is at 25 per cent and two doses at 11.7 per cent. And, that is, that is below where we are with other communities. But, I did note today in my presentation, and there's great credit that is due to the work that Pat and all of her organisations have been doing. As I've said before, one of our greatest concerns, if not our greatest concern at the outset of this pandemic, was the potential harm it would do in Indigenous communities. And, to date, we have been successful in preventing that harm in Indigenous communities. And, that's been from a strong partnership. I acknowledge the work Michael Gunner’s been doing in the Northern Territory on this in particular. When we get around the National Cabinet table, there is not a meeting - well, it’s our fiftieth this week - there's not a meeting where Michael has not raised this, and it's been raised by other premiers in other contexts. So, it remains a very high priority for us. It's a challenging area to work, as Pat can refer to.
On the issue of the percentage targets, though, I'm glad you raised that, and Pat and I have discussed that earlier today. One of the reasons when you go through the 70 per cent and 80 per cent, we're talking about 70 and 80 per cent right across the country or right across a state, but we have always recognised, as does the Doherty Institute work and their advice to us, that there are remaining vulnerable communities within the country that we will continue to have to take a very bespoke approach, a very customised approach, and that is certainly true for Indigenous communities. Absolutely true for Indigenous communities. And, so, we will, we will work with the Indigenous health sector to ensure that we can deliver on that very customised approach. And, and frankly, it's different in a remote Indigenous community as opposed to an Indigenous community in an urban area. And, so, we need that flexibility. Pat.
PAT TURNER AM, CO-CHAIR, JOINT COUNCIL ON CLOSING THE GAP: Yes, my view is that we need 100 per cent vaccination of all eligible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people no matter where they live. But, 80 per cent vaccination of the general population living, especially in remote communities or where there are high concentrations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in overcrowded housing and in poverty, we just can't afford for any strain of COVID getting in. So, I'm going for 100 per cent vaccination, and we’ll continue to work with all the jurisdictions, as we have to date, to make sure we achieve that.
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible] first recommended compensation for survivors of the Stolen Generations in ‘97. Since then, many members of the Stolen Generations in places like the NT have died, including Lorna Cubillo last year - one of the first people to seek compensation through the courts. Why won't the descendants of people who've died qualify for compensation under the scheme?
PRIME MINISTER: Ken.
THE HON. KEN WYATT AM MP, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: As you, what we've done in this program is focused on those who are still with us because they still feel the pain and grief. And, in my discussions with Fiona and with Maisie and others from the Territory, they acknowledge that there are those who've passed before them. But, I want to focus on those who are still with us, so that we're able to provide that level of support that will help them, because many of them are ageing and aged care is an option that they're facing. And, many have said to me, ‘I do not want to go into aged care. I want to remain independent.’ And, so, this enables that independence. Plus, it is a recognition that we're acknowledging that we are sorry for what we did with the policies that we put in place. And, it's multifactorial, and we'll continue to work on many of the issues, including access to mental health services that Minister Hunt provides through the health system, and the programs that we provide in partnership with the Aboriginal community controlled health organisations.
JOURNALIST: Just on that, is there capacity or scope to widen the redress scheme to other states, given that many survivors are now in their twilight years?
THE HON. KEN WYATT AM MP, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: Well, the Commonwealth were responsible for the territories, so we accept that responsibility and that's why we've made this decision. Jurisdictions are going to have to make their decisions in respect to their citizens, because Aboriginal people, whilst we were here long before settlement, we are still citizens with entitlements within state and territory jurisdictions, and we are taking care of our responsibility in respect to the territories.
JOURNALIST: Following on from that, what's your message to the states and how urgently should they then follow your lead?
THE HON. KEN WYATT AM MP, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: Oh look, there'll be ongoing discussions with the states on many issues from employment through to other key initiatives that will fall out of the work that we are collectively doing. And we want to do that in partnership. I don't believe that we head-butt people. When you head-butt somebody, they will not work with you. We want to work alongside each other in the reforms that we do. And Pat and I, through our joint council, have been walking with ministers and looking at, and we've had strong discussions, but we've also talked about our obligations and our responsibilities. So that's the focus that we will take in the way that we move forward on these discussions.
PRIME MINISTER: This is the big change with this. Where we were many years ago, I think it led to a presumption that somehow the Federal Government could close every gap that existed for Indigenous Australians. It's not true. That's not true. This problem is much bigger than the Federal Government. It's much bigger than state governments on their own, local governments, each and every indigenous service delivery organisation. It's bigger than every single community. And to close the gap this way of doing this work is about collectively bringing the resources and commitment of everyone to that task. And that's what I think we've achieved, Pat.
PAT TURNER AM, CO-CHAIR, JOINT COUNCIL ON CLOSING THE GAP: Yeah.
PRIME MINISTER: That's the structure that we think will get this done.
PAT TURNER AM, CO-CHAIR, JOINT COUNCIL ON CLOSING THE GAP: I think we've got a better opportunity now to make great strides in closing the gap, because the ultimate objective is the life expectancy gap to be closed. But just let me say, I'm quite happy to say to the WA Government and the Queensland Government, time's up for redress of the Stolen Generations. You have to follow the other jurisdictions throughout Australia, the last ones to come on board. And it's high time that you did the right thing in a human rights context to make sure that our people are receiving the right redress as soon as they can.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the Stolen Generation survivors were taken from their families under government policies. Doesn't the Commonwealth have a moral responsibility?
PRIME MINISTER: And we're exercising it. We're exercising it for our responsibilities and rightly so and will continue to. Now, I'm conscious that I've got Fiona and Pat here with me. And so unless there are other questions that people want to raise in relation to Closing The Gap?
JOURNALIST: Pat, is this a turning point [inaudible]?
PAT TURNER AM, CO-CHAIR, JOINT COUNCIL ON CLOSING THE GAP: I think it is a turning point with all the governments that we have at the table. So what I'm really pleased about with the new partnership arrangements that we have, is the strength of the coalition of peaks working with the state and territory governments at that level and feeding into the national discussions and the work that we do at the national level. So, you know, it has really increased the engagement at that level. That has to be applied right across the board. And I'm very pleased with the way it's progressing. And I'm looking forward to joint council tomorrow when we receive all of the implementation plans, which we'll analyse over the next couple of months and look for a national cohesiveness and look for the gaps and how that can be improved, including in ours. So thank you very much, everyone,
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you. Thanks very much. Thank you. Ken, you can stay with me if you like.
PAT TURNER AM, CO-CHAIR, JOINT COUNCIL ON CLOSING THE GAP: Thank you, Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you. OK, happy to move to other issues. But as you know, it's been another record day over 220,000 doses delivered yesterday. That now pushes us over 80 per cent of those aged over 70 who have had their first dose. And the second dose is followed over 20 per cent now double dosed across the country, one in five. And over 50, we have now had some more than two thirds, 67.2 per cent who have had that first dose. And we've seen states like Tasmania, territories like the ACT get over that 50 per cent mark. The programme continues on its strong momentum that's building up after we put in place the necessary changes to how that was being run. And it's really hitting its marks and has certainly turned the corner. But that's what that data reveals. But yeah.
JOURNALIST: The 184,000 extra Pfizer doses for Sydney amounts over two doses to only one percent of Sydney's population. Premier Gladys Berejiklian is saying that vaccination is the only lever she has left to get out of this lockdown because they are only managing to basically have a stalemate with this Delta variant. Does that mean and do you agree that Sydney is now beholden to whatever available supply of Pfizer there is and that at the rate even of bring forward that that means the city could be in lockdown for well beyond the end of August?
PRIME MINISTER: The primary tool to end the lockdown in Sydney is the success of the lockdown in Sydney. The virus doesn't move by itself. People staying at home ensures that the virus doesn't move. And I can only reinforce the importance, as was achieved in in Melbourne last year over a long period of time. Different variant, the Delta variant as opposed to the Alpha variant last year, the earlier variant, and that makes the challenge so much harder. But we're also doing it now with an increasingly vaccinated population in New South Wales. And that's why we worked with the health department and, of course, with General Frewen and not just for New South Wales. I stress also for Queensland, we put in another arrangement and that was based on getting further doses brought forward to ensure it was meeting the operational need, the urgent need that was there. Now, we haven't taken those doses from other states or territories. We haven't done it in a way that would mean that the vaccination programme would be slowed in other parts of the country. That would be dangerous because the whole programme needs to go forward. And so we didn't want to have appointments cancelled in other parts of the country. What we did on top of the 200,000 doses we'd already additionally provided to New South Wales for Pfizer and over a million doses could be, are available to to New South Wales of AstraZeneca. In addition to that, we have brought forward these other 190,000 doses. And it means that later on they won't have to be changing any appointments either. That's what the Premier and I discussed. The other thing is, I'm very pleased and I made it really clear those 20,000 doses in New South Wales are Pfizer have to go back into those regional communities. As you know, the Commonwealth Government continued to provide our doses directly to the pharmacies in those areas. We don't get this done by making other areas slow down. We get this done by the whole country going forward and wherever I can get more support into those states with an urgent need, as I have demonstrated now, almost 400,000 additional doses going in New South Wales. Now, wherever I can do that, together with our team here, we will move to to address that. So it is the lockdown, number one, and the success of that lockdown and the compliance with that lockdown, which is the key to that lockdown being lifted and that is supported by the vaccination programme, which this latest decision assists.
JOURNALIST: You declined to endorse a call by Dan Andrews for Premier Berejiklian to ring fence Sydney. We've now seen it spread into the Hunter and the Hunter is now going into lockdown for a week. Is it time the Premier did put a ring of steel around Sydney or at least attempt to stop people leaving and taking it to the regions?
PRIME MINISTER: I might sort of, what I don't do is provide a running commentary on the decisions of other Premiers in their areas of responsibility. I seek not to do that. They've got to make those calls. They're working on their data. They're working with their operational forces that they have available to them, which we then go and support, whether it's with the Australian Defence Forces or health officials or whatever else we can do to help them. They've got to make those calls. And and at the end of the day, they need to ensure those calls are effective.
JOURNALIST: In the last couple of days, General Frewen has said that getting to the 70 per cent target is achievable by the end of the year, but getting from 70 percent to 80 per cent under the international experience is going to be difficult. You've demonstrably ruled out cash incentives to get that final push, what sort of incentives will you consider? Would you look at national lotteries? Would you look at other forms of incentives? What would you do to get that final push?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, look, we're assessing a range of those, and many of those have been suggested. This isn't about whether they're incentives or not incentives. That's not what these discussions about. I'll tell you what I'm not for. I'm not for bad ideas. I'm not for spending $6 billion, largely paying people who have already done it. So it's just not a good idea. The discussion here is about appropriate incentives at the right time. And the four step plan doesn't talk about incentives until phase B, as you say, once you've already hit 70 per cent. The international experience does demonstrate that the next 10 per cent are a lot harder than the first 70. But the evidence of overseas shows that you are getting there, whether it's in Israel, United Kingdom, Canada being in these situations. We have seen that experience.
But the best incentive is this. You're less likely to get the virus, you're less likely to transmit the virus. You're less likely to get seriously ill. You're less likely to die. They are the obvious incentives. The vaccine comes with a built in incentive that it reduces the risk of you harming your self, harming your family members and harming your community. And that's why it's important. But it's the points of presence. It's the convenience. These are important incentives. Importantly, as people are vaccinated and an increasingly vaccinated population, then there are, of course, exemptions that those who are vaccinated should reasonably expect. And that's what the states and territories are working on now because ultimately, they're the ones who have to make them available through their legal systems, and we'll have an initial discussion about that, I'm sure, tomorrow. I'm not expecting any decisions on that tomorrow because we're still some way away from hitting that 70 per cent. But the agency that vaccines give you, the exemptions that that may lead to in that phase, these are powerful incentives and that's what we've seen overseas as well. There are other things we can look at. But the idea that we are going to go and spend $6 billion dollars paying people who've largely had it at the end of the day and thinking that is some sort of motivation. As I said yesterday, I really do think it's a vote of no confidence in the Australian people. I know Australians are going to come through this in the same way that I've been coming through it up until now. And we know from all the work we've done that it's just a bad idea. Incentives can be helpful, but not that one.
JOURNALIST: How do you think Australians will cope with at least another five months of yo-yo lockdowns?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, you're making a forecast. You're looking into the future, and that might be your view of it. What right now we're dealing with there's a lockdown in New South Wales and in south east Queensland. And our job is to ensure those lockdowns work and people can come out of them. Our job is to get as many Australians vaccinated as soon as possible so we can get to 70 per cent. And that's what we're applying ourselves to. So that's what I'm going to keep doing each and every day. And when we have areas of urgent need, as we have had in New South Wales and in south east Queensland and as we did before in Victoria, where we provided additional brought forward support and vaccines for that state when they were dealing with that challenge. So we'll just continue to work the challenge we have in front of us, because by solving those problems, then we can hopefully try and avoid the sort of outlook that you've indicated.
JOURNALIST: We've seen that SPC has now made it mandatory for its employees to get vaccinated. As we go into the next phase of the rollout, is it now incumbent on employers around the nation to do the same? Would you call on employers to make it mandatory for their employees vaccinated?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there are lots of choices in how we deal with COVID-19, and people should have those choices. People will make a choice to get vaccinated or not vaccinated. Businesses have to make choices. And on SPC, you've indicated, the choice that they've been making, Qantas have been making similar noises about the choices they'll be making, about how they run their business, because remember that in a business, that business at the end of the day will bear the costs of having to do the cleaning down the facilities and the various other things that could happen as a result of an outbreak or or something like that of that nature in their premises. So I understand businesses looking to make choices. Now, the legal basis for that, I'm sure they've taken advice about that. And that could be, that that will be an issue that we watch very closely. So where people are taking decisions that they believe are dealing with their concerns and their interests, then that's something that the Coalition Governments, Liberal Governments have always been supportive of. But that's always subject to the rule of law.
JOURNALIST: In response to Clare's question, you talked about the increase in doses for Sydney of Pfizer. Now, that's already underway, but is there anything further you can do to increase Pfizer supplies to Sydney, on top of that? And also on Moderna, you've talked to the chief executive of Pfizer about increasing or bringing forward supplies. Is there any possibility of bringing forward some of that Moderna supply given the scale of the case numbers in Sydney at the moment.
PRIME MINISTER: Wherever that's possible, we'll be seeking to achieve it.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, we've got 80 per cent coverage with over 70s, but that still leaves one in five Australians over 70 who hasn't even had one jab. That must concern you. What have you been told as to why they are hesitant or not coming forward? And are you calling for every GP in the country to ring those of their patients who aren't jabbed to contact them and encourage them to come and get at least a vaccination now?
PRIME MINISTER: Every single day, every single day, the percentage of those vaccinated in this country increases. The percentage of people aged over 16, over 40, over 50, over 60, over 70, those in aged care facilities, those anywhere in the country, every single day, because of the way the vaccination programme is hitting its marks, getting its messages out, connecting people with GPs, with pharmacists, with state hubs. All of this is contributing to the build up of the vaccinated population in this country. And I've said on many occasions. This is a challenge for all of us, I've said to those particularly in families, have the conversation in your family about yourselves, but also about your elderly relatives, your parents. I've said it before, if you're going into an aged care facility in particular, make sure that you've taken the steps to ensure that your elderly family member is vaccinated before they go in. We've got double dose vaccination rates in aged care facilities, well over 80 per cent. And we know what protection that is providing to that population in Sydney right now when you compare it to what we saw last year. So I'm encouraging everyone aged over 16 at this point in Australia to get vaccinated, to get the AstraZeneca vaccine, to get the Pfizer vaccine. And every jab is a step closer to where we want to be.
JOURNALIST: Victoria is again weighing up its options after its again recorded a few unlinked cases today. Is, like, your approach, is this consideration the kind of approach Victoria should be taking in terms of short, sharp lockdowns? Is this an example of when this situation would apply and what is your message to Victorians that could be entering their six lockdown?
PRIME MINISTER: To listen carefully to what the decision of the Victorian State Government is. Because I know they'll make that decision based on the best possible information and advice that they have. And the decision that they will take will be in the public's best health interests and they will get our support as they always have, as they always have, as we saw last year, as we saw earlier this year, and where state governments are taking those decisions, then obviously our support with the COVID disaster assistance payments kicks right in. I mean, New South Wales at the moment, about $1.1 billion has already been directly provided to people in New South Wales who need that support. And those recurring payments keep coming every single week. If Victoria finds itself back in that situation, in Victoria, there has been $214.5 million already paid to people in Victoria who have had to go through those lockdowns to date as well as well. And in South Australia, just shy of $40 million that has been paid in that state. In south east Queensland, they'll soon go into that first mark where they will start getting those payments as well. We've also this week in New South Wales, already been processing the payments for those who are on benefit payments for that $200. So the support is there. The assistance will come. Wherever we can reprogramme how we're delivering the doses of vaccines and where there's an urgent need, well of course, we'll seek to do that and provide that support. But my message, whether in Victoria or anywhere else, the state government will make their decision. They'll do it in a timely way. They'll consider all the issues they need to manage, learning from everything that's happened up until now. And I believe they'll make a decision which is in the best public health interests of this state.
JOURNALIST: Why did your government need a list of the top 20 marginals in order to allocate taxpayer money to projects in Coalition seats under the Commuter Car Parks program?
PRIME MINISTER: The Auditor-General has already made his ruling on this report. And ministers were authorised to make the decisions and the Minister made the decision.
JOURNALIST: Is it true that your office saw this marginals list?
PRIME MINISTER: I've already made my comment.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, what involvement did you have in this programme?
PRIME MINISTER: The Ministers made the decisions on these programmes.
JOURNALIST: So you have no say under this programme at all in where …
PRIME MINISTER: The Minister makes decisions as they're authorised to make those decisions.
JOURNALIST: So, you had no conversation?
PRIME MINISTER: The Minister makes decisions on the projects.
JOURNALIST: Did you have any conversations with Alan Tudge about where this taxpayer money would go? He refused to answer this question yesterday.
PRIME MINISTER: It's not uncommon for prime ministers and ministers to discuss many issues, but ministers make the decisions. That's what the Auditor-General found.
JOURNALIST: So you never saw this list of marginal seats?
PRIME MINISTER: What I have done is made sure that we're addressing one of the biggest challenges that people living in cities face. And so I'm very happy to have, just like the Opposition was, to go to the Australian people at the last election and say, I want to deal with the fact that people are spending too long in commuting, too long not being able to get a park, not being able to do any of these things. These are real issues. These are things that people want us to address. And my Government is addressing them. And I will make that commitment, as I did at the last election. I went to the Australian people and I said, we want to do this, will you support us? And they said yes. And we're doing it. Are there any more questions?
JOURNALIST: Did you see a list of top 20 marginal seats? Did you see it?
PRIME MINISTER: I can't hear any of your questions. You're all shouting over the top of each other.
JOURNALIST: If it was an election promise, why did you sign off on the funding before you went into caretaker mode?
PRIME MINISTER: The Ministers made the decisions. Are there any other questions?
JOURNALIST: Did you see the list of the top 20 marginals?
PRIME MINISTER: I'm very OK with the idea of building car parks to ensure people can get a park and get on a train and get to work sooner, can get home sooner because urban congestion and people commuting is a daily challenge. This is a daily thing that people want done and we're getting it done.
JOURNALIST: Did you see the list of top 20 marginal electorates?
PRIME MINISTER: The Ministers make the decisions as they should. That's the proper authorisation of the process. And what Australians are getting are more car parks. Australians are the winners. Thanks very much.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
3 August 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon, everyone. I'm pleased to be able to join you here. I'm joined of course by the Treasurer, General Frewen and Professor Kelly. I'm also joined by Professor Jodie McKernon, McVernon, I should say. Thank you, Jodie. It's good to see you. We've been seeing a lot of the Doherty Institute of late, and I'll be asking Professor McVernon to speak to you through the video conference this morning and we are releasing today the Doherty Report that was provided both to the National Cabinet and of course the Federal Cabinet in releasing the national plan and the vaccination targets that I announced on Friday evening from The Lodge.
Can I just make a couple of opening remarks before I throw to Professor McVernon. She'll be followed by the Treasurer who'll be outlining the advice that we have received through the Treasury process that is aligned with the work that has done, been done with the Doherty Institute, and both General Frewen and Professor Kelly are available to deal with any questions that arise, as well as Professor McVernon.
We all know that the world is in a serious battle with the Delta strain of COVID-19. This has been a long war against this virus, and there have been many, many battles, and this is a fierce one when it comes to the Delta strain. As I’ve said on many occasions, Australia is not alone in this battle. This battle is being fought right across the world, as every single country is adapting and changing its responses to ensure that they can get on top of this. Just last night I was talking to the Greek Prime Minister about these very issues and I'm in regular contact with many leaders around the world talking about how they are responding to and dealing with this most recent strain. So, Australia also is joined in this battle.
The tools that have helped us so much over the course of the last 18 months and more have indeed been blunted by the Delta strain. That is a clear learning and that means we have had to adjust our response, and so the reactions of short - hopefully - but strong lockdowns to ensure that the Delta strain does not get away from us, as we're seeing now in south east Queensland, as we saw indeed in Victoria and South Australia, and regrettably in New South Wales where the lockdown continues. This is now our first response when it comes to dealing with the Delta strain. When the circumstances change you must change with them. Under the earlier strains of this virus, then those tools did enable us to be able to prevent lockdowns, it did enable us to manage when cases presented. That has all changed with the Delta strain. The Delta strain is the game changer, and our response has had to change with those changing circumstances.
All throughout this year, though, whether it was Delta or Alpha, we have been working to chart the way back to living with the virus. Of course the virus will never be eliminated. It can take a very, very long time for any infectious disease that is resident in any population around the world - as I’m sure Professor Kelly will tell you, and indeed Professor McVernon - to eliminate viruses around the world. But, you can get to a point where you live with them, and we have been charting out that course since the beginning of this year indeed, when I first tasked Secretary Gaetjens to work with his counterparts in the states and territories. That process led to the first piece of work that was done by the Doherty Institute that was based on the Alpha strain. And, at the end of June, it was very clear that we would have to go back and do it again because of the Delta strain that had now become very clear, and that advice was presented to National Cabinet.
So, last Friday I announced Australia’s plan to live with the virus. I announced the whole country’s plan to get us back to that position where we can ultimately live with this virus, in the same way that we live with other infectious diseases that are present in the community, and we can get on with our lives. That plan is based on common sense precautions that prevail, and it is based on a pathway on vaccination that provides the protection necessary to ensure the many tools we have to suppress the virus, and its impact on lives and livelihoods are held at bay.
The targets that are part of this plan, the vaccination targets of 70 per cent to get to the next phase and 80 per cent to Phase C, are based on the world’s best scientific analysis and economic advice. Australia has been well served over these more than 18 months, as we have charted our own Australian way through this pandemic. An Australian way with Australian results that are different to almost every other country in the world, bar a few. An Australian way that has delivered Australian results that has saved more than 30,000 lives; 30,000 Australians and more would be dead today were it not for the COVID response that Australia has put in place. And, I say all of Australia because everyone has played their part in achieving that outcome. If we had the same incidence of fatality, of serious disease experienced by advanced countries of the world just like Australia's, with serious health systems that can respond to these sorts of pandemics, if we'd had their results, more than 30,000 Australians would be dead today.
But, it's not just that, as the Treasurer will remind you, because Australia is also, off the COVID-19 recession last year, got a million Australians back at work. Now, that is under challenge again because of the restrictions we have regrettably but necessarily had to put in place. But Australia's economic performance and our health performance, saving lives and saving livelihoods, are amongst the world's best, and are the product of, in this country, always finding our Australian way through this pandemic to get the Australian results that have protected lives and livelihoods.
The vaccination program, we have overcome those early challenges, which are very familiar to everyone around the country, and I particularly want to thank General Frewen, who joins me here today, who at the beginning of June took on my task to head up the whole of government effort. I want to thank all those working in the Health Department and around the country - the GPs, the pharmacists, those working in the state hubs - who are getting these vaccines out every single day, to the point now we have some 12.5 million vaccines that have been delivered, or thereabouts. The fact that we now have one in five Australians who have received double dose. We now have two in five Australians who’ve had a first dose. We have around two-thirds of Australians aged over 50 who’ve had a first dose. We have almost 80 per cent of Australians aged over 70 who’ve had a first dose, and, of course, in our aged care facilities, more than 80 per cent of those residents have had double doses.
So, it can be done. It will be done. I have great faith in the Australian people to get this done. Tremendous faith in their determination and their motivation to get this job done. Because I've seen it, each and every day, as we’ve led together, Australia, through this crisis. I’ve seen their courage. I’ve seen their selflessness. I’ve seen their determination. I’ve seen their sacrifice, and that is what has got Australia through to where we are today. I have great faith in the Australian people to get this country vaccinated.
We are making our own Australian way through it, and today I want to share the expert scientific advice, through our experts who are here with us today, that have informed this decision about the 70 and 80 per cent targets to get us to the next phase of the national plan, to get Australia in a position where we are living with the virus. So, I'll hand over to Professor McVernon, to you, Jodie, and then I'll go to the Treasurer to speak to the economic analysis and advice that has come in parallel with that advice and work together, and then happy to take questions. Jodie.
PROFESSOR JODIE MCVERNON, DOHERTY INSTITUTE: Thank you, Prime Minister. And, there's a presentation that I believe will be on screen concurrently, which I have a copy of here.
PRIME MINISTER: I might just have the volume up a bit in the room if we could, please. Okay, please proceed, Professor.
PROFESSOR JODIE MCVERNON, DOHERTY INSTITUTE: Fine, thank you very much. Alright, so this slide set summarises the work. Next slide please. And, some top line findings here, really are the purpose of the work, which was to identify vaccine thresholds that could enable the transitions to Phase B and C of the national plan. There's a strong emphasis on maintaining high vaccination rates across phases by offering all adults a vaccine earlier. And, in Phase B and C we are recommending, based on the evidence, that ongoing low level or baseline restrictions and effective test, trace, isolate, quarantine - what I’ll refer to as TTIQ responses - should be used to minimise cases in the community and keep case numbers low. And, as the Prime Minister's mentioned, the experience with Delta has shown that under Phase A, at the present time, lockdowns should be optimally early, stringent and short. Next slide, please.
The next slide details the national plan phases, which the Prime Minister has already announced and described on Friday. I won't go into detail on that today. But, we'll move on to the evidence underpinning those determinations. Next slide, please.
Overall, our modelling makes a series of recommendations and the key recommendations are covered here, and I'll unpack the evidence behind them in the subsequent slides. So, I think the first thing to make very clear is we've heard a lot of discussion of herd immunity thresholds and some magic number where there's a binary cut off and above that life is life as normal and below that we haven't achieved our goal. Vaccination coverage is a continuum. Every Australian who is immunised help to protect themselves, their families and their community, and that will help to reduce transmission and negative health outcomes. And, we look at the outcomes of vaccination are to reduce transmission potential, at this point in the population strategy, as a way of reducing those adverse outcomes. We bring to this the understanding, based on evidence here and internationally, that young adults are peak transmitters of COVID-19. Our elder populations and special risk groups are those at highest burden of severe health impacts, and our program to date has focused on reducing those impacts by directly protecting those groups. What we're proposing now is a shift in strategy at this phase of the program having got to where we have, and the Prime Minister’s outlined those figures in order to really maximise the benefits of this program across all individuals in the population. And, as said in the summary points, vaccination alone is a very big part of the answer but it is not the whole answer. We must maintain ongoing public health and social measures. Next slide, please.
So, we were asked to explore a series of vaccine coverage thresholds between 50 and 80 per cent. And, our simulations basically looked at, should an outbreak become uncontrolled in those conditions, what would the consequences be, and based on that, to provide advice about safe thresholds and strategies before moving to the next phase. At 50 and 60 per cent we anticipate rapidly growing outbreaks that would be very difficult to control and would require stringent social measures. As we reach 70 and 80 per cent, the need for long, stringent measures across whole of states or across extended areas, we believe, will be substantively reduced. And, the graphic on the top right of this slide basically makes that point for what we considered to be the optimal scenario, showing that for different levels of coverage we were able to reduce transmission through vaccination to the extent that the need for prolonged lockdowns to regain control should be substantially diminished. Next slide, please.
This slide's a critical conceptual slide that really brings together all of the key messages of our work in a single graphic. So, the Prime Minister's referred to the fact that this Delta variant has been a game changer internationally, and that's because it has a much higher reproduction number, the number of secondary cases that each infected person is likely to make is essentially double that of the original SARS-CoV-2 strains we were looking at in early 2020. And we, in the absence of having circulating cases most of the time in our population because of effective controls, have developed a metric called ‘transmission potential’ which basically summarises the characteristics of the population at any point in time that would enable the spread of the virus. And, this work’s been conducted by a team around the country, as has all of this work, and the group doing the modelling presented today has strong complementarity and overlap with the group who deliver weekly situational assessment reports to the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee.
And, based on review of what has happened in Australia, based on how they have seen the population behave, how we see mobility patterns in response to different restrictions, and how those levels of restriction have been able to constrain the virus in Australia, we have put together a series of bundles and descriptions of those activities that have been able to be shared with Treasury and provide this advice.
So, starting from a very high [inaudible] or transmission potential, I'm going to talk about now for Delta. We can see that the kind of baseline public health and social measures of hand hygiene and keeping your distance and, where applicable, wearing masks, are actually able to put some constraint on the virus, and when we have a highly effective TTIQ capacity, the public health response, those two together are very useful to already reduce the transmission potential of this virus. And, you can see that that brings that, those pink salmon bars - you may not be able to see well - but come down to another dotted line, which is basically the Wuhan strain transmission potential. So, just those measures get us back to where we started from.
We then overlay vaccine coverage at different levels - and these are the blue bars - and 50, 60, 70, 80 have increasing effectiveness, as you would imagine, to reduce transmission, and that will bring the transmission potential down further. However, you can see that to actually control outbreaks altogether we need to reach the dotted line that crosses one, at which epidemics do not grow. And, you can see that at 50 or 60 per cent coverage, we're still a long way from that line. The green bars in different degrees of shading show the ability of overlaid social restrictions to reduce transmission potential further. And, you can see that at 50 or 60 per cent it would be highly likely that stringent or moderate social restrictions - and our stringent restrictions here are Victoria's phase four lockdown back in wave two in 2020 - would be needed to keep control or regain control of the situation. At 70 per cent we're at a position where the light, low public health and social measures are able to keep us grazing that bar of one, and combined with an effective and well-preserved public health response could help to turn what might otherwise be a bushfire into more of a controlled backburn, and keep case numbers low. And, at 80 per cent coverage, we would be more confident that some greater social freedoms might be allowed with that level of immunisation. Next slide, please.
Just to unpack why this is important, and these slides are not projecting well on the screen I can see, so I'm going to have to talk through the figures. But, as we move to higher levels of coverage, the rates of symptomatic and severe infections are greatly reduced in situations where vaccination is holding the line and we don't have those overlaid social measures. So, this is still a suboptimal strategy but it's showing you why those overlaid measures are important. As we move, if - on the top left graphic - up from 50 per cent at the bottom to 80 per cent coverage, we can see that the number of symptomatic infections reduces, as do the severe infections arising from it. The graphic that I suspect you can’t see on the bottom right breaks those severe infections down into deaths, ICU admissions and ward admissions. And, obviously they’re all decreased across the board.
Now, this is an artificial scenario that we’ve modelled. We're assuming, we’re, you know, some models are wrong or some models are useful. But, we are making a strategic case here by looking at the whole population and saying, if we can achieve this coverage evenly, this is what we can do. Obviously, in implementation it will be very important to ensure that jurisdictions, small areas, key sub-populations achieve these high coverage thresholds, because while unvaccinated groups remain there is still potential for transmission and outbreaks and severe disease outcomes in groups that are not reached by immunisation. Next slide, please.
The next slide speaks …
PRIME MINISTER: Just, just, we might just hold that there because that slide people weren't able to see. But, just to reinforce a point that you’ve made to us on several occasions, that when you get it down to 80 per cent, the sort of death, hospitalisation and infection rates is what you expect to see with something like the flu.
PROFESSOR JODIE MCVERNON, DOHERTY INSTITUTE: Thanks, Prime Minister. Alright, so we're now on slide 7 of the pack. Thank you. This slide speaks to the strategic shift. So, we started with our population immunisation coverage, working with the team in Health who have been supporting Australia's vaccine rollout. So, with up-to-date information on supply, distribution, capacity, to devise a series of scenarios about how we might use our vaccine from here. So, we started at a census date of 12 July, having already achieved high coverage in many of the at risk groups, and explored strategies for next allocations. And, there are two strategies that are compared on this slide. If you look at the figure on the bottom left, we refer to two different allocation strategies - one called oldest first which basically means we keep working our way down the age groups in the population and try to maximise uptake, before moving to the next. Another hypothetical strategy we called all adults. You know, as a comparison we said, what happens if we just offer vaccine to everybody right now. How will that serve the program? And, you can see that at each achieved threshold vaccination coverage, the all adults blue line is well below the oldest first brown line, showing that there's obviously, the way you allocate that strategy and who is covered in the population is important.
And, I'll try to cover off on the figure on the right briefly. This is called an age-based transmission matrix, or a who acquires infection from who matrix. This is a standard tool in infectious disease modelling and it acknowledges the fact that people who are in the population, of different ages, mix differently with others, and may be more or less susceptible and infectious than others. So, these charts start with social surveys that ask people who they come into contact with. Not surprisingly we find that most people hang out with people about their age. So, if we look at where the matrix squares are darkest, there's always a strong diagonal reflecting that. We also see these, sort of, fainter wings off the side of that. This reflects mixing in households between adults and children, and it’s in households that the age generations combine. Now, if we were drawing this matrix for the influenza, and here the matrix is additionally coloured by susceptibility and infectiousness, we would see the darkest squares in this matrix in the age categories of five to 14. Children haven’t been exposed to flu as much as adults, they’re more susceptible, they're peak transmitters, they bring flu home to their parents and their parents then take it to their friends. But, for this virus, it’s different. And, we know this from looking all around the world over the past 18 months. Yes, children can get COVID and we are concerned about them becoming infected and infectious, but they're nowhere near as good at it as their parents are. And, so, in this virus case it's really the 20 to 39 years category who are the peak spreaders, and they will bring COVID home to their children, they will take it home to their own parents, and this is the group now where we're proposing the reorientation of the strategy. Next slide, please.
We make that point by taking effects on transmission through to the next logical consequence, and this work involved a series of models of models. I said before, there are a lot of buckets along the far chain here, as models of both infection transmission, epidemic dynamics, and then the consequences of those infections all feed into each other. And, so, the tables on the next three slides will refer to the clinical outcomes of these infections and breakdown where the infections are occurring, what age groups and by vaccine status, you know, who is getting infected. And, it's important to remember the vaccines we have are extremely good, but no vaccines are perfect. And, as we increase population vaccine coverage we expect to see more cases in people who are vaccinated, just because there are more of them.
This is a very busy chart, so I'm going to take you through the key messages one by one. The main story of this chart is the comparison of that oldest first and old, all adult strategy. So, are we looking for direct protection or are we really maximising the impacts of a vaccine that we know now reduces transmission by targeting transmitters. So, we're going to start with the 60 plus column, because this is an age group obviously of concern in terms of severe outcomes. And, within, under the 60 years column we have outcomes for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. And, under all our strategies, under the allocation modelling that was undertaken, we get to something like 85 to 90 per cent coverage in that critical age group. So, direct protection remains critical.
I'm then going to take you through, first the darker shaded bars for the oldest first strategy. So, we can see, if we look at vaccinated versus unvaccinated, we have 2.5 times as many symptomatic infections in the vaccinated group. There are nine times as many of them. If we then look at the consequences of those symptomatic infections, vaccines protect individuals against progression to severe outcomes. By the time we step through ward admissions, ICU admissions and deaths, we end up having fewer deaths off 2.5 times as many infections at the beginning. So, this shows that the additional impacts of direct protection are critical. The oldest first strategy still works well for vaccinated people. If we then compare those darker shaded bars with the lighter shade of bars, so we have essentially the same vaccine coverage in this 60 plus age group, by pursuing an all adults transmission reducing strategy we halve all of these outcomes all the way down. So, this is showing why at this point a strategic shift to targeting transmission and stopping these people getting exposed in the first place can substantially improve outcomes.
And, I'll just quickly reflect on the fact if you look at the less than 16 years group, and in none of our modelling have we, or none of the models presented here, consider immunisation of school children. But, by vaccinating parents you protect children, and if you look again at the oldest first and the all adult strategies you can see that adverse health outcomes in children are dramatically reduced by this strategy as well. Next slide, please.
So, the next two slides I'm not going to speak to in as much detail but I'll frame the key messages of them. This next slide, the addendum to the modelling, which is the second part of the technical report, basically took that key message that immunising younger people, reducing transmission is critical to maximising the gains of a whole population program, and worked again with the team in Health to devise a strategy that was feasible and implementable. And, this is a strategy that basically follows where we are right now but brings forward immunisation of the 30 to 39 years group to the beginning of September and 16 to 29 to early in October. And, if we roll our program out that way, the key message of these slides, and I'll leave you to look at the detail later, but these darker lighter rows now compare our hypothetical strategy with the feasible strategy, that we call transmission reducing. And, we see that across these various columns and down the rows we achieve slightly better outcomes with that feasible strategy. So, we were very pleased that something that was practical certainly captured the benefits of that earlier hypothetical proposal.
And, just on the next slide, the other thing to point out here, so this is coming back to this idea of synergies between interventions. So, we’ve said in the earlier slides all of these outcomes are if all you have is vaccination and some degree of contact tracing, but it's getting stressed because your case numbers are getting high. If we preserve the system by maintaining some low level restrictions and supporting that public health response, if you look at the dark and light shaded bars all the way down this particular chart you can see that we can achieve substantive reductions if we can maintain that capacity and maintain those community behaviours by 100 fold or more. So, this is very strongly the case that supports a combined strategic approach for the shift to Phase B. Next slide, please.
This final slide just summarises, again I'm sorry that some of the shading is out there, so I will read out some numbers for you. We are still understanding the Delta strain, we are still gathering evidence around the world about vaccine effectiveness against this strain, and in a whole range of population settings that are quite different from ours, where different proportions of the population are vaccinated and different measures have been in place and case loads from the beginning are very different. But, basically, what we are delighted to see and what really supports the use of both of the vaccines that we have in Australia is that both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca doses are highly effective at reducing severe disease outcomes following two doses. And, I'll read the numbers out for you because they're shaded. But, basically, for Pfizer, reduction in hospitalisation is 87 per cent, ICU admission 87 per cent, mortality 92 per cent. And, for AstraZeneca, the corresponding numbers are 86, 86 and 90 per cent. So, we have two very highly effective vaccines and this work really encourages their best strategic use. Thank you very much.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, thank you very much, Professor McVernon. And I'm now going to ask the Treasurer to take you through the economic advice.
THE HON. JOSH FRYDENBERG MP, TREASURER: Well, thank you, Prime Minister and Treasury work very closely with the Doherty Institute and Treasury will be putting out a paper later today which has the assumptions upon which their numbers have been reached. The first thing to say is that Treasury has undertaken analysis of the various COVID scenarios modelled by Doherty. And what they have done in this analysis is calculated the impact on economic activity, the direct economic cost at various vaccination rates, 50, 60, 70, 80 per cent. Importantly, the Treasury analysis is on the direct economic cost. It doesn't calculate the fiscal cost, namely the income or business support that as we know, goes out in the case of lockdowns and and other restrictions being put in place. It doesn't calculate the confidence effects that the lockdowns or other restrictions may have, and it doesn't calculate the labour market scarring impact that you may see from people being out of work. It focused firmly on the direct economic cost, which is effectively the impact. On GDP, three simple conclusions or findings from this work. First, that lockdowns and their costs are very significant. So should Australia see nationwide stage four restrictions, as we saw in Victoria in August of last year, the cost to the national economy is $3.2 billion a week. Should we see stage three restrictions across the country, the nature of which we saw last May, the cost to the economy is $2.35 billion per week.
These numbers underline the imperative of Australians getting vaccinated. It is the way out of this crisis and it is the way to avoid in the future longer, more severe lockdowns. The second key finding or outcome from the economic analysis is that the economic cost comes down significantly, if governments work quickly to get on top of the virus. This is the Prime Minister's point, early interventions, short, sharp lockdowns are the most cost effective way to handle the virus. Particularly, at the current time. And so what Treasury have found, is that at 50 and 60 percent vaccination rates, it's five times more costly, should governments not move early to get on top of the virus. And that's the short, sharp lockdowns that we're now seeing in Queensland, that we've seen in Victoria and that was seen in South Australia. The third key point out of the analysis, is that the economic cost to the country of managing COVID comes down as vaccination rates go up. So at 50 percent vaccination rates, if governments are getting on top of those early cases, it's costing the economy $570 million a week. At 60 per cent vaccination rates, if governments are getting on top of the cases early, it's costing $430 million a week. At a 70 per cent vaccination rate, it's costing the economy $200 million a week. And at 80 per cent vaccination rates, it's costing the economy $140 million a week. And that's baseline type restrictions, light or moderate restrictions. So there's one very clear message out of the economic modelling, which very much complements the work of the Doherty Institute, is that until we get to 70 per cent and above vaccination rates, the economic imperative is that governments need to move fast to get on top of those cases. If they don't, we see lengthier and more severe lockdowns, which have a much more significant economic cost. Thank you, Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you, Josh. Happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, if I am reading this correctly.
PRIME MINISTER: Could you let me know if you would like to ask Professor McVernon.
JOURNALIST: My question might be relevant but I’ll put it to you two chaps at the start. If I'm reading this correctly, if we get to 70 percent vaccination, the next step, then we would still lose about 2,000 lives in the first six months and 80 percent, which is, which is much freer, it's 1,300 lives in the first six months, as you say, that's the that's equivalent of flu. Given those numbers, does it alarm you that many months into the availability of vaccine for over 70s, we still only have 79 percent who've had one jab, which means that one in five of the most vulnerable Australians haven't got a jab yet?
PRIME MINISTER: I'll make a couple of comments and I might then throw to Professor McVernon because that would put her work in context. No, it doesn't really mean what you've just said. What has been modelled here is a scenario at those levels of vaccination where there is an uncontrolled outbreak that runs for 180 days. So it's not like an annual fatality figure of vaccinations. That is not what it is depicting. And I have no doubt that if such a scenario were to eventuate, then there are additional measures that would be taken to avert those types of outcomes. In the same way, if we had a very aggressive flu strain that was moving in a similar direction, that would have similar results, then obviously governments would take steps. But the likelihood of that occurring under an 80 per cent vaccination rate or indeed the other figures you have there at 70 per cent, is obviously very different. So I think it's a very important question, Andrew, to get that in context, that at those rates you have a very high level of protection similar to what you have in dealing with infectious diseases like the flu. That's why I talk about a path to living with the virus, because that's what we're doing with other infectious diseases.
Now, I welcome the fact that we've got, and this week within the next day or so, we will passed 80 per cent first doses for those over the age of 70. You already know that we've got double doses in aged care facilities of over 80 per cent. And as we've seen in the most recent Sydney outbreak, we are not seeing in Sydney what we so terribly saw last year when vaccines weren't available. And that heartbreaking situation that we saw in Victoria is while there have been terrible loss of life in Sydney, we are not seeing a repeat of what occurred in Victoria last year, and that is because of the significant rates of vaccinations that have been achieved, particularly in aged care facilities. And when you're at 80 per cent or thereabouts on first dose, then the second dose follows. That's what we're seeing from overseas as well. And we encourage people to get that second dose and particularly in Sydney. That's why the ATAGI advice and guidance has been about the four to 12 week and drawing forward to four, to ensure that second dose gets in earlier. But I’ll allow Professor McVernon to comment further.
PROFESSOR JODIE MCVERNON, DOHERTY INSTITUTE: Thank you, Prime Minister. And really here, I think it's important to reflect that what we are offering here is a hypothetical scenario that's a thought experiment, not a prediction. And just to walk you through those numbers a little bit more closely. So, yes, you've captured the figure where, you know, 70 per cent coverage, we see 2,000 deaths within 180 days at 80 percent. We see 1,300 within 180 days. This is an artificial population where there is a single outbreak. This is a scenario where we roll vaccination out and we stop at 80 percent. So that's it. And then we let things unfold from there. Clearly, we're not going to stop at 80 percent. We would be still looking to target those groups who have missed out. In every country, we'll see that if we only get to a certain level, that we will continue to see outbreaks of disease in the unvaccinated population. And so basically, if we stop at 80 percent and we just let it sit and we don't do anything else and we don't have optimal TTIQ and we don't have additional public health measures, those people will eventually get infected. And because it's been slowed down in the 80 percent scenario, some of those deaths are yet to occur. So it actually doesn't do better in the end. It just takes longer for them to add up. But in discussion with Treasury, we both agreed on a six month reporting timeframe. Then going back to slide 10.
PRIME MINISTER: So I'm going to revert to that old practise and I'm just going to work around the room. So we're already over here. Phil? Yep, David.
JOURNALIST: Thanks, PM. I've got a question about modelling and about policy, so for you and Professor McVernon. There's a lot of debate, obviously, about not just getting to 70 or 80 per cent, but how you get there. Did the modelling look at things that have been done overseas to encourage people to get vaccinated, like the French model of the digital pass or the health pass where you've got that incentive and then behaviour changes if you do not get vaccinated. Was that ever part of the modelling and the PM, given the Treasury findings here and also Professor McVernon's modelling, what's your response to the need to get people vaccinated? Do you like what France is doing with that health pass or is that a little bit too onerous compared to what you might contemplate in Australia?
PRIME MINISTER: I’ll go to Professor McVernon. Then I'm going to ask General Frewen, I think, to comment on the issue of incentives and the work that Operation COVID Shield has been doing on that matter. Professor.
PROFESSOR JODIE MCVERNON, DOHERTY INSTITUTE: Thanks, Prime Minister. So in terms of the modelling, no, we didn't specifically model behavioural incentives. The model scenarios came from health based on observations of how the rollout has been progressing and the ability to deliver. So the work about incentives is part of the implementation of this thinking. Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER: General Frewen.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL JJ FREWEN, COORDINATOR GENERAL OF OPERATION COVID SHIELD: Thanks, Prime Minister. Look, at the moment, I'm really encouraged by the willingness of Australians to come forward to get vaccinated. We've got really strong signs that the vast majority of Australians intend to come forward to get vaccinated because it's the right thing to do. And that really is the best incentive right now is to do it for themselves or their friends, for their families, for their communities and for the country. So right now, we don't think, you know, incentives are necessary. And as I said, it's really pleasing to see just how many Australians are willing to get vaccinated.
PRIME MINISTER: And in relation to the question you put to me. Australia has one of the highest vaccination rates, when you look at things like child immunisation and things like that, in the world. Australia is very used to vaccination, and that's why we have those high immunisation rates that other countries, frankly, desire. And so we're used to it and understanding it. That's why things like the TGA, that’s why ATAGI, these important safeguards that we have in our system are so important. And that's why we have always ensured that those bodies, particularly in the first instance, the TGA, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, they didn't cut corners, that they weren't rushed, that they were able to do the work properly. In so many other countries because of the high rate of death and the chaos and crisis that was present in those countries, they had to do emergency approvals. And what we did is we ensured that those agencies were able to do their work and to do it properly. And why? So I can stand here with you now with General Frewen and the Chief Medical Officer and say to you very clearly that the vaccines that we're asking Australians to take, we didn't cut any corners. We didn't rush them through approvals. We exercise the medical caution that Australians expect of us to ensure that when they go to get their treatments in their injections, that they can have the confidence that that process has been done properly.
Now, I had the opportunity to speak with President Macron, as I've had with many others who have been dealing with this issue. I spoke with President Moon about the measures that they've used there and, and Prime Minister Suga about what's happening in Tokyo, in Japan more broadly, and what our plan does. What our national plan does is recognise that Australians who are vaccinated have a lower risk of getting the virus, transmitting the virus, getting dreadfully sick from the virus and being hospitalised and dying from the virus. And so in that circumstance, those Australians pose a lower public health risk than those Australians who are not vaccinated. And that is the basis upon which our plan in Phase B enables exemptions to be provided to vaccinated persons because they are a lower public health risk. And as General Frewen has often remarked to me, that opportunity that comes from being exempt is a positive motivating factor. OK Phil.
JOURNALIST: To General Frewen and Professor McVernon, if I could. Professor, did the modelling look on the flip side of the impacts on people's lives and so forth of lockdowns and non-COVID related consequences of lockdowns. And General, you said you were confident we don't need incentives, is that to get to 80 per cent or above? And do you have a view on the merits or otherwise of the proposal the Labor Party's put forward today on cash payments?
PRIME MINISTER: Professor McVernon.
PROFESSOR JODIE MCVERNON, DOHERTY INSTITUTE: I'll take the first. Thank you. No, this modelling is basically confined as an infectious disease dynamic model and the health impacts reported are all COVID related. Thanks.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL JJ FREWEN, COORDINATOR GENERAL OF OPERATION COVID SHIELD: We won’t need incentives on the table, but right now, what resonates most strongly with people in Australia seems to be, you know, the incentive of being able to travel internationally again to, you know, not have to quarantine to, to avoid lockdown. So that's what seems to be most strongly motivating people right now to get to those high levels of vaccination that we need to get to as these research shows.
PRIME MINISTER: I'm conscious of the hour, but Question Time is not till 2. So am I going to keep working through, so don't worry about not getting a question up.
JOURNALIST: Question for the Professor and perhaps for the Prime Minister, that modelling you've described it talking about the patterns of infection over the past 18 months. The pattern over the next 18 months will be different. You've talked about youth being peak transmitters. There's a cute line about, you know, if parents are vaccinated, their children will be protected. But those children also go to school. They go on buses, they go on trains. So will there be another set of modelling that looks at risks and patterns to protect those under 16? Or are they simply being left to be hospitalised and not vaccinated?
PRIME MINISTER: I'll go to Professor McVernon. But on the last part of your question, of course. This work never ends and it continues to progress. And we will continue to ask all of those questions. Why? Because the virus doesn't stop and it keeps evolving. And we need to keep doing the work involving the Doherty Institute and many others. And as I'm sure the Professor has always acknowledged, there's a very big team of people who draw all this together. And then there's the work of the AHPPC led by the Chief Medical Officer. So, yes, the work will never stop because the virus won't. Professor.
PROFESSOR JODIE MCVERNON, DOHERTY INSTITUTE: Thank you. Yes, so we have been measuring COVID in Australia over the past 18 months, and that's included emergence of Delta here. So our understanding of its transmission characteristics are based on what we've observed, our understanding of the impact of interventions and the proportionate reduction in transmission potential is again based on what we've observed. So we are always encompassing that new information. And we actually report weekly through the common operating picture, the transmission potential now of Alpha and Delta variants as part of our routine procedure.
On the question of children, clearly in countries where there have been high levels of immunisation uptake and where schools have been one of the more free social venues, we have seen many reports of increasing representation of children in the disease cases, and we would expect that within that context. And we are carefully attending to all of the emerging evidence about children and their role. And I think I flagged that, you know, 80 per cent was the coverage threshold we were aiming for. But there is also room to go further. And we did specifically do a subcomponent of the modelling and the full technical report that looked at the impact of immunising in a targeted way, 12 to 15 year olds at this point in time, and showed that across the whole population, the reduction in transmission achievable would be very modest. Nothing if, if either zero or minus point one on the transmission potential, if those numbers mean anything, meaning that at this point in time that's not an efficient strategy for reducing transmission. We recognise, I am a parent, I was a paediatrician before I became a public health physician, I'm a clinician modeller, that children are very important. And so a strategy that protects them as well as elders in the population and the middle and the working age people we believe to be the best strategy at this time. And we will have more evidence over the next six months about the best approaches in children. And clearly preserving their education is critical. We believe this whole population strategy achieves the best outcomes for all at this time.
JOURNALIST: Can I ask, the modelling assumes that vaccination coverage is uniform. But you do mention the potential problem of outbreaks spreading quickly through subgroups that aren't vaccinated. Did you look at how that could, how that could happen and how vulnerable those sub-groups are and what the consequences of that are? And also, could states achieve better results in terms of hospitalisations and deaths by continuing with state border closures?
PRIME MINISTER: Professor.
PROFESSOR JODIE MCVERNON, DOHERTY INSTITUTE: Quickly knock out the fact that we're not thinking about border closures here. That's not part of our remit. In terms of those sub pockets, yes, they are very important. And we're still discussing exactly the next phase of this work. But the, the proposal is to look in more detail at some of those groups who would be particularly targeted and at some of the additional measures. And, you know, at this point in time when COVID cases emerge, you know, we've seen challenges in south western Sydney. We know we've had challenges in Victoria. In different population groups and in different populations settings, the public health response is tailored to the situation of the time. And we're saying that, you know, the need for targeted vaccine coverage and enhanced vaccine coverage in some groups combined with those early and effective public health responses will continue to be critical for managing COVID.
PRIME MINISTER: No lockdowns, there's no need for borders. So it follows a similar path on the vaccination rates.
JOURNALIST: A follow up to that question, actually. You know, we've seen data today that shows the vaccination rate across Australia is quite different, depending on whether you are in a wealthy inner city area or you're in poorer parts of Sydney and Melbourne or you're in remote parts of the country. To General Frewen, I mean, how important is it to make sure we have even vaccination coverage and maybe to Professor McVernon, you know, does that mean that we've got the potential for pockets of big outbreaks and deaths and hospitalisations in these areas where we don't have that vaccine coverage?
LIEUTENANT GENERAL JJ FREWEN, COORDINATOR GENERAL OF OPERATION COVID SHIELD: You know, it's really important that we vaccinate the nation as consistently and as evenly as we can. The data that we've released yesterday gives us good insight into how progress is going. And we'll be watching very carefully from here on in to see where some areas are moving ahead and where other areas are falling behind. And then we'll be adapting the plan and offering additional assistance to those areas that do need to be to be brought along a bit more quickly.
PRIME MINISTER: Professor anything to add?
PROFESSOR JODIE MCVERNON, DOHERTY INSTITUTE: I'll just say it highlights the really important role of community engagement in the public health response, and that's including supporting vaccination and, you know, just reinforcing that to try to improve coverage in those hard to reach populations.
JOURNALIST: In this report, it says that it's not possible to constrain an outbreak with a moderate lockdown or lighter restrictions even when vaccination rates are between about 50 and 70 per cent. So you need that strict lockdown right through the 50 and 60 per cent to constrain an outbreak like the one we're seeing in Sydney. Does that mean when Gladys Berejiklian said today that if New South Wales gets to 50 percent vaccination rate, there might be a brighter future after the next couple of weeks, that that's false hope because this report says they won't be able to constrain the outbreak without a strict lockdown until upwards of 60 or 70 percent vaccination?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I might ask Professor Kelly to make a comment on this, but I make this point. This work is being done based on COVID present, not present across the whole country. It is not a piece of work that talks about breaking lockdowns. It's a piece of work that says in order to prevent long lockdowns, in order to prevent the economic costs, which is the same, the same advice that we've received from Treasury, you need to do the short, sharp ones. And so that is the necessary policy response that has been put in place. In terms of breaking out of a lockdown, well, that's a different set of factors. There's no doubt that as vaccination rates rise, that tempers the ability of the virus to spread. But for a lockdown to work, the lockdown has to work. I've been saying that quite consistently. The vaccine certainly assists, but stopping the mobility because the virus doesn't move on its own. And so getting control of that, that spread, which is exactly what the Premier is seeking to achieve, is the real goal here. But, Professor Kelly.
PROFESSOR PAUL KELLY, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: Thank you, PM. The point I was going to make firstly is that the modelling is based on a national picture. And so, as Professor McVernon has said, the next iteration of modelling will look at in more detail at localised effects of various scenarios. So I think what we're seeing in Sydney right now is different to what's been modelled. That's the first point. The second point, I'd also like to say my heart goes out to everyone in Sydney, my father is there in isolation, and my sister is home schooling her children and so forth. So all of these things are very tough and difficult, but we need to hold the path. The modelling very clearly shows once we get to a certain point in the vaccination strategy, which is in the next few months, we'll be able to look at that point and say that we can, can see a soft landing from this in a way that no other country has seen to date. And that's the great hope that we see in this modelling. It will be tough to get there. And after we get there, the vaccination will also continue to rise. But we'll need to have those other public health and other measures in place as well.
PRIME MINISTER: I’m going to start with Michelle, and then I'll come across this side of the room.
JOURNALIST: To the Professor first in view of the what you were saying about the differences in transmission groups, which are most likely to transmit the disease in the community, do you think that the original rollout map was appropriate and what changes might be needed in light of your modelling to that? And to the Prime Minister, I think that the Health Minister said yesterday that the ATAGI advice on children 12 to 15, the general population of children, would be some weeks away. I think he might have said about a month away. Is there any way that that can come forward more quickly?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I might refer that one to the Chief Medical Officer, because he's closer to that ATAGI process.
PROFESSOR PAUL KELLY, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: So firstly, on the ATAGI process, they've announced yesterday that Minister Hunt mentioned. In terms of the of the children strategy, they've gone down the path, which is actually very similar to the adult strategy at the beginning, as you will recall, starting with those priority groups and looking at people that are more likely to have severe outcomes from the infection, recognising that in children that is extremely rare. So they've gone down that targeted approach. As more evidence accrues from countries that have gone down a different pathway, for example, in the US, where they are doing a blanket approach to all children in the coming months, they will, of course, continue to look at that information and make assessments as is necessary.
PRIME MINISTER: Up the back and then we'll move forward.
JOURNALIST: My first question to the Professor?
PRIME MINISTER: Sorry, Michelle.
PROFESSOR JODIE MCVERNON, DOHERTY INSTITUTE: Yes. Short answer, was the strategy right to start with? Yes. We, with all other populations and considering the ethics and all other things started by directly protecting those at most risk of severe outcomes. And the gradient of severity varies so substantially by age and the risks of death vary by age. All developed populations have focussed on risk reduction first. Where we are now, off the base of what has been achieved with the program, looking at the best strategic use in moving forward, a recommendation is to pursue a strategy that draws on the direct protection that's already been achieved, but amplifies it by focussing now on transmission. So if that baseline hadn't been there, we would have had to have an intermediate strategy, I suspect, to be able to take account of that group. Does that answer your question?
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, one for yourself and maybe the Professor as well – as a follow up to Andrew's question earlier. As you mentioned, the projections are based on different levels of potential outbreak. But is there a baseline level of cases, hospitalisations, deaths that we will see into phase B and phase C? I mean, Australians are used to COVID zero, essentially, at this point. But what numbers should we be preparing for once we do move into those later phases? Are we talking dozens, are we talking hundreds?
PRIME MINISTER: Let me make one very quick point and then I'll pass over to both the CMO and Professor McVernon. Phase B and Phase C of the plan envisage a change in what we're managing. So you're moving from managing and suppressing cases, because you know in a population where we are now, that cases turn to hospitalisations, turn to serious illness and in some cases death. The plan shifts in Phase B and further in Phase C, where our focus is on managing hospitalisation, serious illness, and, of course, avoiding those fatalities. So those outbreak scenarios, which Doherty have modelled, indicate that when you get to that 80 per cent – and I stress that 80 per cent with sensible living with COVID precautions – then you are dealing with a scenario that's not unlike living with an infectious disease like the flu. So there will always be infectious diseases resulting in hospitalisation and indeed in death. That is something that happens, sadly, each and every day. But that's the world in which you live. And I think Australians understand that. But it does enable us, when we get to Phase B and especially in Phase C, to move away from that being the focus. And what we are then looking at very carefully are those other matters. But Paul and Jody?
PROFESSOR PAUL KELLY, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: So I think it's a really key point that we've made here on several occasions. We have, at the moment, a national strategy which has been devised through the AHPPC and endorsed by National Cabinet of suppression with no community transmission. That is our strategy at the moment. And there are two reasons why we have that. The first one is to minimise that transmission in the community so that we don't have those severe illness outcomes and therefore minimise those hospitalisations, ICU and deaths. We've seen what's happening right now in Sydney in relation to that increasing number of ICU admissions, the increasing number of hospitalisations and very tragically, those increasing numbers, though small, of deaths, mostly in unvaccinated people. We need to move with that four phase plan to a different phase. We do need to accept that there will be cases. We need to accept that there will be hospitalisations, there will be ICU admissions and there will be deaths. So we do need to go back to that original suppression strategy that we had at the beginning of the pandemic last year, which was based on coping with that, as well as minimising those numbers. And so we need to revisit those plans of capacity in intensive care, in hospital capacity, as well as continuing to have – and this is very clear from the modelling – the very best testing, tracing, isolation and quarantine elements of our public health response.
PROFESSOR JODIE MCVERNON, DOHERTY INSTITUTE: Thanks, Paul. And just to reiterate, Slide 10 is the most important answer to your question here. So all of these other figures about thousands of deaths and so on are configured on allowing cases to escalate, losing some measure of public health response capacity and having only baseline restrictions. So slide 10 indicates if we can keep some social measures on, if we can maintain that public health capacity and if we can allow the synergy of those interventions to work together, then we can potentially reduce adverse outcomes 100 fold. And that's the really critical message, is that as before, there is no one thing to do. If all of those things are combined and if the population can come on board and we can keep those behaviours – the population has been amazing in really cooperating with the COVID restrictions and they've seen the benefits of that. This is best for health. And as Treasury's told us, it's also best for the economy to keep case numbers low through these combined strategies.
JOURNALIST: It took 10 years from 2007 to 2017 to get from the 70 percent vaccination rate to the 80 percent vaccination rate with the HPV vaccine. What makes you think, when other countries like the US and the UK who have had longer vaccination rates or longer vaccination programs than our own, what makes you think Australia is any different? And will you consider, or if you won't, why won't you consider giving Australians cash incentives for vaccinations?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, first of all, Australians understand the challenge. Australians want to get on this path so we can live with this virus and they can return to a life they knew, as far as possible. This is a very different public health challenge to what we've seen before, simply because of its scale. It's a one-in-100-year pandemic. It is a pandemic that reaches the entire population and has imposed very significant restrictions right across the country with very severe economic consequences, both lives and livelihoods lost. So I think Australians are in no doubt about the seriousness of this public health crisis and how every single Australian has a role to play in ensuring that we can get this plan implemented and we can get Australia vaccinated. And General Frewen and his team have been working tirelessly to ensure that both the supplies, the points of presence, the GPs, the pharmacists, all of these things are working to ensure that we can meet those targets and get Australia to where we want to be.
Now, we have always been led and informed by the evidence and the clear expert health and economic advice – and I stress health and economic advice – all through this crisis. Over the last more than 18 months, the Treasurer and I, the health minister, the Cabinet, have sought to understand the challenges that are both health and economic. That's why I've always said saving lives, saving livelihoods. And I stress again that Australia has achieved on this front like few other countries in the world today. And we will be able to get Australia to a point that we will be able to add vaccinated to that list. Now, I have great faith in Australians to do that. As General Fruen has indicated, his team have looked at the incentives and his conclusion he's already outlined to you.
I think the proposal that has been put forward by the Labor Party and Mr Albanese is a vote of no confidence in Australians. It says to them that their health concerns that they might have about a vaccine can be paid off. And I don't think that's the view of Australians. I've seen Australians respond with courage, determination and kindness over the past 18 months to get through. Doing it for the cash, I don't think is what would motivate an Australian to do this. I think doing it for themselves, their family, their communities and for their country is what motivates them to do this. And so, sure, you know, it's a bubble without a thought. Sure, it demonstrates, I think, a lack of considering the real evidence here and informing themselves in terms of a path they're going on and understanding the unique Australian characteristics. Carbon copying a plan from another place doesn't necessarily work in Australia, particularly in a country that has a very strong record on vaccination and not appreciating that. I mean, just think about it. We've got almost 80 per cent of over 70 year olds. Didn't have to pay them. They understood its importance. They've gone and done it. About two thirds of those over 50 have done the same. They were the populations that have had the greatest opportunity to go and do this. Do we really think that Australians of younger ages are less committed to their own health, the health of their families, the health of their communities than those who are older? Of course not.
Our plan is backing in Australians, it always has. Backing them in with the economic support to get through the crisis, backing them in on their values and their commitment. This is a serious public health crisis. It's not a game show. And it's very important that we continue to respect how Australians are engaging with this process. So if they do have hesitancy about vaccines, I'm not going to pay them off. I'm going to pay a GP to sit down with them and talk them through their concerns, which is what I have already done. Because that's how you can alleviate their concerns. I'm going to say to them that if you're vaccinated, then you present a lower public health risk to the rest of the population. And therefore, it's only common sense that you could be exempted from certain other restrictions that might have to be placed on others for their own protection, because they're unvaccinated. That's the scientific approach. That's the approach that we are taking. That's the clear evidence based plan that we're taking. Not a thought bubble, minus the thought.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, National Cabinet has agreed, in principle, to easing restrictions and the severity of lockdowns once we get to 70 and 80 per cent. But how can you be so certain that they will stick to that plan once we get to that point, given we have seen so many go it alone in the past? And will you be disappointed if they do go their own way at that point?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, my disappointment won't be the issue. The disappointment of the Australian public will be the issue. See, we're living at a time now where the responses that are now being put in place – quick and hopefully short lockdowns – that's how you stay ahead of Delta until you reach these marks. At an earlier time then it was different. And states like New South Wales had been in a position where they'd been able to manage it with their outstanding contact tracing and testing systems. But what you've seen from the Doherty's work is that when you hit 70 per cent and 80 per cent, and when you see from Treasury's work that those types of widespread actions can't be justified on the medical evidence and can't be justified on the economic evidence, then I think that is something that will inform, I think, the public's response. Now, at our meeting last Friday, there was strong commitment from all states and territories to this. And I note the comments of Mark McGowan. I believe he's been taken entirely out of context. And to be fair to Mark, because we speak a lot, at any stage, let's say we have a remote indigenous community. The question came from this side of the room where there may be a population that is highly unvaccinated and therefore presents a real risk. Well, of course, if there's a problem, they'll have to take action.
One thing that you don't do in a pandemic like this is pretend that you can know everything and that you take tools off the table. But the need for those tools, as the modelling shows and the evidence shows, is highly unlikely. Highly unlikely. And certainly once you get to 70 and 80 per cent, I think that evidence is very clear. Now, what you've heard today, what the country has heard today from the best expert evidence that you can get anywhere in the world, is exactly what the Premiers heard last Friday and Chief Ministers and that my Cabinet has heard. And I think that information, that expert evidence, backs in our national plan to living with this virus. And, of course, all Australians would expect Premiers, Chief Ministers and a Prime Minister to abide by that plan. I think it's a question of integrity and honesty with the Australian people, which I have no doubt is taken very seriously by my colleagues on the National Cabinet. I'm going to go from the back and forward.
JOURNALIST: [inaudible] In France, millions of people signed up within a week of Macron's announcement. And the reality is that we still do have a fair bit of hesitancy among the community. Wouldn't making some kind of concrete announcement about what those passports might look like in the future act as a carrot for people who are eligible and hesitating or delaying. And is the reason the Government hasn't perhaps pushed as hard for this as they could have because of the views of some of your coalition colleagues who are dead set against any form of vaccine passport?
PRIME MINISTER: No, I wouldn't say that. I remember when I first raised this concept some months ago when I was in Queensland, there were many views that are against it and they weren't all in the Parliament. Most of them were actually outside the Parliament, indeed, some of them were in the media.
But my point is this. What you're raising is an important matter. At our meeting last Friday, we agreed in the plan, Phase B of the plan, is that if you're vaccinated, you can be exempt from various restrictions that might otherwise apply because of public health reasons, because you've taken steps to protect your health and the health of those around you. If you're not vaccinated, you present a greater public health risk. And so this is about managing public health risks. That's what it is. It's common sense. It has the added advantage that, of course, if you are vaccinated, then being exempted from some of those restrictions is obviously an attraction. And that's why the Northern Territory, Victorian and Tasmanian governments are working together to bring back a proper list of options for the Premiers and Chief Ministers and I to consider which go to the issues you're talking about.
And yes, I agree, being able to articulate what they are is a good idea. But we've got to work through them and ensure that the states and territories are supportive of those because they're the ones who have to do it. As a Federal Government, I can't restrict someone going or allow someone going into a sports stadium, or a venue, or even coming into this building. What has to happen is state public health orders to support those issues legally. Similarly, I can't make it the law for someone to require of a customer to declare their vaccination status or to make it compulsory for someone to be vaccinated. These things are done through public health orders at a state and territory level. So working together to define what they are is incredibly important. John Howard made a very good point on the weekend. The states don't have any more powers than they've ever had. They've just never been enlivened in the way that they have through this crisis. They've always had absolute control over public health in this country. But this once-in-100-year pandemic, I think, has shone a spotlight on that and those powers are enlivened through that process, not through any other process.
JOURNALIST: You just said Australians don't want to be paid off to receive the vaccine. Does that mean you'll be discouraging vaccine lotteries at any point?
PRIME MINISTER: We still remain open, and General you might want to comment on this, we've looked at all of these and General Frewen has already given you a comment on that. I think there's a big difference between something like that, a big difference, just not a fiscal one. I mean, the fiscal difference is pretty huge, I've got to say. And we've had lots of private offers of how things like that might work. And General Frewen and his team have looked at that. But the primary reason why Australians are going to do this is because Australians know that it's good for them, their family and their country. And I intend to respect that. I intend to acknowledge that. Because that's what I've been backing the whole time to ensure that Australia can come through in the way that we are. So we'll look at all of those issues. But to think that Australia needs to get paid off to do the right thing for their health, that's just not how Australians think. Because we have a very good vaccination history in this country. People do get it. We need to be careful to ensure that we follow an Australian way here consistent with our values and our approach, because that's what has worked for us all the way through. And I'm going to keep backing Australians on that and believing in them and not issue a vote of no confidence in them. But General?
LIEUTENANT GENERAL JJ FREWEN, COORDINATOR GENERAL OF OPERATION COVID SHIELD: Look, we've had more than 12.6 million doses administered now. We're having record days nearly every day now, more than 1.1 million doses across a seven day period. We're getting more than 200,000 doses a day on weekdays. We've had over 100,000 doses a day last Saturday. So Australians are coming forward right now. It's the right thing to do. It's important for the protection of all people in Australia and it's important for the nation to build the resilience we need going forward.
PRIME MINISTER: Over the back, then we've got time for a couple more. We have to be out in about five minutes.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just following on Clare's question on Gladys Berejiklian's 50 per cent goal. Mark McGowan has attacked her over this, says the 50 per cent rate would be contrary to Friday's National Cabinet agreement. In your view, Prime Minister, would Gladys Berejiklian opening up after 50 per cent vaccination rate be contrary to National Cabinet's Friday agreement?
PRIME MINISTER: I think you're talking about two different things. They're two different things. We are talking in one instance about a National Vaccination Strategy where short, sharp lockdowns are the response during the suppression phase before you move at 70 per cent into the next phase where that isn't as necessary or at all necessary. And certainly almost completely unnecessary once you get to 80 per cent. That is a separate issue to how you come out of a lockdown you're already in. Now, coming out of a lockdown you're already in depends on the success of the lockdown in bringing the number of cases infectious in the community down to a level where they can be suppressed and contained. That is the goal the New South Wales Government is working towards. And when they believe they're in a position where they can confidently say they can do that, then I expect the lockdown to remain in place. So I think we need to be careful that we're not mixing two issues here. This is not a vaccination rate to break out of an existing lockdown. This is a vaccination rate that enables Australia as a country to move from Phase A, to Phase B, to Phase C. So I think we've got to avoid sort of phoney conflicts here. Paul is there anything that you want to add to that? No? OK, I think we'll just keep going then.
JOURNALIST: We've actually heard quite a bit from people who are struggling to get a vaccine appointment in the cities and in regional areas, they're on the phone for hours trying to actually get vaccinated. Obviously, that's your aim here. Why is that happening? A software developer on the weekend managed to put together an aggregator of booking sites within the space of a weekend. Why can't the Federal Government do that?
PRIME MINISTER: That already exists, and General Frewen might want to speak. And there's that one. There's also one called hotdoc.com.au, which is also based on the engine that was developed by the Federal Government as well. So this already exists. It's already there. It's already there. But you make an interesting point about the fact that there seems to be strong demand for the vaccine. So when you have strong demand for the vaccine, I'm not sure why you have to pay people.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL JJ FREWEN, COORDINATOR GENERAL OF OPERATION COVID SHIELD: So, the eligibility checker refers you often to state and territory booking systems as well. And there is variance in the state and territory booking systems. We're working closely with the states and territories constantly to try and refine best practise across those systems. But I've also seen examples of next day bookings. I mean, there are many opportunities for AstraZeneca right now within days. So it is variable, but we're working to to get it as consistent as we can.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, question for Professor McVernon, just in regards to the low level restrictions that will start to be in place once we reach that 80 per cent vaccination target. Are masks included in that? In what kind of circumstances do you expect that people will continue to wear masks in Australia? And for how long for? And just a question, you mentioned that there would be a reorientation in strategy around the 20-39 year old group. Can you elaborate a bit more on that?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I might get General Frewen and Professor Kelly to talk about the latter point. But Professor McVernon?
PROFESSOR JODIE MCVERNON, DOHERTY INSTITUTE: So on the low restrictions, these are basically bundles of interventions that have been applied in Australia according to different strengths of coverage and masks have or haven't been part of that strategy around the world. Most modellers will not actually believe they can quantify the benefits of masks per se, because apart from anything else, a lot of important transmission occurs in households and people clearly don't wear masks there. But other than that, they are overlaid with other sets of restrictions. So the types of restrictions that we've described and consider in terms of the transmission potential are really around something where there are no stay at home orders, there are some social distancing rules and the two square metre rule, there'll be caps on numbers of people in stadiums and workplaces and things like that. They're the sorts of settings that often we see as we, you know, come back out of lockdowns of having still some level of spacing of people in the community but without full lockdown. And masks are often an adjunct to that and it's really impossible analytically to tease apart what masks contribute to that. But they are clearly important in helping people remember that there are threats out there and they'll be implemented according to public health orders at the time. Thank you.
PROFESSOR PAUL KELLY, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: The task was, as Professor McVernon has said, to come up with these bundles. That was useful for the Treasury modelling so that they could cost some of those things as well. And masks have generally become part of those, of each of those modules actually.
PRIME MINISTER: It's not prescriptive to that level, in terms of your question.
JOURNALIST: [inaudible] of the strategy. That's what Professor McVernon said.
PRIME MINISTER: On the 20 to 39s, well General Frewen may want to comment on that. I mean, one of the lessons through this process, as Professor McVernon indicated in her presentation, was that at the commencement of this program, it has been rightly the priority to deal with those who are most vulnerable in the community. And so whether it's been in aged care facilities and things like that, well, the fact that we've moved on that means that what we're seeing in Sydney is not what we saw in Melbourne last year. But as time has gone on, and we are increasingly confident as time has gone on, as we've gone into May and into June about the impact of the vaccines on transmission, that now enables us to move to the next phase of the strategy and seek to bring more of those younger populations in sooner. And I'll ask General Frewen to comment on that.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL JJ FREWEN, COORDINATOR GENERAL OF OPERATION COVID SHIELD: Yes, look, I've developed a campaign plan which is really about managing supply with distribution nodes and then encouraging people in Australia to turn up to get vaccinated. That campaign plan is responsive to strategy. It also sits over events like hotspot outbreaks and those sorts of things. The shift in strategy here that's been spoken to, the idea that we do need to provide more focus on key transmissibility groups, that is absolutely able to be accommodated within the campaign plan. And we're looking to bring on 30 to 39s, which is the next highest priority, as one of the key transmissibility groups from the end of this month, start of September.
JOURNALIST: PM, you said the Labor idea for a cash payment is a vote of no confidence in the Australian people. But is it really that big a departure from the no jab, no pay for parents when you've got a kid in childcare or to get Family Tax Benefit A, you've got to have your kid vaccinated. So already there's a financial incentive. And if you get to the end of the year where you can't shift that last five, 10 per cent, why not? Would you be open to looking at an incentive like this?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the incentives the Government has been considering through Operation COVID Shield are matters that General Frewen has been looking at. But it doesn't support cash payments of that nature. And no I don't think there's an equivalence between those two. I know others have suggested that. And as the person who put that in place, I can tell you why we did it. We did it because we didn't want unvaccinated children mixing with those who were vaccinated for those conditions. It wasn't done necessarily as an incentive. It was done as a protection, as a protection for those children who were in those childcare facilities. So there was a very different task. I mean, the social services lever was used in that instance to deliver on that outcome, which was very effective in protecting children from going into those childcare centres. Now, many of those who are very opposed to vaccinations, they just didn't put their children in childcare facilities. That's their right. That's their right. We already have a very high rate of child immunisation. So I wasn't seeking to massively increase child immunisation rates because Australia already has high child immunisation rates. It wasn't about increasing the rate. It was about ensuring that others didn't put those children at risk. And that's why we took that decision. So it is very different. I know that in other countries they think of other things, but I'll tell you this as we wrap up. Australia is making its own way through this pandemic with enviable success. We are going to be able, I believe, before we get to the end of this year, based on what is being achieved and what I've seen from Australians, to get where we want to go. And we're going to get there with one of the lowest death rates from COVID in the world, with one of the strongest economies in the world to come through COVID, and a vaccinated population that is achieving the marks that we wish it to achieve. And that is the triple gold that Australia is looking for. Thank you very much.
Vaccination Targets - 2 August 2021
28 July 2022
Like all Australians, my family has been inspired by watching the extraordinary performance of our athletes in Tokyo.
Whether it has been our Queen Machine, led by Emma McKeown in the pool, on the water with our rowers, in the rapids with Jess Fox, or boxer Skye Nicolson baring her heart and soul to the nation after her disappointment and Patrick Tiernan getting to his feet in the final lap of the 10,000 metres, we are bursting with pride. Not just in what they have achieved, but in what they have overcome to be there in Tokyo.
Of course these are extraordinary athletes. They have incredible determination and rare skills that enable them to go higher, faster and further than the rest of us.
But what I think really endears our Olympians to us all, is just how like the rest of us they really are. Ash Barty kicking a footy before a match. Kaylee McKeown’s uncensored joy. Rohan Browning’s mullet. And then you see their families, tearing up, shouting loudly and hugging the breath out of each other.
They come from a place of honesty, sincerity and passion. Where you just push through life’s trials and get on with it.
There may not be gold medals for being a single parent, running a small business, doing night shift at an emergency department or aged care facility or volunteering for your local surf life saving club or bushfire brigade, but if there were, Australia would be high in the medal tally.
This is why I have always been so confident that Australia will pull through this COVID-19 pandemic. We won’t let it beat us. We won’t let our frustration get the better of us. We won’t let negativity overwhelm our optimism. We will just put our head down and keep pressing on.
So far, working together, we have done better than almost any other country in the world in saving lives and livelihoods. We haven’t seen anything like this in a hundred years. And it doesn’t come with an instruction manual.
The overseas evidence clearly shows that if we had the same experience of other advanced economy countries, where their COVID death rate has been almost 40 times greater than in Australia, more than 30,000 additional Australians would have died from COVID-19. Together, we stopped this.
And despite the current setbacks from recent lockdowns, more than one million Australians were able to get themselves back into work after last year’s COVID-19 recession, as our unemployment rate fell to 4.9 per cent.
Now we have to finish the job and get Australians vaccinated. Because that is our path back.
As Prime Minister I take responsibility for the early setbacks in our vaccination programme. I also take responsibility for getting them fixed and that we are now matching world’s best rates, with more than 1 million doses every week. The supplies are in place, the GPs, pharmacists and state clinics are getting the job done.
To keep us focussing forward I have been able to secure the support of our Premiers and Chief Ministers around the country for our national four step plan to bring this home.
This plan now has clear vaccination targets to drive us on. Right now we are in the suppression phase, where the only way to stay ahead of the new delta strain is to have quick and short lockdowns.
I wish this was different, but the Delta strain is far more infectious. The science of the Delta strain is the game changer and you can’t ignore it. The tools of testing and contact tracing are no longer enough to enable us to weather limited cases in the community.
We now need seventy percent of our population aged over sixteen to get vaccinated to move to the next phase where we can start saying goodbye to lockdowns. When we hit eighty percent, lock downs should become a thing of the past.
I can say this because I asked one of the world’s best pandemic expert scientific organisations - the Doherty Institute in Melbourne - to tell us, at what rate of vaccination we can now safely take these steps, and not see it all fall over again and run out of control as we have seen in other countries that have tried.
I also asked our economic experts the same question, about the lock downs and the cost of restrictions. And they agreed with the medical experts. With this new Delta strain, until we get to seventy percent, you have to lock down for quick short periods, as this avoids longer lock downs, where the cost is far greater.
The idea that you can just let this rip and ignore it is just not an option. It is fanciful, foolish and dangerous.
To get us through these lockdowns, the Federal Government is providing timely and direct financial support to individuals and businesses to get them through. Through our Covid Disaster Payment, we have already directly helped 774,465 Australians in NSW, Victoria and South Australia with payments totalling $994.5 million. This support will now extend to South East Queensland.
So, seventy per cent is our next mark to get to Phase B and eighty per cent for Phase C. Like you, I wish it was lower. But it’s not. It’s what the detailed scientific analysis of the virus tells us. The science of COVID-19 writes these rules, not us, so we just have to adjust and beat it. If the virus changes again we’ll have to do the same.
If we all work together we can get this done, including getting to the next step before the end of the year. But it is up to all of us. There will be enough supplies. There will be enough GPs, pharmacists and nurses to deliver the jabs. All we now need is you.
So, our gold medal run to the end of year is now well underway. Our Olympians in Tokyo have given us the perfect inspiration to get this done. It’s now up to us.
Virtual Address, AMA Conference
1 August 2021
RIME MINISTER: G’day to everyone joining us online for this final day of your virtual AMA National Conference.
I am speaking to you here from The Lodge in Canberra where we continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the outset, can I acknowledge the traditional owners of our country and pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging. And, of course here the Ngunnawal people in the Canberra region.
I also honour any serving members of the ADF and veterans who may be listening and watching on today. I particularly want to acknowledge our ADF medics, our nurses and reservists, and thank them for their service, particularly during the course of Operation COVID Assist.
I also pay tribute to all of our health and medical professionals who have stepped up across our country over these past 18 months. And to the AMA President Omar Khorshid, Dr Khorshid I want to thank you for your partnership, for your advice, and for your leadership, not only to the GPs and the doctors of this country through the AMA, but the sense of assurance that you’ve given to Australians in partnering us as we’ve sought to take the country forward during this difficult time.
Our GPs – you’ve done so much.
You have been – and are – on the front line fighting this dreadful virus….
… answering the questions of your patients, providing that care and support and assurance that they so desperately need from a trusted medical professional who have spent a lifetime building that trust for just such a time as this, for you to be able to provide that support and assistance to your patients.
… adapting as circumstances change, and I know that’s been tough.
… masking up, wiping down,
… going above and beyond. Opening at different hours so you can provide that support and critical medical care that Australians need at this time. And I know that’s gone beyond, in telehealth and all the other services that you continue to provide.
On behalf of the Government and our country, on behalf of all Australians, I want to say thank you to the doctors of Australia and to the AMA.
Thank you for everything you’ve done, for everything you’re doing right now, and for everything you’ll be tackling in the days, weeks and months ahead as we chart this course out of this crisis.
I also thank Australia’s GPs for your incredible efforts in vaccinating Australians.
We backed the doctors of Australia, the GPs of Australia, to deliver these vaccines. It was a conscious decision to say it’s primarily through our primary care network that we’ll be delivering these vaccines. And, you’ve stepped up.
Our GPs have worked tirelessly to provide well over half, the lion’s share, of Australia’s COVID-19 vaccines to date, including now getting up to over 120,000 and more vaccines delivered through our GP network each and every day.
Why? Well, it’s because you’re trusted, and we know that many Australians have questions about vaccines.
That’s why we added a new MBS item to support discussions with patients about their vaccine options, and are providing more opportunities for GPs to administer the Pfizer vaccine as well.
And, we’re hitting our marks with our vaccination targets. We had significant challenges, as you well know, in those first months of the vaccination program. But together we’ve been turning this around. We have turned the corner. We are catching up the ground, and we are ensuring that these vaccines are getting into more arms each and every week, substantially because of your efforts.
Twelve million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have now been administered in Australia.
We’re tracking at more than one million a week – and that is only accelerating, again with the GPs doing the lions share.
Now, let’s break that down a bit more, because it’s important.
Almost 40 per cent of Australians aged 16 and over have now had a first dose.
And, that includes almost two thirds of people aged over 50, and more than 75 per cent of people aged over 70.
Across Australia, we are applying the same determined focus in 2021 to fighting COVID as we did last year in 2020.
And, we know that so far we have saved over 30,000 lives here in Australia, at least, because of our combined efforts.
Overseas, the death rate from COVID-19 across the OECD – countries just like Australia, sophisticated health systems, populations that are familiar with vaccines, and health care and all of these issues, substantial economies – their fatality rate last year was 39 times greater than what occurred here in Australia. That’s what together we have been able to avoid, saving more than 30,000 lives here in this country.
And, the AMA was an integral part of that effort and what we’ve been able to achieve – and that continues because our work, as Omar knows, is still very much underway.
Every step of the way we have been listening to our medical experts. We have given a keen ear to their advice, not just on the medical issues but how we can actually ensure that the vaccines and the other issues can be delivered and disseminated right across the population.
We invested more than $25 billion in the COVID-19 health response directly from the Federal Government.
That includes almost 25 million COVID-19 pathology tests – ensuring widespread testing.
We’ve provided more than 60 million COVID-19 telehealth services for around 14 million patients.
Telehealth, of course, is a success story all on its own.
Now, we all know that in addition to COVID-19, the day to day diseases and illnesses that we all face have not stopped. They haven’t gone away. And, of course, there’s a great risk that those things can be put to one side, and Australians may not pay as much attention to the other areas of their health. But, you’ve certainly kept paying attention, and so have we.
So, we’ve worked as hard as we can to keep every part of our health system going, even through this pandemic.
Telehealth has played an important role in supporting Australians through the pandemic, ensuring that Australians can continue to see their GP, renew their scripts, seek mental health support from the safety of their own home, which in many cases they were required to stay in in order to get on top of this pandemic.
This systemic reform has been designed in partnership with the AMA – every step of the way – as we have responded to the pandemic.
And, I want to thank Minister Hunt for the great work, working together with Omar and all the team at the AMA and across the medical profession, to ensure that we can keep delivering. The conversation, the dialogue has been constant, the channels always open, and the honesty and candour in the discussion I’ve greatly valued, and I know that Greg has valued that as well. So, I want to thank you for the way you have engaged with us as medical professionals in this country.
Since 13 March 2020, more than 300 temporary Medicare Benefits Schedule telehealth items have been implemented as part of the Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic for GPs, allied health and specialists.
And, as at the 26 July 2021, 66.8 million telehealth services have been delivered to 14.6 million patients. Almost $3.4 billion in benefits has been paid. This is exclusive of the bulk billing incentive, and 85,900 practitioners have now used telehealth services. It’s a mammoth effort.
Our commitment, as this demonstrates, to Medicare, is rock solid.
Funding in Medicare is at record highs – and it continues to climb, reaching $33.5 billion by the 2024–25 financial year.
And, we have been adding more lifesaving and life-changing drugs to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. This is a great passion of our Government, and myself and Minister Hunt in particular. We have been working on these issues for many years, going back to when I was Treasurer and he was Health Minister. And, we have continued that on over the last three years.
Since coming into Government, our Government has made more than 2,700 new or amended listings on the PBS. And, you know what a difference that makes to the lives of your patients and their families.
An average of around 30 listings or amendments a month – that’s one single every day. That’s what a commitment to the PBS looks like, and that our Government has been demonstrating and you’ve been helping us deliver.
I’ll mention what we’ve been able also to add in just the last two months.
New treatments for mesothelioma, where without subsidy, patients, you know, they would have to pay more than $130,000 per course of treatment for this medicine.
And new listings for
… kidney cancer
… severe eczema
… and to prevent women going into premature labour.
We’re so proud of the expansion of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, the PBS, that has occurred under our Government. I believe that the PBS is one of the greatest achievements of Australia’s national effort. It is a world leading program. And, we have committed to it, I think, more than any other government before us.
This year, more than any before, we pay tribute also to the remarkable research and expertise that we have in the pharmaceutical industry who are commercialising lifesaving vaccines for you to administer.
Our health system is world-class, and Australians are rightly proud of it.
But, even the best systems need updating and refining so that we can ensure all Australians can access the best practice care, and so that we’re investing in new and amended items.
So, we undertook the MBS Review.
It was led by clinicians, as it should be.
In fact, we had more than a hundred clinical committees and working groups providing expert advice to the Government.
It was the most comprehensive review of Medicare ever. And, you were driving it.
Many of these changes now in place reflect up-to-date medical practice, increase rebates to encourage best practice, and remove obsolete items.
Changes equal a system that works better and works smarter for your patients, so you can deliver the care that I know you’re passionate about delivering. That’s why you decided to make that commitment to go into the medical profession. It’s a huge commitment and each and every day you live out that commitment and that vision and dream that you had of doing the work that you are doing this day.
In this case, the changes update things like orthopaedic, cardiac and general surgery so it better reflects the way you actually practice and treat people.
It’s got incentives for advanced techniques with improved patient outcomes, such as the new items for complex aortic procedures.
And, any savings will be reinvested into new and amended items.
It all comes back to making a better system for Australians.
Finally, I want to end where I began.
By thanking you.
For the way that you engage with our Government, and government’s right across the country – even when our conversations have had to be robust.
But, above all, for the way you passionately care for Australians and for what you are doing for our country.
Again to Dr Khorshid, thank you for your leadership. And again, to Minister Hunt, thank you for the way that you’ve so fully engaged with the AMA and the medical profession, and particularly our GPs across the country.
We understand that you’re on the front line of this. We understand that you’re the ones that we can work through to ensure that we come through the worst global pandemic that we have seen in a century.
We’ve saved over 30,000 lives. We’ve ensured that a million people have got back to work. We’re charting our course out of this. And, you are helping us lead the way and lead Australians back to a life that they once knew, and for that I want to thank you. And, I look forward to continuing to shoulder up together to the challenges that we know are ahead. Thank you very much.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
30 July 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Good evening. Thank you for joining me. Last month, I outlined a pathway, together with my National Cabinet colleagues, a pathway that would take us to where we want to go. Tonight, we have agreed in plan, tonight we have agreed in principle the plan that will get us there and the targets that will get us there. And, I'll take you through those very shortly.
Before I do that, I just want to note that we have very much welcomed the news today that we've had another record day on the vaccination program - more than 210,000 vaccine doses delivered in the past 24 hours from yesterday. Twelve million doses, 12 million doses have now been reached. We are hitting these extra millions now within the week, and indeed in as few as six days. 125,000 vaccines delivered by GPs who continue to do the lion's share of the lifting when it comes to delivering these vaccines all around the countries, and I want to thank those GPs for the tremendous job they're doing, and all of those working in the vaccination hubs and clinics that are run by our state governments all around the country for getting this job done.
We are now at 40 per cent of Australians, who are eligible for a vaccine, on a first dose. One in four over 50s are now fully vaccinated. And, for those who are over 70, over 40 per cent, or around 40 per cent, are now fully vaccinated, and over 80 per cent have had a first dose.
We agreed today in principle the national plan to chart the way back. That plan, I confirm has four phases. The current suppression phase where we are vaccinating, where we’re preparing and piloting the tools that we’ll be using in subsequent phases. The transition phase as it is now known, which is phase b, which we’ll move to when we hit the first vaccination target. The third phase is the consolidation phase, and then the final phase that follows beyond that. The plan that we've agreed in principle today, this plan, recognises the different starting points of states and territories in terms of where they are right now. And, we've agreed that no state, under the current suppression phase and beyond should be required to lift restrictions and or increase restrictions, I should say, beyond where they currently are right now. All states have their settings in place to deal with the circumstances they are currently facing, be they the lockdown restrictions that we're going through currently in Sydney and New South Wales, the easing out of lockdown in Victoria and South Australia, or indeed the less restrictive settings that are in place in Queensland and Western Australia and so on. So, under this plan, no state or territory is required to increase the restrictions beyond where they are right now. They are a matter for them to set based on the balance of risk that they see in their state and territory.
This plan, I should also stress, as we've learnt all the way through COVID-19, is subject to the rules that indeed COVID-19 writes itself. New variants that can emerge. If this were to occur, then of course, we would look at those very carefully. We would undertake further scientific analysis of that. But, the work that we've done, the plan that we've agreed in principle this evening is based on our full knowledge of the Delta variant as it is available to us, the excellent work that has been done by the Doherty Institute to inform these decisions, as well as by the Commonwealth Treasury, working with the state treasuries all around the country.
At each stage, I want to be clear about what the vaccination targets mean for Phase B and Phase C. States and territories move into the next phase when one, the national average for the vaccination program, as a percentage of eligible adults, is achieved nationally, and then that state itself has achieved the vaccination threshold in their own state. So, it's like a two key process. To get to that next phase, all of Australia has to get there together, on average. And, then beyond that each state and territory will pass into that second and third phase based when they reach those thresholds. And as I stressed, they are expressed as a percentage of the eligible population.
The thresholds which we are announcing tonight are completely 100 per cent consistent with the scientific modelling and advice provided together by the treasuries and the Doherty Institute. Phase B will be achieved, and I'll go through these, each of these phases in some detail to assist you, but we will get to the next phase when Australia reaches 70 per cent of the eligible population who are double dose vaccinated. We will get to Phase C when we hit 80 per cent. Now, these are targets for all Australians to achieve. States, territories working together, communities working together, individuals, GPs, pharmacists. Australia will get this done by working together. The targets are there for us all to achieve and for us all to work towards.
Let me tell you what the targets entail, and I might need that light, given the lateness of the hour. In the first phase, the suppression phase, it's important to note that early and stringent and short lockdowns will be necessary to deal with outbreaks in this Delta strain. That is a clear learning of the events of recent weeks and months in terms of the activity of the Delta strain and the work we have looked at around the world to inform that decision. So it is important that in that first phase we continue to strongly suppress the virus for the purpose of minimising community transmission. And, a very big, and the most important tool in that arrangement, is if we do see outbreaks occurring then we need to clamp down on those extremely quickly. Now, more broadly than that, the restrictions that you're seeing, as I said before, in states and territories around the country, will continue at those settings and there is no requirement to make them more stringent based on the current settings around the country. If there was an outbreak that were to occur though, then of course, states and territories would need to take the necessary action.
Phase B, which is achieved by the whole country reaching 70 per cent, and then each state and territory reaching 70 per cent, is to seek to minimise serious illness, hospitalisation and fatality as a result of COVID-19, with low level restrictions. Now, what that means is we will continue to maintain those high vaccination rates and continue to increase them, encouraging uptake through incentives and other measures. We will minimise cases in the community through ongoing low level restrictions and effective track and trace. So track, trace, isolate and quarantine remain very important parts of the program of keeping pace with any potential outbreak that may occur in the country at that time. When you reach 70 per cent, the advice is that you've built up a much more significant level of protection, which enables the usual settings and levers that we have to deal with an outbreak, particularly if Delta, are able to be more effective. Against current rates, that is not the case, and I note there is only two countries, significant countries, that have reached a 70 per cent level of vaccination double dose of their eligible population, the United Kingdom and Israel.
Moving on, lockdowns in Phase B are less likely, but they are possible. They are less likely, I wish to stress, and in targeted cases, in more targeted cases, they may be necessary in those circumstances. But, they are not something that you would normally expect because of the much higher level of vaccination and protection that exists within the country. International border caps will remain and low level international arrivals will be able to be undertaken under controlled settings with safe and proportionate quarantine to minimise the risk of COVID entering. We will ease restrictions in Phase B on vaccinated residents. The details of that are still to be worked through, they’re still to be determined. So, those matters have not been settled and we've established a small working group involving the Northern Territory, Victoria and Tasmania, and they will lead the work on that process with their officials and those premiers, bringing back to the National Cabinet a set of recommendations as to what the options will be for those different arrangements for vaccinated residents in Phase B. So, if you get vaccinated, there will be special rules that’ll apply to you. Why, because if you’re vaccinated, you present less of a public health risk. You are less likely to get the virus. You are less likely to transmit it. You are less likely to get a serious illness and be hospitalised, and you are less likely to die. And so, that principle of easing restrictions on vaccinated residents, details of which are still to be worked through, is an important one that has been agreed in principle tonight.
We will restore in-bound passenger caps at previous levels for unvaccinated returning travellers and larger caps for vaccinated returning travellers coming to Australia once we hit Phase B. So, that’s Australians returning. We will allow capped entry of student and economic visa holders, subject to quarantine arrangements and availability, and will introduce new reduced quarantine arrangements for vaccinated residents. As I noted last week, South Australia is already in the process of setting up their trial on home quarantine arrangements.
When we reach 80 per cent, that is, first again, nationally an average of 80 per cent, and the state or territory has reached 80 per cent, we will move into Phase C, and that is to seek to minimise - the consolidation phase, seek to minimise serious illness, hospitalisation and fatalities as a result of COVID-19, with baseline restrictions. Now, in this phase, the measures may include maximising the vaccination coverage, of course. Secondly, minimum ongoing baseline restrictions adjusted to minimise cases without lockdowns. Highly targeted lockdowns only. What I mean by that, you should not expect broad based metropolitan wide lockdowns in Phase C. That should not be the expectation. But, where there are vulnerable communities, they may be in remote communities, they may be in particular communities within a, within a city, where there may be cultural elements that may be involved in this, it might be a particular vulnerable population, then you need to leave available to yourself, and the states and territories for public health reasons, will need to leave themself that option. As long as COVID is with us, then that is an option and a tool that may be necessary to use, but only in a very surgical way, as opposed in the way that it is now being applied. And so, getting to that level is very important so we can see a big change building on the changes that we’d achieved in Phase B.
In that phase also, we will continue to bolster the vaccine program. We will exempt vaccinated residents from all domestic restrictions. We will abolish caps on returning vaccinated Australians. We will also increase the capped entry of student, economic and humanitarian visa holders. We will lift all restrictions on outbound travel for vaccinated Australians, and we’ll extend travel bubble, the travel bubble, for unrestricted travel to new candidate countries and as you know we're already working with Singapore to that end, as well as Pacific countries but there may be others that present in the course of moving towards that phase. There will be a gradual re-opening of inward and outbound international travel with safe countries. Safe countries, those that have the same sort of vaccination levels that Australia has, and proportionate quarantine and reduced requirements for fully vaccinated inbound travellers.
Now phase, the final phase, there is not a vaccination target set at this point. One was not recommended by the Doherty Institute. The reason is, is it is too hard to say what the situation will be down the track. That may be the passage of time and ensuring that we are operating very successfully in Phase C. It also will depend on the, the booster program, which we have ample vaccines for, but the durability and the proof of those vaccines over time. There are too many unknowns before we can understand life as normal. But, that is certainly where we're heading. And every single jab, every single vaccine will take us closer to achieving each of these steps. And Australians, we have to take each step together. And that starts with walking in the door of that vaccine clinic and seeing that GP, that pharmacist, the state hub, and getting that vaccine. Each step you take towards that is a step that Australia takes to where we all want to get to.
So, they are the four phases. The final phase of course, involves opening international borders. Quarantine for high risk inbound travel only. Minimising cases in the community without ongoing restrictions or any lockdowns. Living with COVID, because once we get above those 80 per cent marks, the, the scientific evidence shows that we’re largely then in a place where COVID can be managed, consistent with other infectious diseases. And of course, we don't apply those types of restrictions to the flu or many other things like that.
But I want to thank the Doherty Institute and Treasury for the excellent work. This is still a plan that we've agreed in principle once we finalise the plan and the other elements to it that I've noted to you this evening that we will be releasing further information at that time. That won't be happening tonight or over the course of the next week or so. We will wait to finalise the plan, we'll be circulating to you for now, a summary of what I've just provided to you and what was on that sheet, and that should enable you to enquire into those matters further. I want to thank Australians for getting vaccinated. The vaccination programme is really hitting its marks, and that's because of a resounding effort all around the country. We keep doing that every day, every week, then we will get there Australia. Happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: PM, all the targets that you've set out, the eligible adult population.
PRIME MINISTER: Correct.
JOURNALIST: Other countries like Singapore and Canada are already including younger people say from the age of 12 plus, who, does this plan mean that children will not be included at all until next year? What's the reasoning behind not including younger people in the targets?
PRIME MINISTER: It does not mean that children won't be included in the vaccine programme at all, the evidence presented tonight, or this afternoon, this evening at our meeting was that the transmissibility amongst young children, while they can contract it, the transmissibility levels amongst those age groups are different to those of the eligible adult population. But vaccinating 12 to 16 year olds, there was, I believe, I think some ATAGI advice that was soon to be released on that, if it hasn't been released already today, I've been caught in a meeting all day, so you'd be in a position to tell me.
JOURNALIST: Not so far.
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, I think there is some ATAGI advice pending soon on that matter. And I think that will inform that issue a lot more going forward. We've been waiting on that. And then, of course, Lieutenant General Frewen will incorporate that into his programme. But in terms of the vaccination thresholds, those targets, it was not the advice that we should be including those in those figures at this time. But if that were to change, then obviously we would refresh the plan to reflect that.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, two points of clarity if I may. You've talked about this in-principle plan. Is there anything stopping individual states from taking a more conservative approach? And even if the trigger is delayed, delay going to that next stage and implementing slightly different measures [inaudible].
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think, the population, the residents of those states would be very disappointed if they were held back along those lines. And there was certainly a good consensus today that this has to be a national plan. And that we had to move together, hence why we took the decision that the whole country has to get there on average first before any individual state can move into that next phase. But I can tell you, there's no state or jurisdiction in the country that wants to apply a lockdown or hold Australians back should it not be necessary. And what the modelling and the work done by Doherty and Treasury showed us today was that when you get to that 70 per cent level, you have achieved a level of coverage which enables you to then ease into that process. This is not about freedom days and things like that. We've always been in Australia taking our own path to this. We've made our own Australian way through this. Sure, we've acted with a lot of caution. That's why there are 30,000 Australians today who are still alive because of that and the decisions that we've taken. But being cautious means we move into this. We don't go from shut one day, open the next. That is a very, in our view, dangerous path. What we need to do is take steps towards that - sensible, cautious steps. We get to 70 per cent. So let's get there. Then we get to 80 per cent and we make that work and then we get to the next level.
JOURNALIST: And the second point of clarity, you said there was a clear learning about the importance of short, sharp lockdowns in tackling Delta. Do you now regret applauding Premier Berejiklian for resisting a full lockdown last month when case numbers were rising.
PRIME MINISTER: People were acting on the advice that they had and the information they had. I mean, I'm glad everyone else has got perfect hindsight. No one in the world has perfect hindsight over these issues. The Delta strain is a strain that we've sought to understand and learn, and react to and respond to. So those who have had to make those decisions have made decisions, I think in the best interests of their state and on the best possible advice they had available to them. I'm in no different situation to that. But I'll tell you what, we all humbly learn from these things. We all humbly learn from these things. And then we make the adjustments and we get on with it. I’ll keep going round to others who haven’t had questions.
JOURNALIST: Just on the timeframes, 70 per cent is a big number, at around 200,000 a day that would be around three months [inaudible].
PRIME MINISTER: We haven't put timelines on this because the timelines are now in the hands of all Australians, together with state and territory governments and the Federal Government. We get there when we get there, and I hope we get there as soon as we possibly can. And the more people who go forward and get those vaccinations. For example, the walk-in AstraZeneca clinics, I've been greatly encouraged by seeing the increase in the take up of the AZ vaccine, particularly over this past month. We have seen those rates, particularly under the age of 40, and particularly in New South Wales, but we've seen it in other states and territories as well. And seeing an increasing rate of vaccination with the AZ, AstraZeneca vaccine in those aged over 50. So we welcome that. We think that's great. You want to get vaccinated, the AZ vaccine is there for you. It's a highly effective vaccine, as we've seen all around the world. It's how the United Kingdom have got to their 70 per cent, substantially, and so many other countries as well. But it is the most recognised COVID-19 vaccine in the world and it is there and available to boost the vaccination efforts right across the country.
JOURNALIST: [inaudible] Would you be hoping to get to Phase B by the end of the year?
PRIME MINISTER: We're not going to set a timetables on it. I would hope so, but that is entirely up to how the nation responds to this challenge we're setting for ourselves, each and every one of us. And there will certainly be the supply and the distribution and the opportunity to do that. But whether that is achieved is up to all of us.
JOURNALIST: The US Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention says vaccines are not likely to stop transmission of the Delta variant. Are you hearing the same kind of information from Australia’s own medical experts and considering this, what kind of restrictions do you think will be effective if vaccines aren’t the sort of silver bullet that we were hoping.
PRIME MINISTER: Vaccines do reduce transmission and they do reduce the likelihood of you contracting the virus. And that is true against the Delta variant, and that is our advice. And so by achieving these vaccination rates, we are vaccinating the nation that enables the nation to be able to move forward in a way that I’ve outlined for the types of the freedoms that they’re seeking. And so no, the advice we have does not concur with what you’ve put forward. The medical advice we have and backed up strongly by the work that Doherty has done, is vaccinations make the difference and they make the difference to protect Australians. Of course, they take some time to have effect once you’ve had the vaccinations, several weeks, and then you need your second dose. So they're not an overnight answer, but they are certainly the answer to help us meet these thresholds to take us in the direction. So if you get vaccinated, you are taking Australia a step closer to where we all want to be so I encourage Australians to take that step to be vaccinated immediately.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, why is it that Howard Springs hasn't yet been fully utilised even though you said it would a couple of months ago. And secondly, with returning Australians you said that there'd be perhaps lifted for Australians that are returning, who have been vaccinated. What happens if they've been vaccinated with a vaccine that Australia hasn’t approved?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, when I talk about people who are vaccinated in Australia, they would have to be vaccinated with a vaccine that is recognised in Australia.
JOURNALIST: What about someone from India for example or from America who's been vaccinated? Do they have to get a second vaccine when they come over to Australia?
PRIME MINISTER: No no, our intention would be that we'd be able to recognise vaccines so obviously, vaccines like Moderna, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, the Novavax vaccine, which we expect at some point would be recognised here as well, when it goes through that process, it hasn't done that yet. The vaccines that are recognised in Australia and have been administered in the same way as they would have been here in Australia and I think for most nations, by the time we get to that stage, digital vaccination certificates for many nations will already be in place. Indeed for Australia, they will be in place, the digital vaccine certificates, we're making great progress on. It already exists for those who are getting vaccinated now but for it to be able to, in the next phase, and we're only days away from this. For it to be able to be dropped into an Apple Wallet, or dropped into a Google Wallet, and then to be actually caught up in the whole border control process where other countries are recognising. We will have that in place before these arrangements will be enacted as a result of reaching those thresholds. And I can tell you that up at Howard Springs, it is, it's utilisation is based on all the flights we're bringing through, and we have many of those. We've increased the number of flights and yes, its capacity certainly would be utilised. And that's why it’s there to support those commercially facilitated flights.
JOURNALIST: This weekend we’re going to start to see the army helping with that compliance effort, particularly in the west of Sydney. While in other parts of the city, residents say in the eastern suburbs enjoy bit more freedom in terms of being allowed to go to the beach. What's your message to those people who are being more locked down in areas who are watching this unfold, do you expect that it could cause some, some distress and distress.
PRIME MINISTER: Operation COVID Assist is there to support the efforts of New South Wales right across the city and where they’re deployed, that is being done under the direction, I should stress, of the Police Commissioner, Mick Fuller, in New South Wales and they work in under their command. And they are supporting the effort of the authorised officers. I want to be very clear about this, ADF personnel, support authorised law enforcement officers in New South Wales, the sworn officers and those who are in New South Wales. ADF are there to support and assist, as they successfully did during the lockdown in Victoria over many months last year. And they did many tasks, from driving vehicles to supporting logistics to assisting communities by checking on the welfare of people, checking in on people's isolation. They do a vast array of tasks and New South Wales will get as much ADF assistance as they request. And I'm very pleased that that request has finally been made by the New South Wales Government. And they're moving very quickly to have those ADF officers and others involved as quickly as possible.
JOURNALIST: You said, you know, there’s no timeframe but do you think that it’s realistic we can reach 70 per cent even with the struggles of other countries [inaudible].
PRIME MINISTER: Well the last part I don’t even intend to respond to. It’s got nothing to do with vaccinating the country, but in terms of the other matter that you raised, then I believe we can get there, in my view, to 70 per cent. The UK has got here, Israel has got there, we've actually delivered and administered more vaccines than the state of Israel now, in volume terms. So I believe we can get this done. But it's not something that any one government, any one vaccination clinic, any one Australian can achieve on their own. It's done as a team effort. We are seeing our Olympians show that team spirit over there in Tokyo. And we will hit these targets with what I will believe, what I believe, will be a gold medal run to the end of the year.
JOURNALIST: Sorry one more on the modelling if that’s ok? You, you mentioned, obviously the Burnet Institute’s done this modelling, but you talked about how Treasury also had some input into it.
PRIME MINISTER: Oh, there were two separate, there were two exercises that came together.
JOURNALIST: The question I wanted to ask is, are those kind of exactly what Burnet sort of set out, or was that …
PRIME MINISTER: Doherty, you mean?
JOURNALIST: Sorry, oh sorry, Doherty, I apologise, sorry.
PRIME MINISTER: Yes.
JOURNALIST: After, is that exactly what Doherty outlined ...
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, yes.
JOURNALIST: I have a supplementary, PM. I wanted to ask also about the Treasury modelling because I know that was a big part of today's meeting as well, can you just discuss briefly what that outlook is and what some of the concerns from Treasury are about the state of the economy or the importance of getting to 70 per cent and what that means for the economy and related to that is there any update from Treasury on concerns about going into a recession.
PRIME MINISTER: No. The consistent advice I have from the Treasury and from my discussions with the Reserve Bank, is Australia comes through the lockdowns, Sydney comes through the lockdowns, we get out of those arrangements this quarter then we expect the December quarter to recover strongly. That is the consistent economic advice and opinion that has been passed on to me and not only by the Treasury, but also by the Reserve Bank, and that is my expectation also. Because that's what we saw. I mean, there is no fundamental problem with the economy in New South Wales or anywhere else. As before, this latest outbreak hit, unemployment fallen to 4.9 per cent, the economy was larger than it was before the pandemic hit, more people employed than before the pandemic hit, indeed, a million people had got back into work. What we're seeing is that the COVID disaster assistance payment is proving to be highly effective. It is keeping people with their businesses, even though that their hours are reduced and the supports that will be rolling out through Services New South Wales, most of which have been shared 50/50 with the Commonwealth Government, will be ensuring those businesses can come through and remain whole and to recover strongly at the end of the lockdowns. In terms of the broader point, their advice today, when you're in the suppression phase, going hard and early, as it's often referred to, that ultimately results in less cost on the economy. And we're seeing that played out of course, in New South Wales compared to what has occurred in those other states. It's not a criticism. It's just a simple fact. And so the lessons there is that in this phase of the suppression phase, that it is the best economic outcome, not just the best health outcome. The health and the economic advice are aligned when it comes to the suppression phase of ensuring that we avoid going to lockdowns, if that's possible, i.e. by there not being outbreaks. And people generally during the course of the suppression phase with the Delta strain continue to exercise that caution and care and social distancing, because if an outbreak were to occur, if they were a mass gathering event like indeed we saw in Victoria at the G, then that has the potential to lead to an outbreak. So people need to exercise caution in this, but if there is an outbreak, then you can expect a short lockdown. We have adjusted, as I've already announced, our fiscal and economic support. So our disaster, individual payments and the business supports to reflect that approach. So that eligibility as it already occurs now, starts from day one and it is paid after one week and two weeks in arrears, whether it's an individual payment, or it's a business payment. So that's important to know. Once we get into Phase B into the B phase, then the calculus does change and lockdowns do cost a lot. And when you get to a phase where you have that higher level of protection, then there is more discretion exercised when it comes to something like that is necessary. That's why that phase is referred to as less likely, but possible. As opposed to in the first phase we're in now is you've got to go there and you've got to go straight away because otherwise the cost will end up being greater.
So I think that pretty much summarises their advice, David, but I've got to stress they are aligned together. And this process started back in February. In February I set up the task force under the leadership of Phil Gaetjens, and I want to thank Phil and all the Directors-General from around the country. And they began that work. And this is the second round of modelling that we've had from Doherty as part of that process, and we sent them back in late June to do this work now because of the impact of the Delta strain and for us to understand it. So what we've all agreed, premiers, chief ministers, and I is on the road back, the targets that will get us there. And we've agreed that the way we get there, is Australians one by one, family by family, community by community, going out there, getting vaccinated, getting the job done. Thank you very much.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
28 July 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Gold, gold, gold. That's what has happened today. It's a something for all Australians to celebrate, and I know that really lifts the spirits of Australians right across the country and particularly back in Sydney, where they continue to go through the lockdown and where they've had some very difficult news today, and I'll come to that obviously very, very shortly. But again, to Ariarne Titmus. She is the absolute Queen of the pool. All Australians are proud, no doubt, but Tasmanians most significantly, and her adopted state of Queensland. Tasmania itself is now running up the gold medal charts at the Olympics. And I'm sure they're celebrating that along with all Australians. Also to Kaylee McKeown yesterday, I haven't had the opportunity to remark on her tremendous performance. And I can only imagine just how proud her father would have been. And, of course, her sister and her mother. And to see everyone up there with Dawny, it was just such a wonderful sight and particularly out there on the water, our wonderful rowers, an awesome performance, as everyone else has said. But our Olympians are doing us tremendously proud, but particularly at this time. I know when so much of the country, and especially in Sydney, they are going through a very difficult time to be able to see their exploits, I know will bring them some measure of cheer.
Now, that news today, of course, was very difficult in Sydney to be going in to another month effectively of this lockdown. And it was information that I suspect most Sydneysiders expected. My own family, of course, is there and I'm talking constantly to people back in Sydney. And it is tough going. But what I want to assure you of, absolutely assure you of, as you've already heard from the Premier and the Treasurer of New South Wales, that the Commonwealth Government has your back, just as we've had the back of Australians all through this crisis, ensuring way back to last year whether it was the economic supports we provided through JobKeeper and JobSeeker, COVID supplement, the cash flow boost, the support packages to the arts and entertainment industry and to the aviation sector. This continues to flow and the priority is to ensure we're there to support those who need that help, because this is the task. We will come through the lockdown. The lockdown will be released, as it has been, thankfully, and in South Australia and in Victoria. And on the other side, we come back strongly. That's what we saw last year when a million people got back into jobs, when we saw our economy grow back to a level higher than it was even before the pandemic. And the way we are structuring these supports to people, whether it's the individual payments or the business support payments, are to ensure that those businesses and those individuals can get through as whole as possible through these lockdowns, so on the other side, our economy can roll back on the other side. So that is what it's designed to do. And our measures of support are never set and forget. All states and territories, together with the Commonwealth, are working closely as we're adjusting how we're dealing with this Delta strain, how we're adjusting on the ground when it comes to the way lockdowns are being put in quick and effective, as we've seen, and those states come out of it, but also to learn the lessons, ensure that we're giving every support we can to the ongoing situation in New South Wales.
Now, I can confirm what the Premier and the Treasurer in New South Wales have already said. Over the course of the last several days, indeed, up to a week, the Federal Government has been working on a programme of additional support that may have been required should Sydney have gone into a further lockdown. That meant last night we were able to bring to the table the enhanced measures that we were able to agree last night. And I thank the Premier of New South Wales and the Treasurer for the cooperative way we've worked together once again. We did it several weeks ago when we announced the initial package. And we've worked together again to provide this increased support, which would see business cash flow initiative extending out to businesses of $250 million turnover, maximum payments of $100,000, up to 40 per cent of turnover, and a minimum payment of $1500 to those smaller businesses. I also don't want people to forget that there's a $1000 a week payment to sole traders as well. So those individual sole traders who are out there, may not be incorporated, the support was there in the initial package for you as well. This support dates back to the 18th of July, and that means that 460,000 companies and 3 million employees of those companies will be supported through this direct support. It's necessary. The lockdown is going into a further month, and that means we need to continue to press forward in providing that support.
Now, I note that also, Victoria, we came to an agreement, the Premier and I, together with our Treasurers and the Treasurer will say a bit more about that later this afternoon. Victoria has gone into a further round of their business supports and we're meeting those costs 50/50 with them, just like we have in New South Wales. And I thank both the Premier of Victoria and their Treasurer for working so closely with Josh and I in coming to that arrangement. And should South Australia need something similar, I've spoken to the Premier and Treasurer Frydenberg has spoken to Rob Lucas and those discussions are ongoing should they need that support.
The supports, though, aren't limited to business. We will be further increasing the levels of support provided to individuals through the COVID disaster payment right across the state of New South Wales. We'll be increasing from next week, the maximum payment of $600 to $750 and we'll be increasing the payment for less than 20 hours from $375 to $450. In addition to that, we will be extending support to those who are on welfare payments and they will be able to receive a payment if they've lost more than eight hours, of $200. Now, remember, they are already getting payments through the social welfare system. So in the case of someone who is on a full JobSeeker rate, they're getting just over around about $315 a week. So that $200 comes on top of that and does not in any way undermine the support payments they're getting through. It obviously goes in addition to the Youth Allowance payments, the pension payments. The whole point of this is that people aren't able to earn that extra income they were earning and these payments are there to support them to ensure that there is some recognition of that, that they have been prevented from doing that. And this will provide them some additional support.
I might run you through also where we are currently on those levels of support, both in Victoria and in New South Wales. In New South Wales so far, 812,372 grants of disaster payment assistance have been provided. That represents 463,558 individuals who have received direct support from the Federal Government to ensure they're getting through this crisis. The total amount out the door and in the bank accounts of those who need it in New South Wales is already $411.7 million. The great advantage of the direct COVID disaster payment system is it's fast and it means that we can calibrate the support, as I've announced here today. So if you're in New South Wales at the moment and you're one of those 463,000 people this third, this Thursday, the regular payment you've got of $600 will clock through again and you'll receive that or $375, if you're on that payment. If you're on the Sunday payment, Monday payment, you will get that $600 and $375 again. Next week you will get a $750 or $450 payment. And next week if you're on welfare benefits and you're seeking to get access to this, you can apply for that by going online on Tuesday, OK. So those welfare benefits, those support payments start from next week. You can go online and you can apply for those on Tuesday at Services Australia. Now, for those beneficiaries, they will be in an advantaged position from the perspective that they are already dealing with Services Australia. They already have their customer recognition numbers and those things. And so that online process should be very straightforward for you.
In Victoria, I can also confirm that 143,855 claims have been made in Victoria. That's 140,998 individuals and, sorry, $78 million have been provided very promptly at the end of that lockdown already in Victoria. If you're in Victoria, you will still receive your second payment at the end of this week. So if you got that payment already, you will get a second payment in Victoria. And I think that enables people to have the confidence in how the system is working. And if we are faced with other short, sharp lockdowns in the future, then these are the arrangements that will be in place going forward.
Can I also just note a couple of things in relation to New South Wales, we have to push through this lockdown in Sydney. There is no other shortcut. There's no other way through. We have to just hunker down and push through. What we're asking people to do in Sydney is to abide by the restrictions that have been put in place by the New South Wales Government. To stay home, to get tested, to get vaccinated, and the additional opportunities to ensure that you can get the AstraZeneca vaccine with the walk-in clinics. We're already seeing a great response to that. So everybody in Sydney, that's the only way we're going to get through this. Stay at home, get tested, get vaccinated, continue to support one another. All of the mental health support lines are open to you. We've already got an over $17 million dollar package that we put in place to upgrade and put more funding into those services so they're available to you. And we will keep working with all the states and territories to ensure that we come through this. And as we've already seen once before, as we did with our economy after we came back from last year, we will come back just as strongly this next time because of the significant support that is being put in place. Happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: Are you disappointed [inaudible] New South Wales has been able to deliver this funding to businesses. This was announced weeks ago and there's been very little support and the AFP Commissioner has said that drugs are just as dangerous as terrorism, how much of a dent has Operation Ironside put into the drug trade in Australia?
PRIME MINISTER: A big dent. A big dent, and they're doing a great job, the AFP, and they're dealing with all the threats that Australia faces. And I thank all the members of the AFP and their partner police forces all around the country who do a tremendous job on behalf of us all. And they're always got their eye on every threat, current, emerging and dealing with it. They are one of the best resourced federal police agencies around the world, and they're getting great support from our government.
On the other matter. We've got to focus forward, you know we've just got to focus forward in terms of getting through this lockdown. Much has been learnt about the Delta strain in recent times, and governments all around the world are adjusting how they're responding to make sure they can get it right. Of course, I think we've learnt over these last six to eight weeks that when we are faced with this Delta strain, of course, as we've seen in Victoria and South Australia, that is the model we're going to have to follow. And that's why we're adjusting the support to be there to ensure that does that. But, you know, all governments, can I assure everyone, because there'll be lots of commentary, I'm sure there'll be lots of criticisms. There'll be lots of hindsight. This Delta strain is very unpredictable. And can I assure you that all governments, federal, state, everywhere and I particularly want to thank those hospital workers at the moment in New South Wales, where the system is under strain and they're doing a great job as the Health Minister in New South Wales said today, keeping pace with the demand that's there. We have one of the best health systems in the world, they're all doing their best. They're all doing their best to keep Australians safe. We've been saving lives and livelihoods, and we're going to keep doing that by sticking together and focus on the problems that are in front of us. Mark.
JOURNALIST: $750 a week, Prime Minister, this is now the same level as the original JobKeeper. So why not reintroduce JobKeeper?
PRIME MINISTER: Because it's not the right solution for the problems we have now. What we're doing now is faster. It's more effective, it's more targeted. It's getting help where it's needed far more quickly. We're not dealing with a pandemic outbreak across the whole country. When we did JobKeeper, we had to employ it across the whole country all at once and we did it for six months. What we need now is the focused effort on where the need is right now. And so it can be turned on and off to the extent that we have outbreaks that occur. JobKeeper did not have that flexibility. It did not have that agility. Those payments that I mentioned, $411 million in New South Wales alone, businesses under that scheme would have had to have gone to their bank, borrowed that $411 million to make it available to their employees. In this case, we just acted and got the payments to them, in some cases in half an hour of application. Now, that never happened. JobKeeper was a great scheme. But you don't play last year's grand final this year. You deal with this year's challenges. You deal with this moment's problems and what we've designed together with the business cash flow support, when you put that together, that is providing the assistance we need now. Now, I would note, and this is very interesting because what we're not seeing and I don't expect we will see because of the way the COVID disaster payment is moving so swiftly, we have not seen an uptick in people going on to JobSeeker. Because they understand they're getting that support from the Government. They're staying with their employers. That means in a month, hopefully when business returns, they'll go back into work with those employers, they'll get on with their jobs and our economy will roar back to life. So this is the right answer for this problem.
JOURNALIST: Just to clarify, the increased payment, will that now be the existing model going forward for any further lockdowns?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes.
JOURNALIST: And secondly, do you have a sense of how much this is now going to cost with the changes?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, to give you an idea, we believe now with all of these measures in place in New South Wales, that the Commonwealth support from the Federal Government to people in New South Wales will be running at around about three quarters of a billion a week. Now, that was basically what we were doing last year in Victoria when Victoria was in the same lockdown. So it's a commensurate level of support, three quarters of a billion a week. And I want to acknowledge that's just the Commonwealth Government. The State Government is also putting in significant supports beyond that as well. So there is a great deal of economic support going in at the moment. And what that is doing is keeping the New South Wales economy as whole as possible, because your policy challenge here, your economic challenge, in what, frankly, is our biggest economy in the country. If New South Wales had befallen this last year, together with what happened last year, then I do not believe we would have seen the economic recovery that we saw last year. So New South Wales did tremendously well last year, but now they've confronted this, this year. And so it's important that we keep the New South Wales economy just like others, but particularly New South Wales because of its size, we need to keep that in a fit shape so it will recover strongly on the other side. And that's what we've seen from our measures. Australia has had, the IMF has acknowledged it today, one of, if not the most effective economic interventions during this pandemic almost anywhere in the world. And we're applying those same lessons to the challenge now in New South Wales. But we're just not cutting and pasting before and thinking that will solve the problem. We're actually designing and upgrading our plans to ensure they meet the needs right in front of us.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, people are looking for hope and reassurance from their political leaders at the moment. If people do all the right things through this lockdown, stay home, get tested, get vaccinated. What do you hope life looks like in Australia come Christmas? Can you give people the reassurance that if they do the right thing, they'll be able to see their families, they'll be able to travel interstate?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, good question. Good question. As I said, our vaccination rates are now running, we're even doing better than a million a week. And, the upgraded advice from ATAGI, the revised advice from ATAGI, means that we're going to get much more effectiveness out of the AstraZeneca vaccine doses that we have available. And, I commend the New South Wales Government on opening those walk-in clinics. I would encourage other state and territory governments to be looking at similar initiatives. The AstraZeneca vaccine is a safe vaccine. It's an effective vaccine. It's saved lives all around the world. It's the most recognised vaccine in the world by all countries - particularly when they're looking at people travelling, it is more recognised even than Pfizer. And, so, this vaccine is really important. And, I'd encourage people to take their initiative, use their informed consent, get informed through their GP, go and get it at the clinic, at the pharmacist and any of these places, and ensure we continue to build these vaccination rates. The Pfizer doses, of course, increasing, but the AstraZeneca is there, and that gets us to our goal a lot faster. Now, with what we're seeing, bar any unforeseen events, then I believe by the end of the year we will be in that position where everyone who's had the opportunity for a vaccine will have had it, and to ensure that Australians have joined that task in achieving the highest vaccination rates possible. Well, I would expect by Christmas we will be seeing a very different Australia to what we're seeing now. What we're seeing overseas is when countries do reach those much higher vaccination rates, then that does give their governments a lot more options in the suppression limitations they have to use to deal with the virus. Lockdowns become a thing of the past when you're at that level. And, I've noted the, we'll be considering those issues from the Doherty report modelling. It's being brought together now with the Treasury modelling. That process is happening right now. I don't want to say that will be resolved on Friday, it, that will be our first discussion. I suspect many more will be required after that. And, I hope we'll be able to set those targets and give more definition to phase two and phase three in that time. But, we have a plan for that. We are setting the targets scientifically, combined with the economic advice as well, and that gets us a roadmap to Christmas, I think, that means that we'll be living life different at Christmas than what we are now. Phil.
JOURNALIST: When you think about all the time you've had to tweak the income and business assistance since the start of last month, and yet you've raised the threshold for business assistance now down to two - sorry, I can't talk in this bloody thing, sorry - up to $250 million. Do you envisage that'll be the end of the matter or, I mean, I know you never say never, or may have to go further for larger companies if New South Wales keeps going?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we never, we never set and forget. I think that's been important. And, you'll remember last year, JobKeeper wasn't our first announcement to deal with the pandemic. From memory, it was our third because we kept upgrading it, and we responded to the evolving nature of the pandemic, as we understood at that time. Our first response from memory was around $17 billion, and I'll tell you what, that sounded like a lot at the time. By the time we got to JobKeeper, well, it was minnowed. And, what that tells you, Phil, is that there's no, there's no guidebook to COVID. Even when you think you understand it, the Delta variant comes along and it changes all the rules and you've got to adjust. And, I think one of the things Australia has done - and I know National Cabinet's had its critics and its baggers, but I'll tell you what, the fact we meet every week and we work over this and then we make the changes and we adapt and we listen to each other and then we fine tune our programs - that has been enormously valued, enormously valuable. And, we've got to retain that adaptability and that flexibility, and we've got to meet the problem in front of us, because I can tell you, the problem in front of you keeps changing quite quickly. That's not, that's not unique to Australia. It's the same everywhere in the world.
Now, you make the point about larger businesses. The advantage of larger businesses is they're operating right across the country. Their operations aren't confined to New South Wales. So, this measure really does focus on those businesses that are predominantly impacted by their operations in New South Wales. So, if they've had a 30 per cent fall in their turnover, well, they would have a heavy set towards New South Wales. Now, we'll keep looking at those issues, and there are some specific sectoral issues there, which I think are relevant, that have particularly acute impacts from these things. But, more broadly, at this point, it's not our advice that that would be needed.
JOURNALIST: Why are younger Australians not listening to you when they're being told that they can get the AstraZeneca vaccine if they want to? And, there is particular hesitancy in migrant and vulnerable minority communities like Indigenous communities. What is your Government doing to combat this and have Australia, and has Australia got on top of this virus?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, well, first of all, they are listening and they are getting vaccinated, and they're doing it in the tens of thousands. And, the convenience of the clinics that you've seen the New South Wales Government set up with walk-ins, I think is very, is a very good initiative. And, I think the change in the ATAGI advice will, will greatly assist it. As you recall, I've been pushing this for a long time. I was talking about it back in June, was criticised quite strongly at the time for even floating the idea. But, I'm pleased to see that the advice is, has mirrored that view, and that we're now seeing more and more young people taking that opportunity. And, I would encourage them, with informed consent and talking to their doctors, making their choices. But, we are seeing them do that. It has saved the lives of young people all around the world, particularly in the United Kingdom. So, I commend them to give that serious consideration, as ATAGI has said.
In terms of cultural communication, well, this has been our task right from the outset of the pandemic, and the work that the Department of Home Affairs is doing with direct in-community consultations, in-language communications, the work the New South Wales Government - and I've got to say, the Victorian Government - has been doing, you know, phone trees into communities, working with religious leaders, a lot of direct communication. That has been a high priority. It's also been a challenge. But, at the same time, it's been, I think, a broad across the Government effort to ensure we're getting these messages in the languages and in the forums and the situations where people can receive that information. And, it's been a big effort from both state and Commonwealth Governments. But, you're right to highlight it as a priority. It certainly is.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, can I ask about Government payments.
PRIME MINISTER: You've been very patient, Andrew.
JOURNALIST: Yeah, thank you very much Prime Minister, as ever. Just to seek some clarification on Pablo's question. When it comes to those Government payments, you say that this is the rule from here on. Is that from week one, or do you have to get to the fifth week? And, secondly, Dominic Perrottet, and pardon my French, says he's been a right pain in the arse. Is he right to claim responsibility for the announcements today?
PRIME MINISTER: It's a partnership. Who cares who takes responsibility for the credit for this. Ronald Reagan had a great saying. You know, if you care about, you get a lot more done if you don't care who takes the credit. So, whoever wants to take the credit for this payment, knock yourself out, ok. I'm just happy we're getting payments to people. That's what I'm, that's what I'm focused on. Who cares who gets the credit. I don't, I really don't.
On the other serious point, though, that you raise, it is from week, eligibility is from day one. So, for example, in the South Australia experience that we've just gone through, eligibility was from day one. But, they made the claim at the conclusion of that week. So, they get paid in arrears for that week and the payment level will be at that level. Eligibility from week one.
JOURNALIST: So, the extra payment that goes to Youth Allowance, to people on JobSeeker, it's now starts from week one, as opposed to week five?
PRIME MINISTER: Correct. Correct. And, the reason for that, the reason for that - and we changed eligibility to week one when Victorian lockdown occurred, and that was followed quickly by the South Australian situation - because it was very clear that this is now the pattern. Now, we will, I hope not, but it is clear that the best response in these circumstances with the Delta variant is that approach. I think that's fairly obvious. That's not a criticism. I make no criticism of decisions that others have made. I seriously don't. Everybody makes decisions on the best information they have, and in good faith, with the best intentions for their citizens. But, I think there's a clear learning here, and that is the approach that I would expect states would follow in the future.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the JobKeeper and 2020 JobSeeker were plagued with complaints from businesses that it was a disincentive to work. Is part of the reasoning of this new system is that there's less of that disincentive to work because you can essentially turn it off and on when lockdowns are turned off and on?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's a very good point, and it's targeted. That's the other point. I mean, one of the problems we had with JobKeeper after some time is that Australia opened up again and we had people who were getting income support payments who then were taken out of the labour market. Now, in other parts of the country, the labour market is, you know, employment market is functioning, and people, if they're unable to get hours there, have got the opportunity to seek hours in another place. So, what we're doing here, because it's so targeted to the area that's affected, we're not interfering with what's happening elsewhere. Remember, it wasn't that long ago when, holding a press conference on employment issues in Australia, we were talking about massive labour needs and labour pressures and workforce shortages in so many areas. Now, of course, when you put restrictions in like we have in New South Wales and in Sydney, there isn't another place that someone can go and get that hours. In fact, we don't want them to go and get those hours. We want them to stay at home. We want the lockdown to work, and the sooner the lockdown works, the sooner we get out of lockdown.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just on the roadmap and having hope for how we get out of this. When, you mentioned you have the Doherty Institute modelling, when will we actually see some specifics around that four phase plan and how we progress through it? Are you talking weeks, days?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I hope it's weeks. I hope it's sooner than that. But, that all depends on the process we're working through with the premiers and the chief ministers. I mean, like in any normal Cabinet process - I mean, I've spent the whole week in Cabinet meetings. I've just come out of one this morning - you have papers, they go through a normal Cabinet process. You evaluate it, you discuss it, you make decisions. We don't release Cabinet submissions in advance. You all know that. It's important that premiers and chief ministers and I have the opportunity to, to discuss that information and in a secure way and to come to conclusions and to make decisions and to set those targets in the best interests of the country. So, that's the process we're engaged in. We're keen to do it as, as promptly as we can, and then to release various information that we can at that time to inform people about what the plan is and how we've been able to set those targets. And, so I hope that, you know, we're talking a couple of weeks, I hope. If it takes longer than that, well, it will take longer than that. What matters is getting it right, and we are one of few countries, to the best of my knowledge, that has gone through this scientific process - looking at the experience of other countries and said, well, what, what rates do you really need to have to ensure that if you do go into the next phase where you don't lockdown, and you do use other measures to control the virus, that you have a higher likelihood of being successful. Because, if you get that wrong, well, you end up with very long lockdowns, and nobody wants that. So, it is important to get the right scientific advice on this, to get the right economic advice, because you've got to weigh those two things up. Restrictions cost the economy, it's true, but an outbreak getting out of control also costs the economy. So, those, those are the, the difficult issues we have to weigh up and get right.
JOURNALIST: Just in regards to Queensland, there's been another leak out of hotel quarantine. What's holding up progress on the feasibility study into the Damascus Pinkenba hotel quarantine? And, can you see that being approved to be built and operational before the end of the year?
PRIME MINISTER: I hope so, but that's really a partnership arrangement. There's no hold ups on the feasibility study that I'm aware of. That's going ahead.
JOURNALIST: It was meant to be, Simon Birmingham said it was on February 5, July 5, that it was going to take a few weeks to get through that feasibility study.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we're still in July.
JOURNALIST: Still in July ...
PRIME MINISTER: So, we're still in a few weeks. And, no, I haven't been advised of any hold up on the Pinkenba option or on the, the Western Australian option - looking at Jandakot and the Airport. Those, those programs are underway. We moved very swiftly on the Melbourne option. Premier Andrews and I are very keen to see that come online this year. I expect to see it come along online in stages. So, 500 rooms first, probably more later. I would hope that we can get going on Queensland soon. There are a number of issues that are being raised in that process by the Queensland Government, totally legitimate issues. We've just got to work through those and hopefully we can proceed as soon as possible.
JOURNALIST: Just on the economic advice that you were just referring to, do today's support measures now go into that Treasury modelling, and will that impact what the vaccination rate needs to be to avoid these lockdowns? Does, you know, more support for businesses and individuals mean the vaccination rate needs to be higher as well?
PRIME MINISTER: No, it doesn't really work like that. I mean, the economic supports we're putting at the moment are actually just to ensure you can keep your economy as whole as possible, so it can emerge strongly on the other side. The work, the economic advice, what it effectively does is say that, look, if you go through a protracted lockdown, then that costs the economy, but it also costs governments with these types of payments. So, that's already assumed into, you know, the advice that they're, they're giving. You have lockdowns, you have significant economic support payments that you, that you necessarily have to provide. So, you know, that's why getting this balance right between the economics and the health is really important. Countries that have moved too soon have found themselves shutting back up again within days, and we don't want to get in that situation. What we want to do is make sure we hit, hit these targets, set these targets right. And, then all of Australia, like our Olympians, we go for gold on, on getting those vaccination rates where we need to go, because the supply's there, the distribution's there, the pharmacists, the GPs, the clinics, and we make a, we make a gold medal run all the way to the end of this year. And, the sooner we get there, the sooner we get there.
JOURNALIST: There was a report yesterday, there was a report yesterday, so, I think I get two because I've been standing without an umbrella.
PRIME MINISTER: Fair enough, fair enough.
JOURNALIST: There was a report yesterday that your office intervened after some frustration being expressed with the Health Department's signing of deals with the pharmaceutical companies. Is that report correct?
PRIME MINISTER: I don't know what you're referring to.
JOURNALIST: There was a report yesterday that between March and August last year, your office and a staffer, an adviser from your office, Alex Caroly, became involved in the Department of Health's attempts to get a deal signed with the pharmaceutical companies because of frustration that those deals hadn't been signed earlier.
PRIME MINISTER: No, that just sounds like a lot of chatter in Canberra to me. We work with the Department of Health, with the Department of Treasury, with the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, every state and territory government. We work with industry. We work with the GPs, the AMA, the pharmacists, all of them. We're all working together. I mean, people work together, talk to each other every single day. I'm not really, don't know really where that came from, but sounds like someone just having a bit of a natter over a coffee to me.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, like our Olympians will Australia beat COVID?
PRIME MINISTER: Sorry?
JOURNALIST: Will Australia beat COVID like our Olympians?
PRIME MINISTER: Australia will beat COVID. I mean, COVID will always, you know, be lurking. I mean, it doesn't completely get eliminated. The flu's not eliminated. There's many infectious diseases that are not eliminated. But, with the vaccination program, the way we've been able to keep our economy together, even when it's going through what Sydney is going through now, what Victoria has gone through, South Australia, and God forbid, what could still happen in other states and territories, this is why I'm so keen to ensure the vaccination program around the whole country remains on track. We are hitting those marks. We have worked so hard to get to those marks, and we cannot disrupt it. We need to deal with the challenges that we have and are - providing additional doses, support where we can and are, giving the economic support for people to push through. But, in the same way, our Olympians have been pushing through and achieving such amazing and courageous results. I know every Australian has that Olympian spirit in them, and I have great confidence that that is why we will beat this Australia. Thank you.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
25 July 2021
Prime Minister: Well, a magnificent, a magnificent effort in the pool. Our golden queens of the pool have taken the four by 100 [metre] women’s relay, and it was daylight second, taking the silver. It was an extraordinary performance from Meg Harris, Emma McKeon, Cate Campbell and Bronte Campbell as they absolutely blitzed the field, and I think that's really lifted the spirits of Australians right across the country today. But, a special shout out too to Mollie Callaghan and Madi Wilson who did the hard work in the heats, as well, building up to that final. So, a truly tremendous Olympic moment for Australia and I think something that Australians are celebrating all around the country. Also, congratulations to Jack McLoughlin taking that silver, he was joined by Elijah Winnington in the final, and Brendan Smith picking up that bronze earlier today as well. Hopefully, there'll be many more in the pool and so many other areas where Australians are competing. But, that four by 100 [metre], that's quite a way to bring in your first gold medal at the Olympics in Tokyo, and it's tremendously exciting.
Can I make a number of announcements and updates, and then happy to take questions. First of all, as has already been announced by statement earlier today, 85 million doses for boosters for 2022 and 2023 have been secured in a new contract put together with Pfizer. That’s 60 million for boosters next year in 2022 and 25 million for the year after. This is in addition, of course, to the 40 million doses that are doing the job of the vaccination this year, combined with our AstraZeneca vaccines, which have been produced here within Australia, and the 10 million Moderna vaccines that come on stream from September of this year. There is, of course, the 51 million of Novavax, which is also pre-ordered, as well.
Now, once we achieve that broad vaccination of the population and once we're able to proceed through the four stage plan that I updated you on on Friday, then we must be able to maintain them and the advice at present is that is likely to require booster shots, and to be able to have those booster shots pre-ordered by contract now means that we can go into 2022 with confidence, and beyond, ensuring that we're able to address those needs, future proofing so we can live with COVID-19 going forward. The securing of those 85 million doses is a, is another important development. It's another shot in the arm for Australians in the vaccination program. The vaccination program really starting to hit its marks now and beyond. We can go in next year with greater confidence. The supplies will be provided over the course of the year to meet any of those booster requirements, as we're advised to need to put in place.
Secondly, on the vaccine, a record Saturday yesterday, more than 100,000 doses delivered yesterday. That brings it to 11.14 million. We have 38 per cent of the population now that has had at least one dose, over 16 per cent now with two. Sixty two per cent of those over 50 have now had one dose and 22 per cent double doses. And, for those over 70, we've got 77 per cent of those over 70 have now had their first dose, and 37 per cent have had two doses. In the past just six days, we've been able to administer a million doses. So, we're now able to deliver those a million doses even under a seven-day period, and that is really hitting the marks that we'd hoped to be hitting with that rate of vaccination now. Certainly, we hoped to have higher overall levels of vaccination now, as I indicated earlier this week, but the vaccination rates we're achieving on a weekly and a daily basis are certainly the marks we’d hoped to be hitting by about this time of the year. And, that means we will continue to make up ground.
I want to welcome the updated ATAGI advice that was provided, and you became aware of that, that was on the 24th of July, and I just want to read it so it's very clear what ATAGI are saying. And, it relates especially to the New South Wales outbreak. All individuals aged 18 years and above in greater Sydney, including adults under 60 years of age, should strongly consider getting vaccinated with any available vaccine, including COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca. This is on the basis of the increasing risk of COVID-19 and ongoing constraints of Pfizer supplies. In addition, people in areas where outbreaks are occurring can receive the second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine four to eight weeks after the first dose, rather than the usual 12 doses [sic], to bring forward optimal protection. And, so, having those vaccines is incredibly important. I welcome that advice. There are some 1.3 million AstraZeneca vaccines that are available. They’re in the fridge, they're ready to go, and we particularly need to see them getting into state-based distribution systems in New South Wales. The GPs in New South Wales have been doing a terrific job. They've been doing all the heavy lifting on AstraZeneca, especially in New South Wales, and they'll soon be joined by the pharmacists as well, so we can start lifting those vaccination rates even further.
There have been some enquiries regarding the availability and supply of New South Wales vaccines, especially in relation to Pfizer. So, let me clarify the situation. On the week commencing 5th of July, which is the week in which the Premier contacted me, New South Wales - both GPs and the state distribution centres - were receiving 147,720 doses of Pfizer per week. The week commencing next week, they will be receiving 90,000 more than that, 90,000 more than that. That does not include the additional 50,000, which I extended to the Premier on Friday, or the additional 150,000 they've already received over and above their previous allocations. Their allocations going forward into this next week is 90,000 more Pfizer each week than it was back in the week commencing the 5th of July, and in the week following, it goes up to 110,000 above what it was back in the beginning of July and the week commencing the 5th of July. So, that is a significant increase that we've seen since the early part of this month to where we are now. So, there was the 50,000 extra last Friday on top of allocations, there was the 150,000 additional that was provided after the Premier's call to me on the 5th of July, on the 7th of July. And, the Pfizer allocations now ramping up by a further 90,000 on what they were getting earlier, and that is predominantly being distributed through the GP network, which has been doing the lion's share of vaccinations all around the country.
I also want to note some progress on the Federal Government supports regarding income support payments, especially to New South Wales - $331 million has now been paid out in New South Wales in income support payments, of the $600 and the $375 and the earlier payments since the lockdown began, and that is some 660,000 grants that Service Australia had been able to process in that time, and has supported 394,000 individuals across New South Wales. Now, that is quite a herculean effort by Services Australia to get that much money out the door that fast, at the JobKeeper rates of December quarter last year, and getting those payments right across the board to those who've lost their hours.
Now, we anticipate, based on the current registrations for the scheme, and this may increase, that that will mean that the Federal Government will be providing income support into New South Wales at a rate of $220 million every single week to support those income support payments. Ninety seven per cent of that is actually in the Greater Sydney area. So, Greater Sydney, New South Wales more broadly, is receiving, will be receiving some $220 million ongoing each and every week to help them through this lockdown, to support the lockdown by ensuring people stay at home.
Now, in addition to that, you're already aware that the Commonwealth Government has committed some quarter of a billion dollars a week to support the 50-50 business support program, which is being administered by the New South Wales Government. So, that puts us in the vicinity of half a billion dollars a week from the Commonwealth Government to be supporting and backing in the New South Wales Government in both income support and business support to get through this crisis.
In Victoria, I can tell you that since applications opened on Friday, 52,000 claims have so far been granted, just under $30 million is already out the door to support people across New, across Victoria. And, that has been paid since last Friday's applications, and processing continues today and we expect those numbers to rise further, and we’ll provide further updates to that end.
So, a golden day in the pool. In terms of vaccines, what we've seen is another record day yesterday, and in terms of support that is needed in New South Wales, continuing to deliver that support for as long as this lockdown takes, because that is the primary method by which we will be able to get this latest outbreak under control.
Finally, let me just say I extend my commiserations and sympathies to those families of the two individuals that have lost their lives to COVID. Every single time that occurs, it is a terrible tragedy. And, that's why I urge people to go and get that AstraZeneca vaccine, get the Pfizer vaccine, and ensure that we continue to meet these marks and protect the population.
Journalist: So, the extra 50,000 Pfizer doses that you found for New South Wales, can you tell us where has that come from? Is there a federal contingency? And, if so, how much is in that contingency? And, just secondly, we've accessed COVAX, the facility before, to get more Pfizer. Is that another option that you're considering to get more doses here?
Prime Minister: Well, on the latter point, we're always maximising every possible channel to get as many vaccines as we can, particularly in the next few months. Once we get into September, then the supplies are significantly greater than they are now. But, let's not forget, there are now a million Pfizers turning up every week, a million Pfizer doses now turning up every week, which is what has enabled us to be able to lift the levels of supply that are going into all states and territories, but particularly New South Wales. There are small variations in supply and delivery, which from time to time may ensure that there's tens of thousands of doses that might be free at any given time. That is a simple supply and demand issue. It is not a contingency. We are distributing as far as we possibly can every single dose we have, every single dose we have. And, and that's what we've been doing here. We had planned to increase the dosages going out to all states and territories, including New South Wales. So, there is that 90,000 extra from this week coming that is going into New South Wales. And, in addition to that, there is the 200,000 additional doses that have been made available to them over the course of this month.
Journalist: Prime Minister, the New South Wales Treasurer has warned today that people are in danger of falling through the cracks, particularly those on income support who aren't eligible for the COVID Disaster Payments. There was a COVID Supplement in place last, in last, place last year. That's no longer the case. Is there any consideration of further financial support for people who don't qualify for these payments under consideration?
Prime Minister: Well, the qualification for these payments is extremely broad. You can be a casual, you can be part time, you can be full time. It doesn't matter who you work for. It doesn't matter who owns the company. It doesn't matter what's happening to the national turnover of your company. The Treasurer made a very good point today - under JobKeeper there would be people in New South Wales who wouldn't be getting these payments because their overall turnover of the company, which operates across many borders, would have seen them not be eligible. What the process we're doing is we've cut out the, the middle person on this and we're making payments direct. If you've lost those hours and you're not receiving other social security benefits, and those social security benefits are scaled to your income. So, if your other income has fallen back, then the income you get through JobSeeker and things like that scales up. Now, these arrangements have been designed to deal with the problem we have right now. And, the problem we have right now is in specific states, in specific locations, and we need to be able to get it out quickly and switch it on quickly. And, so, that's what this is delivering. And, it's delivering those supports and payments far quicker than, in fact, we were able to achieve under JobKeeper. And, that's very important when you're facing a lockdown of an indeterminate length. Now, I'm, I welcome the fact that the situation in Victoria and in South Australia seems to be improving to expectations. And, we'll wait to see what further announcements are made by the premiers there. But, in New South Wales, as I said, half a billion dollars a week, half a billion. And, and the Treasurer and I and the rest of the Cabinet are very open to consider how we deal with this situation as it further evolves. That's always been the approach my Government has taken. We've always kept our minds open and tried to address the need that is there, and that's what we'll continue to do. But, the COVID Disaster Payments, they're faster, they're direct, and you get them when you need them. Had we been working under the other arrangements, people would have been waiting some time before they were able to get that support. So, it's been a very effective mechanism, as the numbers that I've outlined to you, I think, demonstrate.
Journalist: Prime Minister, on your, on the anti-lockdown protests yesterday, your Coalition colleague George Christensen promoted and was at one of them in Queensland. Former Coalition colleague Craig Kelly supported these lockdowns, these protests, I'm sorry. What would be your message to those people who went to these protests yesterday? And, is there any explanation, any excuse for a federal politician to support these sort of demonstrations?
Prime Minister: Well, I’ll deal with the second issue later, in a second, let me deal with what we saw in Sydney yesterday. Of course, it was selfish. It was also self-defeating. It achieves no purpose. It will not end the lockdown sooner, it will only risk the lockdowns running further. Now, there was 100,000 people who went and did the right thing yesterday and got tested in New South Wales. There were 40,000 people who went and got vaccinated, both at state and GP-based distribution points of presence. There were millions of Sydneysiders who stayed home. They're the ones who are bringing an end to the lockdown sooner, not those who are putting themselves at risk, those around them at risk, particularly the police at risk. And, that was a very selfish act. And, I think it offended many, many fellow Sydneysiders. People understand there are frustrations with lockdowns, but that type of behaviour doesn't help anybody. Selfish behaviour doesn't help anybody. And, so, in a city under lockdown, to engage in that was reckless and it was selfish.
Now, as for other parts of the country that aren't in lockdown, well, there is such a thing as free speech, and I'm not about to be imposing those sorts of restrictions on people's free speech. In Queensland, there are not lockdowns, and the nature of that event, to the best of my knowledge, that, the one you referred to, was very different to the event that was in New South Wales. And, I think to draw a comparison between the two, I think would be, would be not be accurate. So, and in terms of other members who are not in my Party Room, they can explain their own actions.
Journalist: On the changing ATAGI advice, can you please clarify something for me?
Prime Minister: Yep.
Journalist: Will giving the AstraZeneca jab to anyone over the age of 18 still be at the discretion of the GPs in Sydney? We are seeing reports over time that doctors are not giving it out to adults under 40 that are still consenting to getting that jab. Does this change that?
Prime Minister: Well, I certainly hope that the GPs would be very mindful of the ATAGI advice, and I think they've been a lot clearer, which is very welcome, about the nature of the risk in New South Wales and in Greater Sydney, in particular. And, I'm sure that medical professionals would be very conscious, I think, of the advice that has been provided by ATAGI. At the end of the day, it's the individual who makes the choice and provides the informed consent. And, that individual should feel free to go to another general practitioner. And, I hope that we can now see more AstraZeneca vaccines are made available in the state-based clinics in New South Wales, so they might be able to go and get that opportunity there, which has been very constrained over, over recent months. GPs have been the ones delivering AstraZeneca. And, so, I'm looking forward to seeing, particularly with the comments of the Premier and and the Chief Health Officer in New South Wales, a much greater distribution of AstraZeneca through those state-based clinics.
Journalist: The New South Wales Premier I'm sure is well aware of those numbers you've outlined in terms of vaccines going to her state. She still wants other states to provide more Pfizer or do more for her state. How much worse do things need to get in Sydney, south western Sydney in particular, before you're willing to say we need to rush vaccines there?
Prime Minister: Well, there's a presumption in the question, and that is about how this lockdown comes to an end. The lockdown comes to an end by the lockdown effectively working. There's not an easy way to bring these cases down. And, it's the lockdown that does that work. The vaccines can provide some assistance, but they are not going to end this lockdown. What's going to end this lockdown is it being effective, and it being effectively put in place and complied with. That's the experience from the other states and territories. What we have is increasing rates of Pfizer supplies and AstraZeneca that is available to all states and territories, including in New South Wales. As I've said, there'll be, by the week commencing the 2nd of August, 100,000 more Pfizer vaccines going into New South Wales every week, and 90,000 more from this week. And, on top of that, 200,000 has already been provided to support those efforts. So, I think that is a very significant increase in those supplies. But, the national vaccine program must work right across the country, and we cannot disrupt its implementation around the country, which will put other parts of the country at risk. And, so, the suggestion that that could be done, and people's appointments in Melbourne would be cancelled for appointments to be created in another part of the city, sorry the other part of the country, would be very disruptive. It would, it would interrupt the rhythm of the national vaccine program, which is hitting these marks now, where we most recently had a million doses in just six days. So, I don't share the view that this is somehow a competition between states on this. I actually don't share that. I think the national vaccine program all around the country, from Cairns down to Tassie and over to Western Australia, it needs to maintain its momentum, and that means you don't go and disrupt it. We are getting more into New South Wales, as I've said, significant quantities, but we need to make sure the rest of the country maintains the pace, because the Delta variant can present these circumstances in any state and territory in the country. No other state or territory has some, has some special immunity to the Delta variant. And, so, we want to maintain the pace of those vaccine programs right across the country. And, of course, accelerated as best we can in New South Wales. But, the way the lockdown ends is the lockdown being effective. Laura.
Journalist: Prime Minister, don't the way the numbers are …
Prime Minister: I can't quite hear you.
Journalist: Don't the way the numbers are unfolding suggest that the lockdown isn't being effective? Does it need to be harder? Does the Government in New South Wales have to rethink things? And, if we've got this situation where there's an expectation that New, Victoria and South Australia could come out of the lockdown, but we're looking at months in New South Wales, once we're clear on those other states, the Federal Government will actually have to provide something more than just emergency measures? I understand what you're saying about it being, you know, short term, getting the money out the door, but you're looking at a fairly significant economic crisis in New South Wales over months.
Prime Minister: Yeah, well, that's true, and that's why we’ll be pumping half a billion dollars into New South Wales every week, especially for as long as the lockdown continues. But, any sort of further impacts of that then, obviously, we’ll work those through. I mean, this is the Government that delivered the single largest measure of economic support the country has ever seen, based on the need of the economy and the Australian people. And, that main, that is our view now. And, we will continue to do what is necessary to ensure the, the recovery of our economy, to get to the other side of this when the lockdowns are lifted. And, so, the Treasurer and I and the Expenditure Review Committee of Cabinet, we meet regularly, we met this week. We will continue to work through contingency options and prepare ourselves for whatever set of circumstances may present. So, we'll keep doing that.
On the second point, or the first point you raised, that is principally a matter for the New South Wales Government. I’ll be talking to the Premier again later today, but there isn't an alternative to the lockdown. Let me be clear. There is not an alternative to the lockdown in New South Wales to get this under control. There is no other magic bullet that is going to do that. There is no vaccine solution that's going to do that. The lockdown is what is going to do it. It can be assisted by the vaccines, but the lockdown must be effective. The alternative does not bear thinking. And, so, it's essential that every, every effort is focused on making sure that lockdown does its job.
Journalist: You have made the commitment a while ago that you want every Australian to be offered a vaccine by the end of this year …
Prime Minister: Should they want one, yeah.
Journalist: Should they want one. A lot has happened since then. Do you still stand by that commitment? And, when do you expect the newer age group, the 12 to 15s, to be able to, to get their vaccine?
Prime Minister: Yeah, that absolutely remains our goal by the end of the year, and we have the supplies to achieve that. And, as the distribution and the dosage is demonstrating now, with a million in just six days now, then that is absolutely achievable. It really is over to everybody else as well now, to make sure people go and get those vaccines. And, as that supply continues to mount, as we're seeing right now, then those opportunities will see those vaccination rates rise, as we have seen in other countries at this phase of their vaccination program.
In relation to 12 to 15-year-olds, as the TGA provided that approval, ATAGI is now assessing that situation and will be providing us further information in mid-August, I understand. And, the application of vaccines to those age groups is something we need to carefully consider, both in its application and whether that relates to more vulnerable children with other conditions and things of that nature. That's a first point which ATAGI is considering, and also what we discussed on Friday with the premiers that should we go forward, depending on what the ATAGI advice is, then we would seek to be doing that in the most effective way we can and have our states to be looking at school-based systems for delivering that. Timing of that yet to be determined. And, the Commonwealth is similarly looking at ways that that can be achieved, and that's been incorporated in Lieutenant General Frewen’s planning. So, there is a few, few more pieces of information that need to fall into place, I think, before we're able to give a definitive answer on that. But, I can assure you that both the planning and the consideration of the medical issues are very high on our, on our agenda. The National Security Committee of Cabinet this week also considered this issue at some length about how we might respond. And, but those responses will depend on that next information that I’ve mentioned.
Journalist: Just, just back to Trudy's question about the New South Wales Premier wanting the other states to handover doses. Daniel Andrews said today that if New South Wales could produce modelling that would show that extra doses into south western Sydney would make a difference, he'd be happy to have that conversation. Do you have that same view? And, is it your view about you saying vaccines don't make any, would not make much of a difference now, is that based on the health advice from the Government's advisers?
Prime Minister: Well, I'm always acting having listened to the advice of the Chief Medical Officer and, and the Secretary of the Department of Health. That's why I'm saying it can assist, of course it can assist. People getting vaccinated can assist, but I wouldn't want it to be in anyone's mind that it replaces the principal tool, which is the lockdown. It's not a substitute for a lockdown. And, you need to weigh up the effectiveness of that with the disruption to the broader national vaccine program that could set other states and territories back some way in meeting their vaccination targets. We need to get the whole country vaccinated and those that are going through lockdowns, well, that is the principal way by which we're able to seek to bring the Delta variant under control in those cities. So, I'm not necessarily responding directly to what Premier Andrews said. He made similar comments on Friday. So, it's not that people aren't open to it, but when you're, when you're looking at the potential disruption of the national program more broadly, when these objectives can be addressed through the mechanisms we are using. I mean, it wasn't just the additional doses that are going through to New South Wales. And, I stress, for AstraZeneca, not just Pfizer. ATAGI has said, go and consider that and please do it promptly, because that's what is necessary to try and address that. So, there's no shortage of AstraZeneca being there to be able to support that vaccination effort, and there's additional Pfizer support to address that effort. So, that's the balance of the discussion. I thought it was a very constructive discussion. There's a, there's a preparedness, but keeping the national vaccination program on track is incredibly important.
The other thing we did was move the three week out to six week for Pfizer second doses, which means that New South Wales can do more first doses now to up that level of immediate protection that is available. So, there were responses on Friday. There was good discussion on Friday. There are more doses in New South Wales of both Pfizer and AstraZeneca. And, I can tell you there's a truckload of financial support going in from the Commonwealth as well.
Journalist: On ATAGI, Prime Minister, will you now lobby the ATAGI to broaden its Sydney AstraZeneca advice to the whole of the country, considering that, you know, a woman has tragically died in her 30s with no pre-existing conditions, as people without any vaccines under 30 and these Delta outbreaks can happen anywhere in the country?
Prime Minister: Well, I'm, I'm quite confident that ATAGI will continue to assess their advice based on the balance of risk that they've articulated.
Journalist: George Christensen’s Facebook post, Prime Minister, George Christensen said in his Facebook post, “Civil disobedience eventually becomes the only response to laws that restrict freedom. This is what we've seen in Melbourne today.” And, he quotes Martin Luther King that, “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” How can you stand there and seriously suggest that your Government MP wasn't encouraging a breach of public health orders in other states?
Prime Minister: Well, the comments I made before related to an event that took place in Queensland where there are no lockdowns. And, I have, I don't support any suggestion that would suggest that people should gather as they did in Sydney yesterday, whatsoever.
Journalist: Just further on the change to the ATAGI advice, it's similar to Richard's question, but the, their advice is, as you’ve said today, strongly consider.
Prime Minister: Yes.
Journalist: Now, that’s not, still not telling people go and have this vaccine. Do you think ATAGI could strengthen that further or give people more information to help them make that consideration? Or, is it on yourself ...
Prime Minister: I think Australians get the point of what ATAGI has said, and I think Australians understand, particularly in Greater Sydney, the challenges that they now face. And, I think ATAGI have been very clear about the importance of them going and strongly considering those options. And, and I suggest that they strongly consider that.
Journalist: Prime Minister, on these booster doses, on these booster doses, when do you expect them to arrive in Australia, and when do you expect them to begin rolling out? And, when are we going to be faced with needing booster doses?
Prime Minister: Well, they’ll begin rolling out from the beginning of next year. They'll be available from the beginning of next year, and the supply goes throughout the year. As yet, we don't have definitive advice about the timing of booster doses, just like last year, we didn’t have definitive advice about the efficacy of any vaccines. So, this is prudent future proofing that we’ve put in place here. And, so, we'll be guided, I think, by the science and the evidence that is emerging about when second doses are necessary. I believe, I think it's only Israel at this point that has, is about to sort of contemplate going into booster shots. Just so happens that Australia will have administered as many vaccines as the state of Israel within a few days, as they've done, and, you know, obviously a much smaller population. So, we will continue to watch carefully that, that advice and that evidence. With so many countries now in different phases of this, this pandemic and confronted with different challenges, the sharing of this information is incredibly important. So, there's nothing definitively yet. But, I can tell you, when it's needed, it'll be there. And, that's why today's announcement is so important.
Journalist: Do you think there’s been a lot of brand damage done to AstraZeneca that, sadly, some people are just too afraid to go out and get it, and is ATAGI partly responsible for that?
Prime Minister: Oh, look, undoubtedly the events of the past few months have caused some hesitation and needlessly, needlessly. This is an effective vaccine that can help save people's lives. We saw it save countless number of lives in the United Kingdom, and it will save lives here, too, in Australia. There's no doubt about that. So, the good news is that its medical potency hasn't changed. Comments about brand, well, that doesn't make it less effective, medically, scientifically. It's a, it's a powerful vaccine that helped save lives. And, as ATAGI has said, people should be strongly considering going and doing that, together with the other vaccines that are there. And, it's just important we get these jabs in arms as, as quickly as we possibly can.
Journalist: Prime Minister, one more on the booster, if I could. The World Health Organization has spoken in the last little while about wealthier countries talking about third doses, whereas, you know, poorer countries are still waiting potentially for their first one. WHO has said, you know, wealthier countries should be looking to donate more doses to the developing world. I know, obviously, we're contributing a lot through COVAX and through [inaudible] and the Pacific and that sort of thing, but in light of that, do you think there is maybe more of a case for us now having secured all these millions and millions of doses, once we’ve figured out our second doses, to start then adding more to those developing parts of the world?
Prime Minister: Well, look, I thank you for your question and it absolutely enables us to do this. Eighty five million doses, 60 million next year. That is more than enough, many times over, for us, particularly for single dose booster shots, and this will equip us, I think, to lean in even further to the support we're providing to our Pacific family. I just spoke to the new Prime Minister of Samoa yesterday and congratulated her and we talked about this very issue, and there are more doses of AstraZeneca turning up in Samoa this week. I think it's some 30,000 this week are turning up there in Samoa. In Fiji, half a million doses, actually more than that. Across the Pacific, almost a million doses are there supporting that effort. But, this means that it enables us to meet our commitments that I have made through the Quad, through the G20 as well, and the direct commitments we have made, and of course, our COVAX commitments, so, the countries of our region know that Australia is seeking to stand by them as best as we possibly can. And, that is no more so the case than with our Pacific family, and we're not just sending them doses, we've got teams there helping them, training them to distribute it and plan, and do all of those things as well. We've got a Medevac team which is over in Fiji even as we speak.
Journalist: Do people under 40 still need to see a GP before agreeing to have the AstraZeneca, and do GPs have sufficient information about the latest advice?
Prime Minister: Well, it should be clear - they can see a GP. It was never a requirement for them to see a GP. We provided through Medicare the opportunity for them to do that, and to do so at no cost to them. But, whether you go to a pharmacist and get your AstraZeneca, your GP, and hopefully more so in New South Wales state clinics, your AstraZeneca there, it's informed consent and it's up to all of us. We have responsibility for our own health and to be able to take what advice we think is necessary for us to form our own view about what's best for us and, and be able to give that informed consent. Great. Last one.
Journalist: Prime Minister, you said in your speech this morning we may not get every decision right. Are there any decisions you made in relation to the vaccine rollout that you believe you didn't get right? And, if so, how would you do things differently?
Prime Minister: I'm sure there'll be plenty of critics who will be able to help you write those up in the history books. What matters is what we do now. That's what matters now. And, we've been able to make up ground significantly over the last few months. And, when I saw today that we were able to do a million doses in six days, then that tells me we've turned this around and we're on the right track. So, now, we've all got our part to play. I know lockdowns are incredibly debilitating. They're frustrating. And, you, and you feel powerless when you're in one of those lockdowns. What can I do about this situation? I get that. What you can do about it is you can get vaccinated. What you can do about it is you can stay home. What you can do about it is you get tested if you’ve showing any sort of symptoms or you're subject to a testing order because of a close contact or something of that nature. That's what you can do about it. That's what you can do about it every day, and every day we do that is a day closer to where we want to be. Thank you all very much. And, congratulations to our gold medallists, our golden girls, the queens of the pool, and we look forward to more of that to come. Thank you all very much.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
23 July 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you everyone for joining us in these conditions. National Cabinet met today in what are very challenging circumstances all around the country. But, particularly in three states - in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia - and especially in New South Wales, in particular in my home city of Sydney. Within New South Wales, the challenge is great, just as it was last year in Melbourne and across Victoria. The Delta variant - as I've been saying for sometime, as have the premiers and the other chief ministers - the Delta variant presents a very fresh challenge and we have to adapt and we have to change on occasions how we do things, just as countries are all around the world, whether they be in Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, indeed of course here in Australia and across Europe and other parts of the world. That's the nature of the Delta variant.
So, in New South Wales, as we continue to combat this in Sydney, what I want to say to those in Sydney is we've got to press on. We've got to continue to show that strength. We've got to continue to support each other. There are no easy solutions here. There are no silver bullets, just as there were not last year when Victoria went through their prolonged lockdown. This thing only gets beaten by suppressing it. Of course, vaccines can put wind at the back of those who are trying to achieve that outcome, and that's what we have to do. And, today at National Cabinet we had a rather lengthy and extensive discussion about the situation in New South Wales. And, I want to thank the New South Wales Premier for her candour in sharing her plans and her arrangements with her colleagues. It was a very good opportunity for people to provide their insights, their support and their feedback, in particular for what is happening in Sydney. And, there was strong support for New South Wales in the considerable efforts that they are undertaking.
But, even more significant than that, there was strong support for the people of Sydney and of New South Wales. Just as Victoria pushed through last year, New South Wales, I know, will push through. And, it's important that we actually come together at this time in Sydney and across the state and to look forward at what we have to do. The key to the answer in New South Wales is every single person who lives there. The support is there, increased economic support, the plans and the protections that are being provided by the State Government. There are no perfect solutions here, and by simply focusing on what's ahead and what we have to do each and every day, that is what sees us through this time. So, I want to encourage my fellow New South Welshmen and women as they go through this hard part. And, it is tough. It's frustrating, and it's, it really can get people down. But, that's why we put the mental health support in as well. And, so, today it was a good opportunity to work through further supports, further solutions that can carry that issue forward, which I'll come back to in a second.
The National Cabinet once again updated on the timetable for developing our four step plan. We will soon receive that first set of advice from the Doherty Institute that takes into account the Delta strain. We will then work with the treasuries around the country, including the Commonwealth Treasury, to bring together a first set of advice that premiers, chief ministers, myself can work through. This will be an iterative process. It won't all be solved at one meeting, and we undertook today to meet as regularly and as often as we, as we have to to get that job done, to set those benchmarks and targets that need to be achieved for vaccination, to put those against the national plan that we have agreed already in its stages, to ensure that that can provide the road out. And, we hope that also is of great encouragement to everyone who is going through those lockdowns at present and will into the future.
We noted progress on the vaccination program more broadly today. Another record day - almost 200,000 vaccines delivered in one day. This program goes from strength to strength each and every day now. And, that means we have turned that corner and we are hitting those marks that we need to hit to ensure that the vaccines rollout all across the country. And, we cannot disrupt the flow of that. We need to keep going in ensuring that people are going out there and getting those vaccines. Both vaccines work effectively. Both vaccines are licenced for use and approved for use in this country for those over 18. And, as today we learnt with the Pfizer vaccine, for those over 12, and I'll return to that in a moment. But, those vaccines are important and I'd encourage people right across those age spectrums to access those vaccines that are available to you, to talk to your GP. We've got more pharmacists coming on, more GPS coming on, the state clinics ramping up, particularly in Sydney and particularly in those hotspot areas that are most the focus of our attention at present. And, particularly those both who are older and those who are younger, and the Premier has had more to say about that this morning.
A couple of other quick points. The freight code - which was really important to keep trucks moving between and across state and territory boundaries - we have tasked transport ministers to go back to that code and the AHPPC, the medical expert panel, to make sure that we've got greater consistency in the testing regimes that are being used by those trucking companies and the drivers. We've had the feedback that it's, needs some attention. It needs to be firmed up again and make sure there's greater consistency in the rules that are being applied. The truckies, they're doing a great job keeping Australia moving and we want to minimise that inconvenience for them. They're being completely compliant and completely cooperative, and they'd like to see those rules just a bit easier to comply with and a lot more consistent. We've heard you, and we'll task those ministers to get that sorted over the course of the next week. In addition, we'll be reviewing further situations regarding shipping coming in around the country and making sure arrangements around crew are as they need to be.
The further review of hotel quarantine now due, that will be completed and will be commissioned to be undertaken by the end of September. I note that Multiplex has been appointed as the tenderer to construct the quarantine facility in Victoria by the Commonwealth Government, and then working in partnership with the State Government. And, there are feasibility assessments already underway in Queensland and in Western Australia.
If I can come back to the situation in New South Wales. First of all, I note that there's been significant support already provided into New South Wales, and it'll keep flowing. Some $290 million has already gone out the door to support some, just over [3]50,000 people across Sydney and New South Wales to keep them going through this lockdown. Those people in Sydney and across New South Wales who have already registered for that payment now, that payment will keep coming week after week after week, for as long as the lockdown goes. You do not have to go back and reapply for that payment. It is a recurring payment now, and you can rely on that continuing to support you. If you become in need of that payment, you can go and apply for it going forward. If you're not receiving it now, but you find yourself in a situation where you need it going forward, you can go and make that application.
I should also note in Victoria, we have had some 25,000 claims submitted, because theirs started today, for those COVID Disaster Payments. At midday, they'd answered approximately 3,500 calls. And, what is positive is that in the same way we've been able to cope with that demand - as I said already supporting over 350,000 people in Sydney - then we're confident that that will continue for people in Victoria. And, next week that process will start for those in South Australia.
In New South Wales, we discussed today the need to continue to suppress the virus to get us back to that point of removing community transmission infectious in the community of those cases. The goal has not changed. Suppression is the primary tool to achieve that, and vaccines can help that. To that end, we discussed, and will be confirming over the next 24 hours, the ability for in New South Wales, in their state vaccine centres, for them to do greater amounts of first doses by staying within the medical advice, the ATAGI advice, which says that second doses of Pfizer can be extended out to six weeks. So, that is an existing regulation. It is an existing approval. It is existing medical advice. So, to increase the amount of first doses that can be delivered, maximising greater the supply we have available, then we're working to put in that in place in New South Wales because of the situation that exists there. And, that is important to be able to achieve.
In the same way, we've had the flexibility to bring forward AstraZeneca second doses. Now, that is especially important for all of the population, but in particular those who are elderly, who I've said are most at risk during a COVID outbreak. So, I am very keen to ensure that if you haven't had your second dose, if it's been four weeks, then please book yourself in for that second dose so you can protect yourself in the midst of this particular outbreak, and we'd encourage you to do that.
There was also widespread agreement, there was agreement amongst the National Cabinet that we need to continue to lean in to AstraZeneca, particularly in New South Wales, supporting that both through the pharmacies, as I announced yesterday, the GPs, and also through the state-based clinics. Those vaccines are available to you in all those clinics. It is licenced, it is approved for all ages with informed consent for those under the age of 60. And, we'd encourage you to do that because if you're vaccinated, you're less likely to transmit, you're less likely to get the virus yourself, you're less likely to get serious disease, you're less likely to be in hospital, and you're less likely to suffer a fatality. So, whether it's AstraZeneca or whether it is, it is the Pfizer vaccine, both of those are important. And, as Kyle Sandilands said, 'Get Vaxxed Baby'. That's what we need in New South Wales. That's what we need indeed across the country. And, we're putting those supports in place.
Where there is a potential to put more vaccines into New South Wales, even beyond what we're already doing, well, of course, we will seek to do that. But, we are not going to disrupt the vaccination program around the rest of the country. That vaccination program is going and is hitting as it marks, and we want that to continue. The Delta strain of the virus is obviously very fast transmitting and we need all the other states and territories to be continuing to get up to the mark, the marks that we need to set for ourselves to ensure we can get this job done this year. Thanks for your attention.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, what position did you take on New South Wales' request for extra Pfizer doses? Do we understand from your comments there that New South Wales won't be getting extra Pfizer doses in the immediate future? And, will you build a federal reserve so that in the future the Commonwealth has some extra capacity to give states Pfizer doses when there are outbreaks?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we have already given New South Wales an additional 150,000 doses. That was in immediate response to the request the Premier made of me on the 7th of July. And, they have been provided, along with an additional 150,000 AstraZeneca doses, and more doses as they're available will be provided to New South Wales. And we'll work with them on that. So, no, your assumption wouldn't be correct.
JOURNALIST: Were there any extra doses, were there any extra doses today? And, what position did you take on New South Wales' request?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I don't discuss what happens in National Cabinet. But, what I'm saying is the Federal Government will be working to support New South Wales, and where there are extra doses that can be provided to support the plan that is in place there, then that's what we'll do.
JOURNALIST: When would they be available?
PRIME MINISTER: When they're available to be provided.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, do you expect that the New South Wales Premier will now accept the assistance from the Defence Forces? And, what difference would the Defence Forces actually make on the ground in Sydney?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, last year, the Defence Forces through Operation COVID Assist in Victoria were enormously helpful. And, of course, those offers have been available in New South Wales for some time, as they have in all states and territories that find themselves in this situation, indeed, as they were in Victoria last year. That includes planning and logistics and liaison support through their agencies. It includes qualified medical personnel supporting testing locations. It included supporting Victoria Police through metropolitan control points. There was an ADF assessment team supporting Emergency Management Victoria's Regional Control Centre. ADF personnel partnered with Department of Health authorised officers to conduct community engagement patrols. There was support to Victoria Police on community outreach. They supported the police assistance line in Ballarat. There was also support for contact tracing and data management. ADF personnel even undertook driver and general duties to support emergency vehicle crews, and there was particular support provided to the Aged Care Response Centre.
So, the involvement of the ADF is not in, necessarily always in an enforcement or compliance mechanism. In, in fact, it's specifically not in that, because they are not legally authorised officers to undertake compliance and enforcement. That has to be done properly by those authorities in New South Wales or in Victoria, as it was last year. There is a broad array of supports that the ADF can provide, and currently the ADF right across the country is providing a large amount of support - some 1,200. There are already 252 ADF in New South Wales right now. In Victoria, there's some 300. There's 228 in Queensland, there's 121 in South Australia, and in the other states as well. In fact, including 147 in the Northern Territory. Operation COVID Assist continues to rollout around the country and is available to those states for those purposes.
JOURNALIST: Daniel Andrews, the Victorian Premier, says a ring of steel around Sydney is necessary. Noting how transmissible Delta is, it's already leaked from New South Wales, was that discussed in the meeting? What is your view? Is it necessary?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the only view that matters on this is the view of the New South Wales Premier, because they're responsible for how they manage the lockdown in New South Wales. Of course, the Premier discussed these issues with her colleagues today and myself, and there was, I think, good and positive discussion around that. It was a good opportunity, I think, for the New South Wales Premier to spell out in very specific detail the extensive lockdown that is in place in New South Wales. There's nothing light about the lockdown in New South- in Sydney, I can assure you. My family are in it.
JOURNALIST: Is it efficient for other states and territories to be protected?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what we've seen in New South Wales, as the Premier has already indicated, on the single case that arrived in Orange, they went into a seven-day, seven-day lockdown immediately. And, in fact, out of the, I think, the five LGAs specifically, there is no basis for anyone in those areas, in those hotspots, which account for the overwhelming majority of cases, to leave the metropolitan area or their own area at all, regardless of what their job is. That's even far stronger than existed last year, where there were exemptions around particular employment categories in Victoria. So, I think it was a good opportunity, I suppose, to dispel any concerns that this was not a very strong lockdown being put in place for the residents of Greater Sydney to comply with. I'm quite certain that people living in Greater Sydney do not feel they're under loose restrictions. They are under very tight restrictions, particularly those living in those most affected areas.
JOURNALIST: Do you believe that the virus is out of control in Sydney? And, do you agree that that presents a national emergency, as the Premier said?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I've been, I've been treating COVID-19 as a national emergency for the last almost two years. And, that hasn't changed in that entirety of the time we've been managing this pandemic. Lives and livelihoods have been at stake right across the country this entire period. What I would note from the data we're seeing coming out in New South Wales is they've prevented the exponential growth that we've seen in other countries, which has taken hold with Delta. So, they've been able to suppress that exponential rate of growth, which is very important. And so, you know, when you've got exponential growth in cases, that's what you'd call out of control. And, that's not occurring in New South Wales. And, I'd, I'd reassure people in Sydney, in particular, that what you're doing now is saving lives. It is working to bring this under control. In Victoria, when they went through the lockdown, they saw cases rise and rise and rise for many, many weeks while they were in lockdown. And, that's what occurs when the virus is operating in this, in this phase. And, so, the lockdown is the most important factor in arresting the growth - first, in cases, which they have had some success in achieving, and will have more, we believe. But, then it is the task of seeing it come down, and the lockdown and the suppression is the key vehicle through which that is achieved. That is the experience of what we've seen in other parts of the country. And, so, that can be assisted by the vaccine program, and that's why additional support is going into the vaccine program and has been given in New South Wales already to assist that lockdown process. It's the same reason why the payments are there and the economic supports, to support the lockdown, because it's the lockdown that is the principal tool that will see Greater Sydney and New South Wales through this. And, that's why Sydneysiders, and New South Wales more broadly and all those impacted, we've just got to push through.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, National Cabinet decided in June that it was not going to proceed with …
PRIME MINISTER: I can't quite hear you, I'm sorry.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, National Cabinet decided in June that it wasn't proceeding with identifying professions that would get priority access to vaccines, beyond the handful of ones that initially got it. We're now seeing outbreaks in essential workers in Sydney, which is similar to what happened in Melbourne. Was that a mistake? And, are you reconsidering giving priority access to younger workers in supermarkets, for example, access to Pfizer, who haven't been able to get it? And, just as a second, if I may, do you agree with Brendan Murphy's comments that even if we had higher rates of vaccination, we still may be going into these lockdowns?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's the evidence, on your latter point, that's, that's the lived experience of countries all around the world who do have higher rates of vaccination. I don't think that's an opinion. I think it's a fact. And, I've been making this point for some time. That is the nature of the Delta variant to the coronavirus, to COVID-19. So, I think Professor Murphy has simply stated a clear fact. And, that's one we need to bear in mind, and that's why this is such a significant challenge.
AstraZeneca is available across the population through informed consent, and we've seen tens of thousands of young people taking that up, and people should talk to their doctor and make their own informed consent decision about that. Younger people who have been in, particularly health worker occupations and those sorts of things, as you know, were given those access to other vaccines in the earlier stages of the program, and that's also been important. The program that the Premier is working through now and that we have been discussing for the last week, in fact, and yeah about the last week, I would say, well certainly the last few days, is how especially we can be targeting those workers who might be in food processing, that is, the distribution centres that are particularly present in those areas to ensure that supplies can be maintained. And, and I think that's another effective area of focus. And, I know the Premier is very focused on those key spreader demographics and occupations at the moment. And, that's the reason for having the change, well, not the change, but taking advantage of the three to six week rule on the second dose and bringing forward more of those first doses that would make that more plausible to achieve.
JOURNALIST: So, will those younger workers get priority access?
PRIME MINISTER: I'm sorry, I can't hear you.
JOURNALIST: Will those younger workers get priority access?
PRIME MINISTER: So, that's a matter for the, how the Premier is putting that plan in place. She's asked us to help her in that, in that program. And, we're doing everything we can, consistent with the national program, to support her in that effort. But, I'd stress again, if you're in the particularly vulnerable group, I would urge you to go and get your second dose of that vaccine, or indeed your first. And, that is for older age groups. If you're in the younger age groups, go and see your doctor, go and chat to them, have a chat to them about the AstraZeneca vaccine in particular, and make an informed choice that enables you to take a decision that can see you more protected, see your family more protected and your community more protected. Thank you very much.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
22 July 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Afternoon everyone. Last night, we were all Queenslanders, right across the country. The securing of the 2032 games for Australia in Brisbane and south east Queensland, taking in, of course, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, is a great result for Australia and a great boost at a time when Australians around the country, particularly in southern states, are doing it tough as we, as we battle through this most recent episode we’re going through in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. There’ll be kids who are turning up at the Valley Pool in Brisbane this morning and all around the country doing their training knowing that they put those laps in, then they too might be able to compete in an Olympic Games held in Australia. And, that is just such a thrilling, thrilling idea, a thrilling notion that kids around the country, whether they’re playing hockey or they’re swimmers or whatever they happen to be, that they can look forward to that. It’s a great boost for Australian sport. It’s a great recognition, I think, of Australia’s sporting lifestyle and the commitment that we have had to the Olympic movement from that very first summer games back in 1896 when Edwin Flack went round in the 800 metres. It’s very exciting news for Australians. So, to everybody up there in Queensland, it’s a win for all Queenslanders, it’s a win for all those in south east Queensland, and it’s a great win for Australia.
Can I particularly thank all of those who have been so involved in this process over many years. Can I especially thank my own team, Ted O’Brien has been my special envoy from the Sunshine Coast there, working this now for quite a period of time, working with the Queensland Government, working with the Olympic movement and John Coates and all of that team and, of course, all the regional mayors in south east Queensland. And, to Adrian, the Lord Mayor of Brisbane, who’s done a terrific job. That’s really where the inspiration first came from together with Olympic movement, and we were always pleased to be on board right from the beginning, going back to those early meetings I had with Dr Bach in Osaka first, and then to Tokyo, and much engagements since then. Can I, of course, congratulate the Queensland Government and Premier Palaszczuk and all of those who participated in the presentation yesterday. I was thrilled to be able to join what was a very historic presentation from Australia here in Canberra yesterday, and to get that result I think’s absolutely tremendous.
Of course, it’s going to be a big economic boost to Australia. Some $18 billion is the estimate over the course of now and to the games. Those of us who’ve, you know, from Sydney understand how big a deal it was for Sydney to, over 20 years ago. Brisbane, south east Queensland, Australians all have a lot to look forward to as we work forward to those games. So, congratulations to everybody and enjoy that moment. A lot of work to do now.
I stress that the arrangement we have with the Queensland Government is not a 50-50 funding partnership. It’s a 50-50 partnership. What that means is the decisions, the planning, the scoping of venues, the procurement, the contracts, the appointments – whether it’s to the organising committee, the establishment of the coordination authority – all of that is a shared exercise. It’s not just one state running a games and sending us the bill. No, no. What we offered was to partner 100 per cent and work shoulder to shoulder, share in those decisions, share in that planning, share in the contracting and the procurement. And, that will be done hand in hand all the way from here to the 2032 games. Now, that was a key factor in how we were able to secure those games because of not just the level of funding, but the partnership between the Commonwealth Government and the State Government. Now, this is quite different to what occurred in the Sydney Olympics. In the Sydney Olympics, it was run by the New South Wales Government, basically pretty much paid for by the New South Wales Government. The Olympic Coordination Authority, SOCOG, all of that run by the New South Wales Government. This is a completely different model. This is a 50-50 model where the two come together. That’s what the Premier and I agreed when we finally finalised our bid, and Ted O’Brien is actually sitting down with the Queensland Government this afternoon. I was talking to him earlier, and we’re getting on with it right from now. So, up up Brisbane, up up Australia.
Can I move now to the fact that COVID NSC met again today. We’re meeting weekly, have been for a very long time. The National Security Committee operating focused solely on managing the COVID response. And, the vaccination program today hit another historic record – 184,000 vaccines done in a day. That is the equivalent per head of population of 2.36 million doses in the United States a day, or 481,000 in the United Kingdom when you express it as per head of population. So, we are really hitting these marks now. More than a million doses being done in a seven-day period; 184,000 is a new mark for a daily record; 104,000 primary care vaccines administered. So, another record for our GPs. That primary care model is the workhorse of the vaccination program that is delivering those vaccinations and getting those jabs in arms as quickly as we possibly can. And, I note that there’s some six million AstraZeneca vaccines now that have been administered in this country, which is incredibly important, and so we continue to go from strength to strength.
Now, as I said yesterday, I take responsibility for the vaccination program. I also take responsibility for the challenges we’ve had. Obviously, some things within our control, some things that are not. And, I’m, I’m keen to ensure, as we have been over these many months, that we’ve been turning this around. I’m certainly sorry that we haven’t been able to achieve the marks that we had hoped for at the beginning of this year. Of course I am. But what’s more important is that we’re totally focused on ensuring that we’ve been turning this around. And if I give you some statistics, just to give you an idea of how much things have been turned around in just the last month, if you go back to the 21st of June, until now, we have seen the double dose vaccination rates almost triple in the last month. We’ve gone from just over five per cent to 15 per cent double dose today. We now have 36 per cent of those over 15 years old who have received a first dose. For those who are over 50. Go back a month. We’re at six per cent on double dose. We’re now at 20 per cent on double dose in just one month. And for those who are over 70, double doses of just over nine per cent a month ago, and today we’re at 33.9 per cent, over a third of those who are aged over 70 have received both doses of the vaccine. And of course, that figure in aged care is well north of 80 per cent. 76 per cent in total now, of those aged, over 70 have received their first dose of the vaccine. And so we will continue to press forward.
I also note that since I made some remarks about the AZ being available right across the population for those who wish to go and see their GP, I made those comments on the 28th of June. There have been 76,595 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine administered to people under the age of 40 since that day. So if people wish to do that, they should go and see their GP. Of course, there’s the informed consent process, but there is, and that’s first and second doses. So just under 40,000 first doses and almost and almost 37,000 second doses of AZ. The vaccines work. That was confirmed to us again today by the Chief Medical Officer, whether it’s AstraZeneca or whether it’s Pfizer or indeed the Moderna vaccines that will be coming soon, later this year. These vaccines work. The vaccines mean that you’re less likely to get COVID, you’re less likely to transmit COVID, you’re less likely to get serious illness from COVID and you’re less likely to die from COVID. That’s what the vaccines do. And that’s what Australians need. To be less likely to get it, to be less likely to transmit it, to be less likely to get a serious illness requiring hospitalisation and less likely to die from it. It is deeply distressing and upsetting to know that the recent fatalities have involved those unvaccinated in the community, those aged over 50 and particularly aged over 70. The vaccine has been available to over 70s for many, many months, and we need to work even harder to get those vaccines, particularly in the most vulnerable in our community, particularly those aged over 70.
Now, I spoke to the Premier of New South Wales last night at some length, and we’re in regular contact, as you’d expect. Was in touch with the Victorian Premier yesterday. We’re speaking later today and of course, also in constant contact with the South Australian Premier. And in New South Wales and in particularly in the Sydney area, it is very vital that all those in those vulnerable populations aged over 70 in particular, but I’d say aged over 60, please go and get your AstraZeneca vaccine as soon as you possibly can. The numbers that we’re seeing coming out of New South Wales show that the lockdown is keeping a lid on this. And it’s going to be some time, though, clearly, from what the Premier has been saying and and the numbers that we’re seeing to see these numbers go down to where we’d like to see them go. But the risk that is there means that it is vital, absolutely vital, and I implore not just those themselves who are over 60 to go and do this, have the conversation in your family, talk to your parents, talk to your relatives who are particularly in that age group, have the discussion, offer to book it for them, take them along. It’s important that you get your family, particularly the more elderly members of your family, vaccinated. If the COVID break out in New South Wales and in Sydney in particular, were to extend beyond where it is, then that will, of course, put older people in the community at great risk. So that risk is accelerating. And it’s very important that you take the opportunity to go and get those AstraZeneca vaccines to ensure you’re protected and that your family and your community is protected.
Now, on the vaccine programme itself, we made some further important decisions today. We will be bringing further forward the pharmacy programme and accelerating that, which was due to be coming in in September with the Moderna vaccines and the MRNA vaccine. That will still occur for the MRNA vaccines. But pharmacy has always been an essential part of the Australian health care system. And earlier this year we did the preregistration process and was able to identify some just shy of 4,000 pharmacies found suitable to participate in the rollout. Right now, there are 118 community pharmacies currently vaccinating around the country, particularly in rural and regional areas where they’re supplementing the GPs, where there’s a shortage of GPs in particular areas. By the end of this month, there’ll be 470. So for every, every pharmacist that’s out there doing vaccinations right now, there’ll be three times as many by the end of this month. Now, we also were able to identify 1,262 suitable pharmacies from regional, rural and remote areas that will be able to come into the programme and a further 2,668 in metropolitan areas. I note that particularly in the metropolitan areas affected by the latest outbreak in Sydney, in Fairfield, Canterbury, Bankstown and Liverpool, 48 pharmacies will commence offering vaccines in these areas by the start of next week. There’s also the Chester Hill GP Respiratory Clinic, which has also been set up. And we’ve been working to establish that with local doctors there over recent weeks to get that in place. And I particularly want to thank Dr Rifi for working with us and the Commonwealth and state government on those on those initiatives.
From next Monday, all community pharmacies across the country will be eligible to request participation in administering AstraZeneca vaccinations to the Australian population, and we expect to see them commencing their vaccinations in mid-August. There is a process of the training, the certification that you need to go through. Safety is always important for the administration of vaccines, and that’s what will be happening. So from next Monday, the Department of Health will be reaching out and similarly, pharmacies reaching in to get that process going. And that follows what I’ve already said, which is the tripling of pharmacies by the end of this month. Now, I also want to stress that all remaining GPs who would like to participate in the programme can also do that from Monday. And that is all about increasing the many points of presence. And this is for AstraZeneca, I should stress. This increase in the pharmacy rollout for now is about AstraZeneca, and it’s particularly designed to ensure that we can address those more vulnerable populations over 60.
So it’s very important in Sydney, as I said before, but we’re facing challenges in Victoria where things are a lot more manageable and also in South Australia. And so far those signs are encouraging, but there’s still further time to play out there. But if you’re in Perth, if you’re in Tassie, if you’re in Darwin, if you’re up in north Queensland, in Cairns or wherever you happen to be, this is important to ensure that you’re protected. The Delta variant is very aggressive. The vaccines work against the Delta variant. That is confirmed to us time and again. But it is important wherever you are in the country, to please go and see that pharmacist when they’re available or go and see your GP and make sure that you’re getting the AstraZeneca vaccines and similarly, through the state clinics that are providing those AstraZeneca vaccines. And we, of course, encouraging them to do that, that you can go and access them.
Now, just a couple of final points on payments. Good news from yesterday is that Services Australia, are processing more claims than they’re receiving. They processed some just shy of 70,000 claims yesterday on the disaster payment and received some just under 65,000. They’re making great progress. I want to thank all the people at Services Australia for the work that they’re doing, those both on the phones and those working the online systems, which are proving to be very effective in standing up. In total, $257,238,500 has already gone out the door in New South Wales in response to some 518,399 claims. This is obviously a big demand on the system, but the system is meeting that demand and people are getting access to those payments. [Inaudible] Those call times are coming down.
And also I’d note that from Friday tomorrow, that’s that’s when Victorians can go online and I encourage them to go online first. You have a CRN number with myGov, that’s the easiest way to do it. That’s the fastest way to do it and encourage you to use the online channels. For those who have particular needs, those in CALD communities, things like that, or need to discuss other elements of their support, then the online phone number telephony offer is there for you as well. But please go online. So far, there’s been 172,885 calls answered at Services Australia. And yesterday there was around 17 and a half thousand. So I’ll keep getting on with that job, we’ll keep getting on and our job and happy to take questions. Mark.
JOURNALIST: You’re saying people aged under 60 should talk to their GPs about getting AstraZeneca. Is this announcement mean, does it mean, that pharmacists will only be giving the AstraZeneca vaccine to people aged over 60? Or can they now have that conversation with a pharmacist?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, if they wish to talk to a doctor, they should talk to the doctor. They should talk to their doctor to get that, that information that they need. But that’s always up to the individual. Pharmacists will be able to give vaccines right across the population because the AstraZeneca vaccine is approved by the TGA for people above the age of 18. But there is an informed consent process and pharmacists will follow the same informed consent process as a GP would follow. But we have provided, as you know, under Medicare, if people want to go and have a consultation with their GP, they may wish to go and do that, but then they may choose to go and see their pharmacist and get their vaccination that way. Or they may choose to go back to the same GP. It really is up to the individual as to how they wish to do that. Bringing in the pharmacists earlier than, than we’d planned, midyear was always an opportunity for us, means that we can get more more horsepower behind the AstraZeneca vaccines. But particularly, as I think you’ve probably picked up, I’m concerned about ensuring that we get those, those over 70 in particular getting vaccinated. Now, remember, you’ve got three quarters have already had their first dose. So by particularly focusing on them, that means we can get to high levels of second dose vaccination amongst our over 70s population. That is also important about how we can get to the next step, because our most vulnerable populations’ vaccination rates are very important in that process as well.
JOURNALIST: WA is not making the AstraZeneca vaccine available to under 60s in state run clinics. Just to be clear, is it your preference that under 60s be offered AstraZeneca in the state run clinics or not?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that’s a decision for the state governments about what they’re offering. I want to get AstraZeneca vaccines in people’s arms to protect them, their families and their communities. That’s what I want. I’m trying to lift the vaccination rate. And the states that have been leaning into vaccination using AstraZeneca have much higher vaccination rates than those who haven’t.
JOURNALIST: Just coming back on that question, just to clarify, can you get informed consent by simply seeing your pharmacist as opposed to seeing the GP? And secondly, can you, can you talk about the two people who sadly died taking AstraZeneca? And would you be worried if one of those people, as I understand it, had, or the family claims, didn’t get or wasn’t fully informed of the symptoms to look out for.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we’re all responsible for our own health. And, when it comes to informed consent and getting consent to whatever treatment or procedure you may have or I may have, then I’m ultimately responsible for what people do in their health treatment to me. And, and there has been the opportunity for people to visit their GP to have that consultation. The Government has provided that and funded that, and the informed consent process provides the decision to the individual. That’s the sort of country we live in. People make their own decisions about their own health and their own bodies. That’s why we don’t have mandatory vaccination in relation to the general population here, because people make their own decisions and we encourage people to make those decisions. We make as much information available to them as is possible. The vaccines, like any vaccine, with any vaccine, there are there are risks associated, and I won’t go into each of the individual ones because I don’t want to particularly draw attention to anyone. But, we all understand that with any vaccine there are risk factors and they’re enumerated and they’re made available to people, and people make decisions about that.
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible]
PRIME MINISTER: I’ll let the Chief Medical Officer and others speak to those because they have the details. I’ve been informed of those cases and there have been other cases and, and they’re terribly tragic cases, like all of these are. And, I feel for their families in those situations. And, this is, this is the terrible impact that pandemics have, when you’re responding to pandemics. But, I do know that if vaccination rates, as we, as we see, particularly for those who are older, are not where we want them to be, then people’s lives are at risk.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you said you take responsibility for the vaccine rollout. Are you sorry for the way, I guess, that you haven’t reached the mark that you originally hoped for?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes.
JOURNALIST: You were asked a number of times to say sorry yesterday. Why couldn’t you say that then? And, can you understand your reluctance in saying that, why people might think that perhaps you aren’t taking accountability?
PRIME MINISTER: I think I’ve been very clear that as Prime Minister I’m responsible for the vaccination program. And, I’ve also been very clear that that responsibility means fixing and dealing with the problems that we’ve had. And, that’s what we’ve been doing. And, the vaccination program has turned a, has turned the corner. The numbers that I’ve relayed to you, I think, are the proof points of that. It demonstrates that. So, I take responsibility for the things that haven’t gone as well as we’d liked, and I take responsibility for the things that have worked, as well. And, no country gets everything right. No Prime Minister gets everything right, as well. And, so my job is to keep getting on with the job.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, can you clarify, just with AstraZeneca – sorry I know this is terrible …
PRIME MINISTER: I know, I’m listening hard.
JOURNALIST: I’m not a shouter, I’m going as hard as I can. Can you clarify with AstraZeneca, the Commonwealth has indemnified GPs?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, they’ve indemnified, the same applies to pharmacists, the indemnity.
JOURNALIST: So, pharmacists?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes.
JOURNALIST: What about the state vaccination clinics? Because, nurses give those injections in those …
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, that’s, that’s covered by states.
JOURNALIST: Sorry, sorry …
PRIME MINISTER: That’s covered by the states.
JOURNALIST: By the states?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah.
JOURNALIST: So, they have their own scheme?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, you have to address that to the states.
JOURNALIST: Just on the movement on the ATAGI board, does the removal of Chris Blythe and Allen Cheng have anything to do with this changing advice on AstraZeneca? And, are you happy with their performance?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh, look, I completely respect the advice of ATAGI. That’s why we’ve followed the advice of ATAGI. It’s my job as Prime Minister not just to simply accept advice uncritically. Whether it’s sitting in Cabinet meetings or, or in other forums, of course, I challenge the advice that I receive. I ask questions. I drill into it. You would expect me to do that. I think Australians would not expect me to just take this advice simply on the face of it. We must interrogate it. Leaders should do that. Ministers should do that. That has always been my approach, whether as a Minister and as a Prime Minister, and there are plenty of officials who work in this town who know that very, very well. But, I respect them all. I respect the job they do and I respect the way they engage with me on it. And, what I’m simply have been raising in relation to the ATAGI advice is that when it was provided initially and subsequently, in relation to those over 60, is that when that advice was provided they said it was based on the balance of risk of people getting COVID. Now, my simple point is that the balance of risk has shifted and therefore, based on the balance of that risk shifting, what, if any, is the change in the advice that ATAGI would provide. Because, I’m very concerned, very concerned that, of course, the advice that had come previously has caused some hesitation amongst people, particularly older people. Those people are now at risk, in south western Sydney in particular, but more broadly across Sydney, and I need AstraZeneca vaccines in their arms to protect them and their lives. And, no, it had nothing to do with any of those things, they’re completely unrelated. And, I thank them very much for their service and for their professionalism and, but asking questions of advisers is not disrespecting them. It’s my job.
JOURNALIST: Just clarifying where you’re at now on this advice then, because the ATAGI advice was to consult a GP. Now, people can skip that and go to a pharmacist. Is this you saying you’re no longer totally following that advice?
PRIME MINISTER: No.
JOURNALIST: And, will pharmacists be able to refuse simply on the basis they think it’s not safe for under 60s, as a lot of GPs have been doing to people, or will people be able to say, ‘No, I want the vaccine,’ to a pharmacist?
PRIME MINISTER: No one is forced to do anything in this country when it comes to this, and nor am I seeking to. And, I’m acting completely in accordance with the medical advice that has been provided. And, and there should be no suggestion that the Government is doing otherwise. People will make their own decisions. If they are legally able to go and get a vaccine and someone is legally able to provide that vaccine, and they can provide informed consent to that end, well, that is a matter between that pharmacist and that individual. What the Government has done is to support that ATAGI advice by making available, through the Medicare system, by paying for them to be able to go and have that consultant consultation with a GP. But, what we each do with our own health is our responsibility. And, how we seek to look after our own health is about decisions that we individually have to make. And, we’ve facilitated people being able to get the information and advice that they need in order to make their own decisions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, on the Delta strain in New South Wales, New South Wales Health have hit every contact tracing target according to the national guidelines, in terms of the time between testing, they’re exceeding testing that, across the country. Yet, the Delta strain is still escaping them. They’re not able to suppress it.
PRIME MINISTER: Correct.
JOURNALIST: The transmission is occurring in places like supermarkets and pharmacies where people obviously have to continue to go to.
PRIME MINISTER: Correct.
JOURNALIST: Do we need to rethink how we deal with this Delta strain, if you have the gold standard contact tracers not being able to bring those numbers down?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that was exactly the point I was making yesterday, exactly the point. The Delta strain is proving a much tougher combatant than the Alpha strain and other strains of COVID-19. And, that’s why right now, whether it’s what they’re doing in South Australia or in Victoria or what’s been done in New South Wales, each of those jurisdictions – and I’m in constant contact with all of them, and we’ll discuss this more tomorrow at National Cabinet – are looking to ways that we can be most effective in combating the Delta strain. Can I tell you, there’s not a country in the world that’s cracked it, not a country in the world that has been able to be successful so far in suppressing the Delta strain. And, so, it’s a big challenge for all of us around the world. And, that’s the challenge that we have now and to work together to find the most effective ways to be able to suppress this while we remain in this suppression phase. And, so, that’s why it’s important, because of the risks that you highlight. That’s why it’s so important that people, particularly older people, go and get that AstraZeneca vaccine.
JOURNALIST: On the economic impact, the Treasurer said this morning, probably a contracted quarter for September. And, he said it’s costing the economy now $300 million a day, the current situation. A couple of questions. How long is that sort of drain sustainable? And, have you as a Government given any thought to producing a Budget Statement between now and MYEFO, just to update, you know, the impacts that this is obviously going to have?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, no, there’s no suggestion at this point from Treasury that that would be required between now and MYEFO. It is our sincere hope that we would see the lockdowns in, particularly in Victoria and in South Australia, be brief ones. And, I’m sure that’s the view of all Victorians and South Australians as well. And, that the, the events in Sydney, in particular, but as we now see, has moved into some regional locations. That’s obviously far more serious. New South Wales is our biggest economy and, of the state economies. And, we know that last year, the fact that New South Wales didn’t descend into those lockdowns that we saw in other places, that was a, that carried in many respects the national economy, that New South Wales didn’t fall victim to this last year. And, that is a great credit to the work that was done in New South Wales last year, that they were able to avoid those outcomes, both for people who live in New South Wales and indeed the national economy. That was a very positive outcome. So, yep, the Treasurer set out what those, what those current impacts are. I made it very clear yesterday that that’s going to have a significant impact on the, on the September quarter results. But, all of the, all of the economic advice and all of the business advice that I’m getting is that lockdowns come off, the businesses come back, people go back to work, as we demonstrated – a million people back into work, a million people back into work as the economy roared back last time. And, so, that gives me every confidence that we just hold these businesses through over the course of this lockdown and we’ll be able to do that again. And, I think that’s very important. But, saving those lives – 30,000 lives saved in this country. If we’d experienced the same rate of fatality in countries just like Australia that we’ve seen in Europe and overseas, 30,000 more Australians would be dead right now. Now, we’ve avoided that and we’re going to keep doing everything we can to avoid that. But, COVID is a tough customer. It keeps changing. We’ve got to keep changing with it. And, and these results that we’ve seen today of another record day of vaccinations, I think, just gives us hope going forward. But, it was really great to see that result in Queensland last night. Thanks very much.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
21 July 2021
Prime Minister: Good afternoon everyone. Welcome to The Lodge. The global pandemic has taken many turns over the course of these past more than 18 months. The challenge that governments, all governments have faced, all around the world, is to seek to understand these changes as quickly as we possibly can and adjust how we're dealing with those changes as quickly as we can to achieve the same goals that we've always had, and that is to save lives and to save livelihoods. The Delta strain of the COVID-19 pandemic is taking a heavy toll all around the world. What Australia is dealing with right now is no different to countries all around the world, whether it's in the United Kingdom where we're seeing around almost 50,000 cases a day, 94 deaths yesterday. We're seeing similar very high rates of infection in Indonesia. We're seeing it in the developing world. We're seeing it in the developed world. We're seeing lockdowns occur back in Singapore again. We've seen Netherlands open and shut within days of their freedom day. And, of course, we are seeing what is largely a very significant experiment occurring in the United Kingdom, as we see now, and we wish them the best. We wish every single country in the world all the best, and hope for the best, as they each wrestle with the very difficult challenges that have emerged with this most recent strain.
Now, this, of course, is impacting here in Australia. We have had great success in saving lives and livelihoods. I don't think anyone would contradict that. Some 30,000 lives at least saved in this country, a million people back into work, about 3.5 million people, in particular, supported through income supports last year, with unprecedented levels of economic intervention brought to bear by the Federal Government to see Australia through to now. State governments have put in place the world's best contact tracing systems. They've built up the capacity of their health systems to cope with surges in cases. And, as a result, as a country, we have had that success. But, the Delta strain is throwing another big challenge at our country. But, we're up to it and we'll deal with it, just as we've dealt with each and every one of these challenges to date.
So, it is important, to all Australians out there today - whether they're in Sydney, whether they're in Orange, whether they're across in South Australia today, or right across Victoria, and particularly in the suburbs most affected. It's tough and it's going to continue to be tough in the weeks ahead, and potentially months ahead, as we continue to wrestle with this new strain of this virus and we adapt our responses to fight it, just as we have with every other episode that we've gone through as we've responded to the coronavirus pandemic all around the world.
Now, today, once again, we are hitting new marks with our vaccination programme. I'll be open with you, we've had our challenges with this programme. We've had significant challenges with this programme, as many countries have. But, what matters is how you respond to them. What matters is how you fix the things that need to be fixed and get the programme doing what it needs to be doing, and hitting the vaccination rates it needs to hit to ensure that we can get to where we need to be, where we want to be. Today, with the most recent seven days data, we've finally hit that mark of a million doses in arms, in a week. We've been working towards that now for weeks. A few weeks back, we were in the 700,000s and the 800,000s. Well, now, Australia, you've got us to a million a week.
In this same week, we've seen a million doses of Pfizer turn up, and we've gone from 300,000 doses a week escalating to a million doses coming every week with Pfizer. And, we started that process of securing that bring forward of supply back in May of this year. And, so, we're pleased to see those come through.
I particularly want to thank the GP network and all of those working in vaccination all around the country that is enabling us to hit these marks. And, it does mean that at these rates of vaccination we will get to where we want to get to. The supply is increasing, the points of presence increasing - 320 new GP presence, points of presence, for Pfizer established this week. More pharmacies coming online with AstraZeneca to support the effort where there aren't sufficient GPs in those places, and Lieutenant General Frewen bringing on more pharmacies as we go into the weeks and into the months ahead as the supply continues to support those changes.
So, a million doses in seven days. We're at another, almost another record day today in the total number of vaccines delivered in a day, and that is at 174,589. So, that's what we have to keep doing to hit the marks that we need to keep hitting to ensure that we can put Australia in the best possible position that we can be in as we continue to combat the Delta strain. But, the tools we've used to fight the virus in the past, such as the contact tracing and the QR codes and all of this, the Delta strain has thrown new challenges at that. And, as a result, the lockdown measures that have been put in place we will continue working with and adjusting and changing as we need to to get them right to ensure we can both save lives and save livelihoods, and do all we can to minimise the burden on the Australian population.
But, as we are seeing around the country, around the world, even with countries that have higher vaccination rates than Australia and New Zealand, that have similar vaccination rates on double doses, and in fact, our first doses are far higher, all around the world they're dealing with the challenges of Delta, and so are we. The economic impact of this, of course, will be a heavy blow, but it's not a blow we can't recover from. And, how do I know that? Because last year when we faced the same heavy blow, we turned it around and got a million people back into work. So, we know how to see our economy recover. I remember at the time I was criticised for saying that the economy will come back strongly. Well, the economy did come back strongly. We put the supports in place to enable that, and it worked. And, it'll work again once we come through these lockdowns. Then, whether it's in New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, those economies will return to growth. People will go back to work. People will go back and buy things in the shops. The sites will open again and the economy will come back to life very, very quickly.
That said, the supply chain disruption, the impacts on confidence, the fall in job ads, which is to be expected in these circumstances, we anticipate will have an impact on, obviously, the September quarter GDP, and will have a near-term impact on employment. It is impossible to avoid it when you've got lockdowns running at the rate we're seeing across three states right now. And, so, we do anticipate that. I spoke to the Governor of the Reserve Bank only this week and the Deputy Governor with the Treasurer, and they share an outlook as we do, and that is while these impacts of the lockdowns will be here in this quarter, in the quarter that follows, should we continue to be on the path we're on, in increasing our resilience, then we can expect that to turnaround in the December quarter.
Finally, I want to make a number of points about payments - the $600 and $375 payments that are available to individuals. These payments are the same level of payment that was being provided in the December quarter last year of JobKeeper, exactly the same. The only difference is they're being paid by the Government direct, not through your employer. And these, the design of these payments is designed to support the lockdowns in encouraging people to be able to stay at home where they have to be at home as a result of these lockdowns. They're there to support that health initiative. When you go through a pandemic or in any sort of policy challenge, you don't address last year's challenges. You address today's challenges. And, today's challenge with these lockdowns is very different to what the Treasurer and I and the Government were confronted with last March and April when we put JobKeeper in place. That was a national scheme that went across all businesses in Australia and it was designed with the prospect of having Australia in that situation for at least six months, which indeed it was in. And, it needed the scale of that type of initiative to be able to deliver that support. We need to be able to turn this on and turn this off quite quickly. And, with the method that we've chosen, we are able to do just that.
To give you an indication, what we are experiencing currently today is some 70,000 claims per day. We saw $32 million paid out in support in the last 24 hours alone. In New South Wales, we have already provided 452,395 grants of support; $219 million is already out the door. So, this support is coming swiftly and it is being done principally through the online distribution of Services Australia, where I thank Australians that some 93 per cent of claims are being handled online. We’re seeing payments made, as some of your own colleagues have observed, within 40 minutes of that claim being undertaken or indeed being paid the next day. We’ve put in place a system of payments that is designed to be swift.
Now, let me run through how that's running in each of the states, because it's now exactly the same in all states. In all states, people are, that are affected by the lockdowns, where there's a Commonwealth hotspot definition put in place, the payments are being provided statewide through the partnership that I've been able to put in place with each of the state premiers, most recently last night with Premier Marshall. So, it's the same right across all the states of the states affected by lockdowns. The payments as you know are $600 for 20 hours lost in the period of the previous week, and $375 if it's less than 20 hours and more than eight or a days week, a full day of work lost in the course of that week. You make your claim at the end of the week based on what happened during that week. The payments are then made in arrears, and importantly now, importantly now, when you're registering for these new payments - and so that was from last Friday for those first who went onto those payments in Sydney, and Sunday for the rest of the state. And, now those who'll be making them on the 23rd in Victoria and the 28th in South Australia - those payments will be recurring. So, you don't need to go in and reclaim every single week. If you're registered for the payment, then you're registered for it to recur each week.
Now, we ask you to keep us up to date with any changes in your circumstances. You may be in a position where you no longer need those payments and you've got hours back. Equally, you may be in a position where previously you were losing less than 20 hours a week, but now you're losing more than 20 hours a week. You can go online, you can update your application for that payment, and it is recurring. We're doing this because we want people who are experiencing these lockdowns and suffering these economic losses to know that each week those payments are going to turn up in your bank account and you can count on it. You don't have to apply again. You don't have to worry about it. There's plenty of other things I know you have to worry about. I don't want you to have to worry about that. So, those payments will keep turning up every week the lockdowns continue to roll. Of course, when the lockdowns are lifted, well, that's when the payments are no longer necessary, and people, hopefully they go straight back to work. People go back to the economy moving forward, and they will be able to be in a position of being supported by their employment.
So, that gives you a bit of an update where we're at. Happy to take questions across a range of different issues. But, of course, let's start with COVID.
Journalist: Prime Minister, given that more than half the population is in lockdown and the situation in Sydney is getting worse, will you consider directly appealing to ATAGI to change their medical advice on AstraZeneca and open it up to 50s and over on the basis that that decision was made when the country was in a very different situation to what it is in now?
Prime Minister: It's a constant appeal, I can assure you. It's a constant appeal that the situation that Australia faces should be managed on the balance of risk, as ATAGI has said to me in the past. When they made the decision to restrict or to have a preference for those under the age ultimately of 60 to have the Pfizer vaccine, they said they made that decision on the balance of risk. Well, it's for them to now constantly reconsider how that balance of risk applies and provide their advice accordingly. I do note, though, that there are tens of thousands, particularly of those under the age of 40 - I think it's about 32,000 or thereabouts since I made some remarks about this a little while back - they've gone to their doctor, they've had a chat with them, and they've had the AstraZeneca vaccine through informed consent. Now, that is available to all Australians to have that discussion with your doctor and to have informed consent. That's what the medical advice is. TGA has given their approval for the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine, and we are encouraging states, just like Victoria did. Victoria pumped an extra 300,000 AstraZeneca vaccines into their state through their state-based clinics, particularly going back several weeks where that was really lifted. So, I would encourage states to be using the AstraZeneca vaccines, to be dispensing them through those state-based clinics to get as many people vaccinated as possible. And, I commend the Victorian Government for the way that they've led the way on that.
Journalist: Prime Minister, just continuing on the AstraZeneca issue. Yes, it is available to younger people to have that conversation. But, the messaging has been very confusing. Is it time to be much more direct with some kind of campaign to encourage people to get AstraZeneca? And, also, Gladys Berejiklian today accused the Federal Government of not giving enough AstraZeneca to GPs. Is that a problem? Are we not giving them enough? And, is New South Wales ordering enough for its own state clinics?
Prime Minister: Well, no, there is significant, there is significant quantities of AstraZeneca vaccine going out through the GP network. I mean, that is the principal network through that is occurring. I would like to see more AstraZeneca vaccines being distributed through the state-based clinics, like Victoria has been able to achieve. Why? Because I know this vaccination rates, the Victorian experience has proved that.
When it comes to the other issues, of course, the ATAGI advice, the TGA advice, I’ll always be very respectful of that. But, I could not be more clearer, I think, that every Australian above the age for which vaccines are available should be having those discussions with their doctors. We know that in other countries the AstraZeneca vaccine, particularly the UK, has been the primary vaccine through which they've been able to achieve the vaccination levels they are at. So, I would encourage them to do that. I know many people who have in my sphere of contacts. I know you probably know many as well. And, that is a discussion you have to have with your doctor. I am not your doctor and therefore I would not be giving you medical advice. You should take that advice from your doctor. I can only tell you what the policy settings are, and I think the policy settings are very clear.
Journalist: Prime Minister, specifically to follow up on those first two questions. Gladys Berejiklian and Brad Hazzard today, particularly Brad Hazzard, said they need more Pfizer in New South Wales. Has the Federal Government given any thought to giving extra Pfizer - not just bringing forward - to New South Wales or to Victoria or in addition to South Australia, given the outbreaks there? And, secondly, on Pfizer, last night I was reading your Facebook page. You have about 800,000 followers. You put up a message about a million doses a week coming in. A lot of people were angry. One thing really stood out - the number of women over the age of 60 saying, ‘I don't want AstraZeneca, I want Pfizer. When can I get Pfizer?’ What is your message to those women, to the people who are hesitant about AstraZeneca?
Prime Minister: Well, we have two vaccines and we'll soon have a third with Moderna. My message is that people should be getting vaccinated as soon as possible with the vaccines that are available for them to get vaccinated. That is, that is my message. And, that is what I think is in Australia's public health interests. If you're vaccinated, you're at less risk to yourself, to your family, to your community and indeed the nation. And, so, I would encourage people to have the vaccines that are available to them. And, we can't mandate that. That's not the way we do things in this country. People will make their own choices. I totally respect that. The additional Pfizer vaccines that are now coming in at a million a week is obviously going to increase then the supply of those vaccines, particularly to states and territories. When the Premier contacted me several weeks ago in New South Wales, she asked if she could get additional vaccines, and that was her priority. She had an answer that same night, I believe, and followed through the next morning that they were getting an additional brought forward 150,000 supply of Pfizer and 150,000 of AstraZeneca, which I'm not aware has actually been utilised. I haven't caught up on those details.
Journalist: She said today, PM, she specifically said today we need more Pfizer. So, following that discussion …
Prime Minister: More and more Pfizer is going out to all of the states and territories because we have a national vaccination challenge. Of course, we have specific challenges in Sydney, particularly in south west Sydney where the rate of vaccination had been much lower. The rate of vaccination overall, even before going into the lockdown, was lower in New South Wales than it was in Victoria and some other states. That said, all states need to lift their vaccination rates. There is more Pfizer coming in. We started that process of getting those brought forward supplies back in May when I, when I directly contacted the head of Pfizer at that time with Minister Hunt, and we worked on that plan and we've had that brought forward. That means more states will be getting more Pfizer. But, my message to Australians today is, take the vaccines, please, that are available to you now. Discuss them with your doctor. That's what has occurred in my family. Jenny got her second dose last week of AstraZeneca. Both my, my parents, sorry my mother and my mother-in-law, they've both done the same thing. I'd say the same thing to you that I say to my own family.
Journalist: Prime Minister, you mentioned the impact on September GDP. You're expecting there to be some impact. How much worse would that be if we weren't still seeing the same elevated iron ore price? And, businesses are obviously really suffering in, all across the country. Can you confirm JobKeeper absolutely is not going to come back, it's not going to be extended, to let it go?
Prime Minister: Well, again, you solve the problem with the policy responses you need that's in front of you. I'm not trying to solve last year's problem. That's what JobKeeper solved. I'm trying to solve the issues and provide the economic supports directly to individuals fast. You'll recall that when we put JobKeeper in place it took four to six weeks, four to six weeks in order for the system to be rolled out, for businesses to go to their banks to get the loans for their cash flow, to then, to then actually make the payments to those who are working with them, and to work through that process. I don't have six weeks. I need to make sure that we've got $200 million out the door now, which is exactly what we've done. So, we will continue to tailor our responses of economic supports to meet the challenge we have now. Now, we have a broad range of other tools. We're continuing to consider what they are, if additional supports are needed. States and territories, unlike this time last year, are also stepping up to the plate in terms of their economic supports, which they agreed to do some weeks ago when I got them together at National Cabinet. I welcome that. South Australian Government has announced measures to support business there today, as has the Victorian Government, as has the New South Wales Government. I'd say in New South Wales, the most significant of all the states in rolling out those business supports. And, of course, there is the additional arrangement there that we're co-funding to, with them, to the tune of half a billion dollars a week. So, we need to address the cash flow challenges of businesses to get through what are hopefully short-term lockdowns in the other states, in Victoria and South Australia. And, as the stubborn situation persists in New South Wales, then we continue to provide the supports to business to get them through, and to ensure that individuals get payments. I mean, I can only refer you to what Dan Andrews said just in the last 24 hours - it's basically JobKeeper by another distribution method. And, what matters is people are getting economic support. They get it timely, that it's proportionate, that it's targeted, and it's there when they need it, and that's what's coming off. Look, the Budget is comprised of, on its revenue, of many different elements, and it's very difficult to segregate that out to individual factors. What we're seeing in this current quarter is you’ll of course see a hit to GDP because of the lockdowns. I mean, that is impossible to ignore and it's impossible to avoid. All the supports that we're providing are not designed as replacement income. They never were, and neither was JobKeeper. They're there to provide people with that income support, that economic and cash flow support for businesses that enables them to get on this bridge to the other side of the lockdowns, so on the other side they can open up and they can get going again, keeping our businesses whole as best as we can, and ensuring people are supported with the income they need to get through these more difficult times. Phil.
Journalist: What is the latest estimate you've got from Treasury and or the RBA on the hit to GDP this quarter? And, what's underpinning their confidence that we’ll rebound in the December quarter and avoid a second recession, given the uncertainty of the situation we're going to find ourselves in? What are they assuming is going to happen between now ...
Prime Minister: Well, there are no official estimates at this point, Phil, so I wouldn't be offering what are only sort of speculative positions at this time. But, clearly, it's going to have a significant impact in this quarter, and we'll wait and see what that is. And, those numbers won't come through till much longer. But, the fact is, people are already experiencing that. They won't have to wait for the numbers to come out, you know, many months from now to know what it meant to businesses in this quarter. Businesses will, and employees and those who have lost hours, will already know what that is. And, that will become clearer as the months roll past and the data comes in. The confidence that is being expressed by both Treasury and the Reserve Bank is the confidence of experience of what we've already seen occur. Now, I've also had quite a lot of direct engagement with business leaders recently, as has the Treasurer, and it's the same issue. And, that is, the economy in Australia is fundamentally resilient and strong. And, you know, you don't get a million people back into work after the biggest pandemic the world has seen in 100 years, and to do so ahead of almost every other country in the world, if your fundamentals in your economy are not strong going into it and remaining strong, as we've seen demonstrated with both the GDP data and the employment data, particularly over most recent quarters. So, that resilience and that strength is there. That is why it's our task, what the Treasurer and I and the Cabinet are seeking to do is ensure, and with the premiers, to ensure that the economic supports we are providing, to the best we can, brings those companies through, and that we hopefully see those lockdowns end as soon as they possibly can. And, that's what gives them confidence that as you go through this quarter and into the next, that you're able to have those lockdowns end. You will see, as we've already seen in the past, businesses come back and come back strongly, and hopefully pick up some lost ground.
Journalist: Prime Minister, could I just ask a couple of non-COVID questions?
Prime Minister: I’m going to stay with COVID, but I will come back to you.
Journalist: Prime Minister, you recently had a conversation with the Global Chief of Pfizer. What was your purpose in that conversation, and were there any tangible outcomes?
Prime Minister: Following up our earlier representations, to appreciate the bring forward that we were able to achieve in working with him and the entire Pfizer organisation, particularly here in Australia, to continue to get a further understanding of what their global production levels were, and to continue working on, as has been our practise the entire time, to keep seeking to bring forward our supplies. That's a function of global production levels.
Journalist: Was he encouraging?
Prime Minister: Well, that will be evidenced only in what the outcomes are. And, so, once that, once the doses are on planes, then that's when I'll count them. And this, this week, a million doses on planes.
Journalist: Prime Minister, can you tell us specifically what you are doing to try and increase vaccine supplies? Are you having conversations with Moderna as well as Pfizer to try and bring forward supplies? And, can you tell us whether that will make any difference to getting out of these current lockdowns? And, just in regards to your comments on ATAGI, can you confirm whether you have spoken directly to the Chair of ATAGI with that, as you say, that appeal?
Prime Minister: Look, there are appropriate conversations that are had with the head of ATAGI, and they're done through the Secretary of Health, and the Chief Medical Officer. And, that's where the dialogue occurs between our regulators and, and the Prime Minister. In the same way, I don't have conversations with other regulators, be they APRA or others, about those sort of specific issues. I don't think ATAGI’s in any doubt about the Government's view on these issues. When I spoke to Allen Cheng about these issues, when he was chairing ATAGI and he was presenting to us on those matters, then I relayed those, those sentiments at that time. And, so, I need them to get on and do their job. We'll get on and do our job. Everybody, I think, is acting in good faith in the best interests of the country, and everybody respects each other and the roles that they have, as I indeed do, ATAGI, and the TGA and Professor Murthy and Professor Kelly, and the many others who are involved in this process - Dr Kennedy, Dr Lowe and many others. And, so, we have very professional, I think, very effective relationships, and that's how we’ll continue to pursue these, these very significant challenges.
Journalist: [Inaudible]
Prime Minister: We're working across all the supply chains.
Journalist: [Inaudible]
Prime Minister: Well, fundamentally, no. And, just ask people in Singapore the same question. I mean, their vaccination rates are higher than in Australia. Ask the people in the Netherlands, ask the people in other countries. That was my point in opening today's press conference. The Delta strain is a new challenge and the whole world is wrestling with it. Countries that thought they could open up within days are shutting down. Now, there are many elements to what builds our resilience, but the difficulty right now is getting the right set of policy tools about how you can deal with outbreaks that occur in Delta. An outbreak under Delta is different to dealing with an outbreak under Alpha. I remember when we had Alpha outbreaks earlier this year in Queensland and we didn't know what the Alpha strain was going to look like. And, Queensland and other states moved quite early, and I remember applauding them at the time. And, thankfully, that virus strain did not prove to be as invidious as this one did. And, as a result, we were able to know that under the Alpha strain, contact tracing, QR codes, all of those mechanisms are proved up to the task of being able to managing those strains. Delta is providing a different challenge, not just to countries like Australia, but in the United Kingdom, across Europe, in the United States we're only now starting to see the Delta variant get into their system and how that plays out there. We've already seen states start to bring in new restrictions and, of course, their vaccination rates are higher. Now, what I do know is this. If you're vaccinated, you're less likely to contract it, you're less likely to transmit it, you're less likely to get very sick, and you're less likely to die. They’re four pretty good reasons.
Journalist: Sorry, Prime Minister, do you have any update on when the Doherty Institute? Well, sorry, my accent is ...
Prime Minister: No, no, it’s more the mask, your accent is fine.
Journalist: Ask SBS for some subtitles. Prime Minister, do you have any update on when the Doherty Institute will finalise its vaccine threshold data, and do you have confidence that the premiers will accept those vaccine thresholds for opening up?
Prime Minister: Well, very good questions. The first question is there's been no change to what I updated you on last Friday from Sydney, and we're expecting that that information to be completed by the end of this month. And, I only had a further update on that in the last 24 hours. And, they’re still on track for that, and looking forward to receiving that information. Remember, that information then needs to be combined with the advice of Treasury’s to understand the economic issues that are relevant to the setting of these, these thresholds and the benchmarks, and also looking at the health system capacity as well and the role that can play in the tolerance of managing the risk. See, what Doherty is able to give to us is a sense of what the risk profile is at various levels of vaccination, and not just at the top line level of vaccination. You know, we’re at 14.5 per cent today, but we're over, you know, at for the over 70s, you know, 75 per cent and more have had first doses there as well. So, it's about vulnerable populations and their vaccination levels. You know, we need to look at this right across the country. As you've all already noted, there are different rates of vaccination around the country, even now by state, let alone potentially at lower levels as what we've seen in south western Sydney more recently. So, they will help us understand the risk that exists at various levels of vaccination. And, I'm, I welcome the statistics, most recently from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which shows 70 per cent of Australians are not hesitant. They're happy to have the vaccine. And, a lot of our messaging to them is the issues of convenience, points of presence, why you should do it now, and, you know, that ATAGI advice has already said four to 12 weeks for your second dose on AstraZeneca. Very much welcome that advice, and encouraging people to basically walk through the open door. They're in a position to be able to do that. So, that is why Doherty is really important to help inform those decisions. Now, to the best of my knowledge, Australia - I think Singapore is another example of this, perhaps in South Korea - we are one of the few countries in the world that is scientifically trying to determine what this is, before taking the next step of easing what those restrictions would be and how lockdowns, which shouldn't be happening in that next phase, and how that will work. Because, as we said, we've had other countries, the Dutch - I'm not criticising them, it's, no country has a perfect record on any of these things. No country has got everything right. That's the nature of dealing with an issue like this. But, we don't want to be in a situation where you start it and then two days’ later you're not able to proceed with it. And, so, we have to be careful. Now, I know we've been careful in Australia. I know my Government has been careful when it comes to the authorisation of vaccines in this country. And, I know that in Australia those approvals were given later than they were in other countries. But, I also have a responsibility to ensure Australians are kept safe before we put millions and millions of doses in people's arms. Then it was important that that process was done the way we regulate all vaccines in this country, so people can have confidence about the health treatment they’re receiving in this country. The premiers and the chief ministers, well, these are big decisions for leaders. We will certainly have a view and I'll certainly be articulating my view based on the sound economic, health and epidemiological advice that we receive and the scientific modelling that's there to support those decisions. But, we need to know what those targets are. And, I look forward to telling Australia what those targets are to get to step two, to get to step three, to get to step four. How soon we get there is up to all of us. Mark.
Journalist: So, Prime Minister, on that issue of nobody being perfect, you had a very interesting exchange on FM radio this morning. I think a lot of people have been scratching their heads. Why is it that you so firmly believe the Government doesn't need to say sorry about anything in relation to the failings of the vaccine rollout?
Prime Minister: I think, I think Australians just want us to get it right. And, no country's got their pandemic response 100 per cent. And, I think Australians understand that. And, Australia, despite saving more than 30,000 lives and getting a million people back into work and providing economic supports at its peak to around 3.5 million people, and what we've been able to achieve together, I think Australians accept that. I know Australians would like the vaccination program to be further advanced than it is now. But, I can tell you, based on the plan that was agreed and adopted by both my Cabinet and endorsed by the National Cabinet last year, we’re about two months behind where that otherwise will be, and it may even be less than that by the time we get to the end of this year. And, so, those delays are regrettable. We all know they were a result of many factors. People have perfect hindsight after these events. But, let's remember, we were focusing on vaccines that we knew could be manufactured in Australia. This was very important. No one's making Pfizer outside of this country other than those who were making it before. And, so, a series of decisions were taken. And, don't forget, when Pfizer, at that stage, like last year, we were talking about sub 70 degree temperatures to store and transport this. Now, we're a big country. Our most vulnerable populations were in remote and regional areas and Indigenous communities. We needed vaccines that we'd be able to transport and move around the country far and wide. So, there were many factors that were being worked through by our medical experts, by the Cabinet, as we, as we advanced that plan. Sure, there's going to be plenty of critics in hindsight. They'll have various motivations for doing it. But, what Australians, I think, want from me, is to make sure we make up that ground, we hit these marks that we're hitting, and that we are hitting those marks and they want me to, I take responsibility for the problems we've had, but I'm also taking responsibility for the solutions we're putting in place and the vaccination rates that we're now achieving.
Journalist: Thank you, I've got a couple of questions.
Prime Minister: I’m sorry we’re still on COVID. I’m sorry COVID is, but that’s what I’m here to address, COVID.
Journalist: Prime Minister, if ATAGI doesn't change its advice …
Prime Minister: Sorry, I can’t hear you.
Journalist: If ATAGI doesn't change its advice, when do you expect that all Australians that want a jab would have their second dose? And, once they are able to have that opportunity, would you support measures such as vaccines certificates to make sure that people can go to events at full capacity next year?
Prime Minister: Well, these are all the things that we'll consider in those various step changes - step two, step three. We already have vaccine certificates. They already exist. And, those vaccine certificates, this month, we expect to be in a form that can be dropped into Apple Wallets, things of that nature. And, later in the year, about October we estimate, we'll have a vaccination certificate that will be able to be used, internationally recognised, to facilitate when people are moving out of the country and into the country, being able to recognise others’ certificates. That's something that has been a common feature of the conversations I've been having with other leaders - when APEC has been meeting, when G7 has been meeting. This is a very practical thing that we've been talking about. Now, where we have to get to is that we get as many people vaccinated as possible. We believe that we have the supply - subject to any external shocks that still could impact anyone’s systems - we believe, by the end of the year, that those who wish to have the vaccine will have had the opportunity to do that. What the level of vaccinations will be, will be a function of how many Australians take that up, and we'll be seeking to maximise that as much as possible. An important way of motivating people to do that, which is why I'm so keen to get this advice and to be able to put those vaccination rates on when we can get to step two and be very clear with the states about what step two means, I think that will give Australians things to work towards and to go towards. And, you know, we're not a country that mandates vaccines, and we’re a country that respects the individual rights and liberties of our citizens. But, at the same time, we have to act in accordance with public health. And, if by the end of the year everybody has had that opportunity to have a vaccine, by not having that vaccine, well, they're putting their own health at risk, the health of their families at risk, and the health of their communities at risk.
Journalist: Thank you, Prime Minister. You don't need me to tell you that since your last press conference Victoria's extended its lockdown, South Australia has gone into lockdown and the situation in New South Wales isn't getting any better. We have businesses crying for JobKeeper to be reinstated and there's growing criticism that you're an absent leader and that you're passing the buck. Is that true, Prime Minister? Are you an absent leader?
Prime Minister: No.
Journalist: Just on no jab, we don't mandate vaccines in this country, but you, I believe it was Social Services Minister, when ‘no jab, no play’ came in, which is about as close as you can get to mandating vaccines. So, why wouldn't you take that approach? Just, to follow up this question …
Prime Minister: Well, I didn’t say we wouldn’t. I’d say ...
Journalist: Well, why not take up the French approach where we've got a tiny minority protesting and millions of extra people now getting vaccines?
Prime Minister: My record, as you've outlined it, is true. So, I think, you know where, I think you, my record speaks to my disposition on these things, but they're not things that the Prime Minister or even the Federal Government decides. Ultimately, restrictions that will be placed on people moving about in their states can only be imposed by states. The Commonwealth Government can't do that. Only the state governments can place restrictions on people entering a venue, entering a place of work, things like this. There are also industrial relations issues here that apply as well. They can apply the public health orders that mandate vaccinations, like the Western Australian Premier has done in terms of quarantine-based workers. They have those powers. They can implement them. I can provide them with the tools that helps them to implement them, like the digital vaccine certificates and things of that nature, and they could employ them. That's why we've kept them well up to date with how those mechanisms, those systems are working.
Journalist: Prime Minister, you spoke earlier about wanting the states to deliver more AstraZeneca through their state-run hubs. You also spoke earlier about challenges that the rollout has faced. One of those challenges has been the miscommunication over AstraZeneca. States aren’t wanting AstraZeneca because of hesitancy. So, do you concede one of the challenges has been your own Government’s miscommunication around AstraZeneca and whether or not people should take it?
Prime Minister: Well, I'm not, I cannot control what ATAGI advises. They are an independent, they are an …
Journalist: [Inaudible]
Prime Minister: So, are you suggesting that the Government, when advised by the Technical and Advisory Group on Immunisation, some of the most senior level scientific medicos in the country, tell the Government that the preferred vaccine for people of particular ages is 50, and then they changed it to 60, that the Government should refuse that advice?
Journalist: You've just said there's a constant appeal, though, for them to change that advice.
Prime Minister: Well, sure, but they're the ones …
Journalist: What’s different about then as opposed to now?
Prime Minister: No, no, they’re the ones who make medical assessments, scientific assessments about what's in the health interests of Australians. Now, all through this, all through this, we have listened carefully and been guided by that medical advice. So, if you're seriously suggesting that the Government should have neglected medical advice in the handling of the pandemic …
Journalist: But, you’re asking …
Prime Minister: No, I’m sorry, that is exactly what you're suggesting.
Journalist: Prime Minister, you’re asking for …
Prime Minister: That is not something that I would accept as a viable proposition. Thank you.
Journalist: Prime Minister, just a couple of questions, non-COVID. Firstly, on Afghanistan. It’s obviously a very difficult decision to withdraw all Australian personnel from Afghanistan.
Prime Minister: Yep.
Journalist: Under what conditions would you send personnel back? And, secondly, if I may, what assurances can you give the taxpayers of Australia that should, should they lend some money to Telstra to buy Digicel Pacific that they would not be, it would not be at a loss, and what strategic benefit would that purchase have?
Prime Minister: Well, I'm not going to speculate on the latter point. They’re market matters for companies on, I’ll leave that to the Managing Director of Telstra. That's a matter between him and his shareholders. They have commercial objectives which they pursue, and I wouldn't expect them to be doing anything that wasn't in their commercial interests, and that's what shareholders look to. And, I'm sure that's what they'll do. But, they should, they'll make those decisions, individual shareholders, in concert with their financial advisers, who are properly accredited to provide that advice. And, I think that's the way that that should occur.
On the other matter, we've always made it very clear that were we in a position to safely have Australians in Afghanistan and providing support to our efforts there, then we would. And, so, were it safe to do that, we have always been open to the opportunity to pursue that. And, that's what we would do. I'd also note that we are making progress on ensuring that those who helped us in Afghanistan, we're getting to Australia. Already, 252 Australians, sorry Afghan nationals, have been able, we've been able to bring to Australia, both, that's them and their families. And, we are making real steady progress through the many others. And, we've spent quite a lot of time on this, as you'd expect us to do, through the National Security Committee, working with the Immigration Minister. Where necessary, if we have to have facilitated commercial flights to bring them to Australia, I know Australians would support that. There are two programmes. There's the locally engaged employee programme, and that is the one I'm referring to now. But, where there are those who don't qualify that, for that programme, we’ll be ensuring that they also have direct access going into the humanitarian programme. So, you know, if one channel is not open because of the rules of that programme, and those rules are important - there are important health, security and other issues. I can assure you, it's not a simple process to do that in a country like Afghanistan at the moment. And, we're working with IOM and our other partners to do those medical checks. I'm sure Australians would expect us. I mean, it would be, I think, unlikely that anyone who'd been a locally engaged employee, for health reasons wouldn't be allowed to come to Australia. Certainly, if there were security reasons then I'm sure all Australians would agree that we wouldn't do that. But, those instances have so far been very, very limited, and we are making good progress. There is still more work to do. It has a great urgency on both the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Defence who’ve been involved in certifying those who are eligible to make applications. And, then, of course, the Department of Home Affairs and the Immigration Minister working through the visa process, and then the logistics exercise of getting people to Australia, which, as I said already, 252 individuals and their families have been able to come under that programme. So, I look forward to having more to say, as does the Immigration Minister, on that in the weeks ahead. But, we are making steady progress and we are very thankful for the support we've received. And, as soon as we're able to have Australians in Afghanistan in a diplomatic capacity to support our efforts there, and when it's safe to do so, it's a matter I’ve discussed with other leaders, particularly when I was at the G7, and I hope we'll be able to do that at an early opportunity. But, only if it’s safe. Thank you all very much.
Address, International Olympic Committee (IOC)
21 July 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you John and thank you for your great service. President Bach, and Members of the International Olympic Committee. I’m speaking to you from Australia and it’s our tradition in Australia – when we gather together – to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of our land.
It reminds us of the timelessness of our land.
And it helps us understand the arc of history, and that we must care for each other and care for our country as our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians have done for so long.
So I acknowledge Australia’s Indigenous peoples – as well as the first nation peoples amongst all nations – and I pay my respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
Today, I’m honoured to be speaking to you as Prime Minister of Australia, but also as Chair of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Candidature Leadership Group.
I speak to you on behalf of 25 million sports loving Australians.
With the wholehearted support of all three levels of government – and all sides of politics.
We know what it takes to deliver a successful games – that’s why I want to pay tribute to everyone who has worked so hard to bring together the Tokyo Games.
These have been terribly uncertain times for the whole world.
We all know of the health and economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, that continues to this day.
Though we’ve been separated and distanced, we’ve worked together, as John was just saying, to respond to this global challenge.
Friday’s Opening Ceremony will be another step in humanity’s shared journey back.
It’s been a huge effort to get there.
Many sacrifices have been made – by the athletes and their families, coaches and support staff, as well as the Games organisers, of course – and the people of Japan.
So I offer my warmest congratulations to of course, Prime Minister Suga, and of course the Tokyo Organising Committee, the Japanese Government and the City of Tokyo as well as the International Olympic Committee.
Yes, these games are different.
But they are a Games that will say to history: despite setbacks, despite obstacles, we persevered.
I’m proud to say that more than 480 Australian athletes are in Tokyo.
For the first time ever, women make up over half of the Australian team.
And there are a record number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander athletes.
New Wimbledon champ – Ash Barty is one.
Basketballer Patty Mills is another.
And Patty will be the first Indigenous Australian to carry our national flag at the Opening Ceremony.
And he’ll be joined by four-time Olympian Cate Campbell – the first female swimmer to receive this honour for Australia.
And in August, some 180 Australian paralympians will make their own history in Tokyo.
Australians everywhere are looking forward to the moment the cauldron is lit.
No matter the hour, we’ll be crowded around our screens here in Australia.
Cheering on our athletes – sending our hopes across the oceans.
We’ve always had a special relationship with the Games.
We’ve participated in every modern Summer Olympic Games – one of only two countries in the world to have done so.
As well as every single Paralympic Games.
We’ve hosted the Olympic Games twice before – Melbourne 1956 and Sydney 2000.
The Olympic ethos and values, they resonate Down Under.
We’re an outward looking and welcoming people – one of the most successful multicultural nations on earth.
Australians come together from nearly 200 countries.
We have over 300 different ethnic backgrounds.
And we speak over 300 different languages in our homes.
We’re like a giant-sized Olympic Village – all together!
The Olympic Games are about bringing the world together – and we want to welcome the world to our shores, and share all the things that make this country such a great country.
We’ve got a proud tradition of volunteering, also.
You saw that in Sydney two decades ago.
Seventy-four thousand volunteers. All smiles.
Everyone wanted to contribute – to give rather than to get.
It’s a legacy Australia hopes to build upon in 2032.
My Government is proud to be supporting this opportunity for Brisbane and Southeast Queensland.
The Australian and Queensland governments are fully funding the infrastructure projects to be delivered in preparation for the Games – ensuring they deliver for Brisbane 2032, but also leave a lasting legacy.
We understand the importance of long-term planning.
Should Brisbane be selected today, the 10+10 concept would see us begin our investments immediately – a win–win for the Brisbane region, Southeast Queensland, and the Olympic Games.
My Government has also committed to provide medical services, customs, immigration and a range of other support measures at no cost.
Southeast Queensland is a vibrant and growing part of Australia – with a highly encouraged business community.
Together, with our significant government investment, I know the Brisbane Games will be built on a strong economic foundation.
You can draw confidence from Australia’s track record of delivering major sporting and global events – that the Brisbane Games will be safe and secure in our hands.
As you know, we also take integrity in sport very seriously in Australia.
We believe passionately in a fair go – and provide significant funding and support to organisations that administer integrity programs.
And we have proven governance structures that enable us to work with organisers, international sports federations and governing bodies at major international sporting events.
As a people, we’re guided by an abiding belief in human dignity.
Our belief in human rights will be reflected in the Brisbane Games’ sustainability, sourcing and workforce strategies.
Our hope is that the benefits of the Games will extend beyond Australia.
We have a special affinity with the many nations of Oceania.
They are our Pacific family.
We’re currently providing vaccines, working alongside them, in so many of these nations right now.
And hosting the 2032 Games would provide a foundation to expand programs that provide sporting opportunities for their peoples. And with new technology and digitisation, the young athletes of Oceania will experience opportunities never imagined previously.
Finally, we’re committed to taking the Paralympics to the next level.
We believe in the grit, strength, determination and skill of our Paralympians – and removing the barriers that hinder participation in sport.
It wasn’t only Ash Barty who won at Wimbledon, Dylan Alcott – a great world and national champion – did too! Again!
Dylan, along with Louise Savage, Kurt Fernley and many others are part of a rich strand in Australia’s sporting tradition. They’re national sporting heroes.
Ladies and gentlemen, if you asked me what it means for Australia to host an Olympic Games, I can answer by recalling two moments – both from my own home city of Sydney in the Year 2000.
These are moments in those games that really live on in all Australians.
The first was the night of the women’s 400 metre final.
110,000 people in that Olympic Stadium.
And there she was, Cathy Freeman, heading down the straight – with the wind at her back.
In the stadium that night – and in every street, suburb and town in Australia – you could hear the roar of 60,000 years of history.
It was the most watched sporting event in Australian television history.
That night Cathy carried us all.
She brought us together.
The heart, the soul and the cause of reconciliation advanced a generation – in a single night!
That’s what the Olympics can do.
And there was another moment.
Quite different.
The Australian walker Jane Saville.
She was in the lead in the 20km walk.
Almost an hour and a half into the race and with less than 300 metres to go.
She was approaching the entrance to a packed stadium. Ready to receive cheers. And then she was shown a red card.
Jane – and a nation – heartbroken.
But do you know what she said later? “I felt sorry for the judge”.
What sportsmanship!
What resilience!
Four years later, Jane headed to Athens, and won a bronze medal in the 20km race – Australia’s first women’s Olympic walking medal.
Jane showed a generation of children – and adults too – that when you meet adversity, you dust yourself off, you get back up, and you start walking again.
This week in Tokyo, the world is going to get back up and start walking again. Through these Games.
And if you entrust Brisbane with the Games, I can assure you, we will again walk even further together – in solidarity – reflecting the spirit and the promise of the Olympic Movement – together.
Thank you very much for your kind attention.
APEC Virtual Informal Leaders' Meeting
17 July 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Kia ora koutou katoa, Jacinda, congratulations on bringing this together this evening, our time and the other times of the day for everywhere else, it's great to join you from this part of the Pacific. Can I also start off by congratulating Prime Minister Suga. The Tokyo Olympics are seven days away. This is a statement of incredible determination by the people of Japan. And I wish you all the very best, Yoshi, for the Tokyo Olympics in seven days time from now. All the best, my friend.
As this pandemic started and we had these meetings, we spoke about saving lives and saving livelihoods. In many ways that's been achieved. But many lives have been lost and many livelihoods destroyed. Here in Australia, we estimate we've saved more than 30,000 lives and livelihoods. We've seen our economy now return to levels before higher than what it was before the pandemic. And just our jobs figures this week showed that a million people have come back into work. And so there are more people employed now in Australia than before the pandemic hit.
We have had a successful suppression approach and we're particularly pleased that the jobs that have come back in our economy have particularly come back for women who were hard hit by the pandemic, more so than men. And secondly, we've seen our youth unemployment level drop now to the lowest level since 2009. So young people and women getting back into the workforce, getting back to the jobs has been extremely important. That has been assisted greatly by the fiscal support packages we've put in place and the successful suppression strategies we've put in place, mirroring similar to what has occurred in New Zealand. And Jacinda and I have worked closely in the bubble that we have in this part of the Asia-Pacific.
The work that we're currently involved in now is defining what those critical threshold levels are for vaccination that can effectively answer James's question. And the Doherty Institute, which is a very well respected worldwide institute based here in Melbourne and Australia, are doing the work for us now, which will be advising all of our provincial and our national jurisdiction on what are the key threshold marks we have to reach with our vaccination programmes that enable the easing of restrictions, the opening up of travel, particularly for vaccinated persons, the role of quarantine, and what are the safe levels to do that and balancing that up against our economic interests as well as our health system capacity. And be very pleased to share that with the APEC group, because hopefully that can inform the decisions we're all trying to make. Australia's vaccination programme is really gathering pace now and we expect to have Australians vaccinated by the end of the year who wish to do so.
So we remain in the suppression phase in Australia and until we can reach those thresholds, then we will have to do that. And that is quite a challenge. Can I commend particularly Prime Minister Marape, President Phuc, President Widodo as well on the incredible job you're doing in your countries, which we're quite familiar with. And we're very pleased to continue to provide support, not just to those countries, as I know so many are. And I know how difficult it is for you at this time. But we're thinking of you very keenly.
Lending that hand to other economies is incredibly important. We're pleased to be participating in the COVAX Market Initiative, the G7 initiative, and I see Justin there and others from the most recent meeting in Carbis Bay, 20 million doses there, the Quad Initiative joining with Prime Minister Modi, President Biden and of course, Prime Minister Suga.
Scaling up the production of vaccines really is the challenge for all of us. We produce the AstraZeneca vaccine in Australia, but particularly the MRNA vaccine production capability is something we really have to lift globally, so we can get that to more and more of the population.
On the issues we need to work together, we cannot have a recovery without a free and open Indo-Pacific. And that means respect for the rule of law. It means regional stability and security. It means the region being able to operate free of coercion and free of interference. And where we respect the law of the sea, where we respect the rule of law, we respect human rights right across our region, and that we hold fast to those important values for a free and open Indo-Pacific. And it also means we have rules based trading system that we can all trust, one that has binding mechanisms to resolve disputes. And it's an urgent issue to ensure that the WTO's appellate body is restored and fully functional, because without a referee, it's very hard to play the game. And we all want to be on the field as we come back from this recovery. And the WTO plays an absolutely essential role in policing the rules of world trade and ensuring that no country can be subject to economic coercion, which can take place.
I might leave it there, Jacinda, because there's many other contributions. But I really do commend the other leaders for the great work that they're doing, we've still got a long way to go and we need to keep working together.
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Informal Leaders' Summit
Prime Minister of Australia
At the invitation of New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, tonight I will attend the virtual APEC Informal Leaders’ Retreat.
I commend Prime Minister Ardern for organising this Retreat to discuss the health and economic recovery of our region as we work to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.
APEC has a proven track record of bringing the region’s economies together to bridge divides and enhance regional cooperation.
It is a critical time for Australia to engage with regional partners to promote free trade facilitation, in particular for vaccines and essential goods; build momentum for strengthening the multilateral trading system; and secure a sustainable and inclusive recovery.
I look forward to discussing the key role that APEC and businesses can play in the region’s recovery efforts and to build an open, dynamic and resilient Asia-Pacific community, for the health and prosperity of all our people and future generations.
Press Conference - Kirribilli, NSW
16 July 2021
PRIME MINISTER: A windy afternoon here in Sydney. The National Cabinet met this afternoon from two till three. It was an important opportunity to come together, as we are meeting every week, particularly during the course of these current events, both here in New South Wales and, of course, more recently in Victoria. But also today, I note that we have had a record day of vaccinations. Some 175,000 vaccine doses were administered yesterday. That is a new record and it means in the space of just three days, half a million doses of the vaccine have been administered across the country. That means that already this month there have been just shy of 2 million vaccines, just shy of 2 million vaccines already in the month of July. And each month, each month, we are seeing the rate of vaccinations increase as we move towards our goal of ensuring that by the end of the year that we can have everyone who's seeking to have a vaccination is able to do that.
It was important today to get an update on the four step plan that I announced around a month ago, working together with the states and territories. We are on track to get the advice back from the Secretaries and Directors-General of all the Premiers and Prime Minister's departments across the country that pulls in the Doherty Institute advice that will inform each of those steps of the plan, the vaccination rates that sit against each of those steps of those plans and being able to get an understanding of how we're tracking against those. So I want to assure people that the path out of this and the four step plan that National Cabinet agreed some weeks ago is very much on our agenda, despite the challenges we're currently facing in New South Wales and Victoria. And the work continues to chart that way out and the vaccination rates we will need to achieve over the course of the rest of this year and next year.
In addition, it was an opportunity to review the status of the situation in New South Wales, in Victoria. Those numbers and those issues, I think are well known from both Premiers' press conferences earlier today. So I won't repeat those. But I do note that both Premiers have made it clear and this is the focus of National Cabinet that the cases, the target here is to reduce as far as possible to zero the cases that are infectious in the community. This is the challenge both in New South Wales and Victoria, that we reduce those cases that are out there and infections in the community. We've seen that rising and we need to see those come down. And so encouraging people to stay home, to get tested and get vaccinated are the core messages behind that.
It was also very pleasing to hear from the New South Wales Premier today, the extraordinary improvement that we've seen in compliance in south west Sydney. And I want to thank all of those out in south west Sydney. Can I particularly thank the multicultural community leaders in south western Sydney, you've done a sterling job working with your communities, religious and faith leaders and so many others. The compliance in south western Sydney has really turned around. So thank you to all those in south western Sydney. And let's keep doing it to ensure that the lockdown can be only as long as it has to be and hopefully as short as possible. And to all of those in Victoria, of course, going into the lockdown now. And I'll come back to this in just a moment. Those economic supports are being provided, as the Treasurer said earlier today, and we released by statement late last night.
On vaccines, it was a good opportunity for the Premiers and Chief Ministers to talk about what's working, the initiatives, whether it's down in Tasmania with being at shopping centres, which are enabling people to ask questions and make bookings. In particular, we noted that those states that have been taking on additional AstraZeneca vaccines and putting them in to their state based clinics are achieving higher rates of vaccination. And so the decisions to put more AstraZeneca into those clinics is proving very effective in lifting those vaccination rates. And we've especially seen that outcome in Victoria. And so we would encourage states and territories to continue to do that. I'd also note the progress that has been made on aged care workers and appreciate the cooperation from states and territories and also working with aged care providers on that programme and General Frewen gave an update on those issues.
We will be seeking over the weeks ahead to bring more pharmacists into the metropolitan programme in a limited way at first. Currently, pharmacists are working with us to supplement GPs in rural and regional areas where there aren't sufficient numbers of GPs to support getting those vaccinations to those communities. Already, pharmacists are being used in places like south western Sydney, where there is that demand for greater points of presence. We will see pharmacists play an increasing role in the months ahead as the supply increases. There's no point having more points of presence with the static amounts of supply, that just increases the logistical difficulty. So as the supply increases, we can have more pharmacists come online, we can have more points of presence out there in the community.
The other thing we discussed was how we might each both at the Commonwealth level and at the state level, work to increase our vaccination rates on the weekends. Had a record day 175,000, but on the weekends that drops right down. Obviously, you don't have as many GPs offices and clinics open on the weekend. The state clinics are open in many places, but both the states and the Commonwealth are going to be looking at ways in which we can increase the rate, availability and points of presence for people to get their vaccines on the weekend.
Now on the payments, all states and territories noted the new arrangements that we've announced over the course of this week. I thank particularly the New South Wales and Victorian governments, for working with us to get the balance right on how these payments work. And these are very important principles. The first one is the Commonwealth payments are triggered by the medical advice provided by the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer. Just like states will act on and listen and be guided to the advice and by the advice of their Chief Health Officers. Commonwealth decisions are guided by the medical advice of the Chief Medical Officer, which has seen the hotspot declared last night for those areas in Melbourne and a range of other areas around towards Geelong. Equally, you've seen the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer declare hotspots across Greater Sydney. That is what triggers the Commonwealth's engagement in payments in any lockdowns that may occur.
Secondly, that there is a shared effort and I welcome the announcement today by the Premier of Victoria, which is seeing them invest some $200 million in their five day lockdown. We hope that's what it is. And that will coincide with those in Melbourne being able to access for those five days. Let's hope it's only that. If you lose more than 20 hours during that period of time, then you're eligible for that $600 payment. And if you lose between eight and 20 hours during those five days, then you're eligible for $375 payment. No liquid assets means test that applies to those payments. And at the end of the week, on day eight, you'd go to my.gov.au to apply and those payments will then follow. Can I encourage everyone who was seeking to apply for those payments again to go to my.gov.au to make your application. That's the fastest way to do it. It's also the most helpful way to do it for those at Services Australia. It reduces the amount of processing time and makes sure that we can get to more people more quickly. Ringing the number 180 22 66 is available, but it's for those who might need additional support or help in completing their application.
Finally, I note that in the same way that we were able to put a package together to support the mental health of people affected by the lockdown here across New South Wales with those additional supports to the many excellent organisations that I've already referred to, the Health Minister, Greg Hunt has also been finalising an arrangement with the Victorian Government, obviously on a different scale given what's occurring there to what's occurring here in New South Wales to provide additional mental health support there. And he'll have more to say about that over the next few days. So with that, I'm happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: [inaudible].
PRIME MINISTER: Well the arrangement that the New South Wales Government has is that they declare what the head count is and they need to keep that head count. But there is no I believe, there are businesses in this state in particular. It wasn't that long ago, it was only a few weeks ago, who needed more staff. And they know how important it is to keep their staff and to be there on the other side of this lockdown to ensure that they are able to fully take advantage of the increase in spending that will always occur after these lockdowns. So businesses, employers know they need their staff and they need good staff and it's in their interest to do just that.
JOURNALIST: [inaudible]
PRIME MINISTER: That's not part of the arrangement. No.
JOURNALIST: Anthony Albanese says that we shouldn't be open to the world until we have the capacity to manufacture mRNA vaccines here. That could be two years. Surely Australia can be opened before that?
PRIME MINISTER: Of course. Of course. I mean, Anthony Albanese is plan to open Australia up in 2023. I don't think it's something that Australians would welcome. It's either an absurd plan or he doesn't understand how long it takes to implement that element of what he's talking about. And so look, I'll leave his ideas to him. We'll get on with the programme that we're running and I'll leave him to his plans.
JOURNALIST: Do you agree short, sharp and early lockdowns are the better solution than what you've previously called the gold standard?
PRIME MINISTER: I believe that states need to take the best possible health advice and do what's right for the interests of their citizens and the broader Australian population. And I believe all states and territories are always trying to do that.
JOURNALIST: Do you think New South Wales should further tighten restrictions, given we still have a high number of cases?
PRIME MINISTER: I think the Premier has already indicated what she's prepared to do there.
JOURNALIST: The origin of this virus, if we go back, you would have heard overnight the Director General of the World Health Organisation said it was premature to rule out a link from a Wuhan Lab. What's your reaction to that? And do you think there has been a thorough enough investigation?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Australia has always just simply wanted to know for the sake of world health, there's no politics in this, what happened. How can we prevent it from happening again? That is just an honest Australian question asked in good faith and seeking the good faith of working with everyone we have to, to get to those answers. Now, we don't know about the lab or whether that was the initiation of this or not. It may well have been. It might not have been. I don't have a view either way. I'm not in a position to make that judgement. But what Australia has always sought to have achieved is that we get to a point where we do understand these things, so we can do better to protect the world against a pandemic that has destroyed the lives of millions and destroyed the livelihoods of even more and has devastated the world. This has just been such an awful pandemic and it continues to rage. We learn of over 40,000 cases a day still in the United Kingdom, 47,000 cases a day up in Indonesia and Fiji, where we've got a medical team right now. And they've been providing a different additional doses right now to support them. Terrible, terrible pandemic. The world needs answers to this and the world deserves answers to this. And those who have lost their lives and lost their livelihoods they deserve answers. And Australia will continue to ask the questions to get those answers.
JOURNALIST: If the Commonwealth provided more income support in the first week of Sydney's lockdown, do you think that would have helped stop the spread we're seeing now?
PRIME MINISTER: No, it had no bearing on the New South Wales Government's decision whatsoever.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister were there any discussions today at National Cabinet about extending disaster payments to people on JobSeeker who work part time that have lost hours?
PRIME MINISTER: Where people are already receiving Social Security support, then they're not entitled to those payments.
JOURNALIST: [inaudible] a bit of a gap?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, if they're earning less income, then they're actually able to adjust how their payments work as well on Social Security, because there's also rental assistance and a range of other payments in addition to what people get on a JobSeeker payment. And I note that in the last budget we increased the JobSeeker payment above indexation for the first time in more than 30 years at a cost of $8 billion over the forward estimates, the single largest increase in the JobSeeker payment that we've seen in 30 years. So the Commonwealth has more than leant in to ensuring the people get the support they need.
JOURNALIST: Going into the weekend, you've got Australia's two biggest cities in lockdown. You've got parents struggling with home-schooling their children. You've got people whose businesses are folding. You've got queues for vaccines [inaudible]. What do you say to people who say this is a stuff-up?
PRIME MINISTER: This is a tough time for Australia. We're in the middle of a global pandemic. And over the course of the last 18 months, Australians have saved more than 30,000 lives. A million people are back in work as a result of the sacrifices and the efforts of so many Australians. We're a tough generation of Australians, just like the generations before us. And we'll deal with these troubles and we'll deal with these challenges. And we'll come through. We'll get through. And on the other side, Australia will be even stronger. Thank you very much.
Press Conference - Kirribilli, NSW
15 July 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon, everyone. As you know, I'm joining you here from Kirribilli, which is just like others in Sydney, this is where I was in lockdown and I intend to be able to relocate to Canberra, myself that is, next week in preparation for the parliamentary sittings that will take place in August.
Earlier today, the National Security Committee of Cabinet met to consider a range of issues in the ongoing management of the COVID-19 Delta outbreaks. And that was also to consider the more recent information that we've seen emerge in Victoria. I've had discussions with the Victorian Premier, later today after that meeting, but was briefed on that situation by the Chief Medical Officer, along with the other members of the National Security Committee and those co-opted to consider potential arrangements, should there be any changes in Victoria.
But we also made a number of changes that relate to the situation here, in New South Wales, with the ongoing lockdown here. The first of those was that we will be restoring the temporary Medicare telehealth system, and that means there will be a new MBS, new Medicare item reintroduced to ensure people in COVID-19 hotspots, that is the Greater Sydney area, have access to longer phone consultations. That's 20 minutes or over for chronic conditions or other health issues that may require doctors to spend more time with patients. That's an effective measure that we've had in place previously. And the Health Minister, Greg Hunt, recommended that we bring that forward again. And that is being done. That takes place pretty much immediately.
Secondly, you would have seen reported today from our statement that the child care gap fee waiver would be put in place. That's from the 19th of July. There are some 3,634 childcare services that can be assisted through this and some 216,000 families in the areas that are impacted. What this basically means is that if your child doesn't go to child care in these lockdown areas, it means that you won't be charged a gap fee and the centre will continue to receive support. So that supports the centre. Your place with your child is maintained through that arrangement. We have successfully implemented and put in place these arrangements in past lockdowns, and they've proved to be very helpful for families and the child care sector as well.
Also, while we're still on New South Wales, can I note that from today, if you are in Bayside, the City of Sydney, Canada Bay, Inner West, Randwick, Waverley and Woollahra, from today, you can go to my.gov.au, and you can make your application for that higher payment. The one that I announced with the Premier earlier this week, the $600 and $375 payment. You can make that application on my.gov.au. Can I encourage you to preferably go to the website. It's quicker and it means that the processing is quicker. If you need support on a phone line, you can call the 180 22 66 line. But particularly those calls are there to support those who may have language difficulties or particular circumstances that need further discussion or things of that nature, or people looking for further explanations. That phone line is there to provide further assistance. But if it's very straightforward, can I encourage you to go to the my.gov.au website that will help everyone at Service Australia to turn these things around as quickly as possible. From Sunday, you can apply across Greater Sydney and across New South Wales for those payments where you've lost more than 20 hours or eight to 20 hours, as we've already announced.
Can I also note today the vaccination numbers that are out, you'll have noticed them. Some 162,662 doses administered yesterday. That's another very strong day. In particular, it's a record GP daily dose administration. So GPs continue to carry the lion's share of that burden, in terms of getting those jabs in arms, I think the GPs are doing an amazing job. That would be anticipated given we've been ramping up the additional points of presence for GPs right across the country. What this now means is one third of eligible Australians for the vaccine have now had their first dose. One in eight are now fully vaccinated. Just under 60 per cent of over 50s have had their first dose and almost 75 per cent of those over 70 have had their first dose.
I also note that on the Australian Traveller declaration that we are now moving ahead of time and we are now collecting that information on the vaccination status of people travelling into Australia. That will help with the triaging of quarantine arrangements ultimately with states, and that data will start to flow once it reaches a critical mass.
National Cabinet is meeting again tomorrow as it is now each week. The thing about COVID-19 is, particularly with the new Delta strain, as I've said many times, it writes the rules and rules that you think might be appropriate one time sometimes have to change to make sure that we're keeping pace and ensuring people are supported through the COVID pandemic. Saw that earlier this week as the Premier here in New South Wales and I, together with our Treasurers, we're able to come to a new arrangement different to that which went beyond that which was agreed at National Cabinet some time ago. I'll be putting to National Cabinet tomorrow, after considering this with the National Security Committee today, which is managing the Commonwealth's response to COVID, a new and what we think is a more simple and streamlined set of financial supports for states and territories going forward that may find themselves, hopefully not, hopefully not, in a situation where they would be in a period of lockdown, stress their respective changes and we would be doing the following. Payments for a COVID support payment would still be paid in the second week of a pandemic. They would be paid basically on an arrears basis on that first seven days. Secondly, the liquid assets test would be waived from the outset. Thirdly, the payment that will be made will be at that December quarter JobKeeper figure for last year, which is the payment that in New South Wales they're about to go into. Well, literally from tomorrow. For those LGAs that I mentioned before. Payments of the $600 and $375 will be the, which is the December quarter JobKeeper arrangements, they will be what kicks in when those COVID disaster payments are first paid. They would be paid in the second week. They would be paid in arrears on that first week. Same rules, more than 20 hours, eight to 20 hours over the course of that first week and onward from there. Secondly, at the end of 14 days, we would be providing to all states and territories the same arrangements that we are entering into now with the New South Wales Government for business. I'll remind you about those arrangements. That is, if you've had your turnover reduced by more than 30 per cent, you would have for businesses between $75,000 annual turnover to $50 million annual turnover, you would have 40 per cent of your payroll made in a payment with a minimum payment of $1,500 and a maximum payment of $10,000. That would be done based on that first two weeks of any possible lockdown. Of course, we don't want to see these lockdowns. We prefer they not happen. But as we're learning with the Delta strain, it is highly infectious and it's important that we all understand that if these things become necessary, then Australians and Australian businesses have the confidence about what the arrangements will be.
Now for all other states and territories, the Commonwealth in those circumstances, will administer those payments for business. And we will do it through a very similar mechanism that we're doing with the Commonwealth disaster payments for individuals. New South Wales will continue to do the payments here in New South Wales. They wish to do that. They have a very effective system. Service New South Wales is a very large state system. It's the largest of any of the states in the country, and they have a very high capacity. For the rest of the country, it would be possible for the Commonwealth and we have been building that for the last week, to ensure that we'd be able to put something like that in place for the other states and territories if they found themselves in that situation. Of course, if New South Wales wish to do that, then they would be at liberty to make that request. But we don't envisage that will be necessary given the great work that they're doing here.
The last point I'd make, which is a positive note, and can I just say something about the COVID disaster payments to clear up any confusion that there might be. Those are the individual payments. They are for an Australian resident or those holding an eligible work visa, 17 years or older. You can't be receiving another income support payment, pandemic leave, disaster payment, state or territory pandemic payments. You must live or work in the Commonwealth declared hotspot. But as we know in New South Wales, the state government is making those payments available right across the state. I should stress that if any other state or territory wish to do that in those circumstances, then they could have the same arrangement as New South Wales. That they had paid employment and because of the lockdown, they can't attend work during the lockdown. And this one is very important. These rules have not changed. Lost income because of the lockdown and don't have any appropriate COVID related paid leave entitlements, not any paid leave entitlements, your holiday leave or things like this. But if you don't have COVID related paid leave requirements. That, I know there are some businesses for those who are taking leave, who might think they have to pay that. No, if they don't have COVID related pandemic leave entitlements, then those workers are entitled to call those numbers to go to that my.gov.au website and access those payments.
Can I turn and make reference to today's unemployment data, which has seen the unemployment rate in Australia drop to 4.9 per cent. This is, of course, welcome news. It obviously doesn't take into account the impacts of what is happening most recently here in New South Wales, but does take into the time where we had that brief lockdown in Melbourne. While these numbers are incredibly welcome, an increase in some 51,600 full time jobs. And importantly, it shows that since the pandemic recession that occurred last year, more than a million Australians are back in work. More than a million of Australians have found their way back into work in Australia's recovering economy. That is good news. And what it says as we go through these difficult times this month, in particular with lockdowns in Sydney, with some concerning data coming out of Melbourne, is the Australian economy is fundamentally strong. When there are artificial restraints that are put on that economy through these restrictions, then, of course, that has an impact. And we've seen that, I think, in the underemployment rate in this data. And I'm sure we will see that in July data when it comes out next month. But what we do know is when you lift the shackles of your economy that are necessary for health reasons, the economy comes back and businesses can look to the other side of these lockdowns knowing that when the restraints are taken off again, then the customers do come back and they can look forward to getting that support over the course of the lockdown, they can get to that next place. So I think for all Australians all around the country, it's important to keep looking forward, keep looking forward. Showing vaccination rates increasing week on week, which is showing the economy in a position where it can continue to rebound despite these short term impacts and hopefully not going on any longer than is necessary in any state or territory where these restrictions are put in place and that we get to the other side. And on that other side, we see our economy being able to pick up and move strongly going forward.
I would finally note, as someone who is one of my great passions, is to see that the youth unemployment rate has decreased to 10.2 per cent in June. That is the lowest rate recorded since January of 2009. Getting young people into jobs has been one of the most high pride, one of the highest priorities of our government, getting young people into work. You get a young person into work, particularly in their early 20s, and you know they don't spend a life on welfare. It is a terrible blow to them personally over their lifetime and indeed the economy and the society as a whole. If we can't get more and more young people into work. The more of them we get into work, the more reliant they become on themselves over the course of their lives and less reliant on the social and other supports that are there to support people in need. So seeing that youth unemployment rate at its lowest level since January 2009, I know the parents and those right across the country, that will be very welcome. But we've still got a job to do to get through these difficult times to ensure that we keep them in those jobs that we've been so keen to get them into. Happy to take questions. Peter.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just in terms of the eligibility for payments, you can take two or four weeks, whatever it might be. With Melbourne going back into lockdown, will their, is their past lockdown counting towards that time, or does the clock tick off again?
PRIME MINISTER: No, not formally, but I can assure you that in considering the arrangements we've considered today, we've certainly recognised that. It wasn't that long ago they were in lockdown for two weeks. And, so, certainly as what for many of them would it feel - if they do and I have no knowledge of whether they're going to do that. I have spoken to the Premier today and we obviously canvassed various options and I obviously let him know about the decision we took this morning at National Security Committee. We'll discuss this more tomorrow. But, there is, I think, a recognition of that. But, it's not a formal business rule of the way the payments work. And, so, after seven days, regardless of whether a lockdown goes beyond that, there is the opportunity to make a payment in arrears.
JOURNALIST: So, sorry, can I just clarify that. So, does that mean that the previous lockdown, it doesn't formally count toward that timeframe, but it can?
PRIME MINISTER: No, well, I'm just saying, that when we look at what's been occurring and what may occur, subject to what the Victorian Cabinet decides to do, it would be unfair to say that we didn't take that into account when setting up these new rules. But, we have to set up rules that apply right across the country. So, if another state or territory hasn't had a recent lockdown, we wouldn't deny the same sort of support from the start of that lockdown that we would apply to any new lockdown that occurs, whether it's in Victoria or elsewhere.
JOURNALIST: Is upping the payment to $600 from the start or from the two-week period - is upping the payment an admission that the original plan, the $500, wasn't enough money?
PRIME MINISTER: No, it's just we're working the problem. You know, COVID evolves. When we put the Budget together this year and we looked out over the next 12 months and Treasury looked at that, we'd anticipated there'd be a series of very short-term lockdowns, and there hadn't been anticipated this extended lockdown. And, what it means is, is that you adapt, you change, you update, you streamline, you make it more simple. That's what it means. It just shows a Government that is seeking to be up to the mark and flexible and make sure we get things right.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, given over 70s are most susceptible to dying from COVID, and we have more than 75 per cent of people over 70 in this country now at least with one dose. They're somewhat protected. Could that come into the calculations of state governments when they're making decisions on lockdowns, given that largely our most vulnerable are somewhat protected?
PRIME MINISTER: I am pleased that it's just shy of 75 at the moment. It won't be a very long before we hit that mark, and then it'll go beyond that. That is a very important consideration in any of these decisions because the most vulnerable in our community are increasingly protected. That said, the people that we have lost in this most recent outbreak in New South Wales were over 70 and were unvaccinated, as I understand it. So, even at 75 per cent, that doesn't mean that you've completely operating a risk-free environment. But, I do recall when we went through the long second wave lockdown in Victoria the devastation that was experienced by the older community in that state. So, yes, of course, when you look and when we come to the time of setting those vaccination benchmarks and thresholds, which we're on track for doing that in the timeline I've already indicated to you, then the overall level of vaccination in the country is important. But, what's most important is the vaccination, particularly in that over 70 age group. We see that in the UK - in the UK, their double dose vaccination for the elder population is higher than the general population, and I have no doubt that's what's informing decisions they're taking. But, I must admit that it is concerning what we're seeing in the United Kingdom. Yes, they have 65 per cent overall double dose vaccination across their eligible population, but people are dying in the UK and they're dying in increasing numbers. And, so, we'll be watching that situation carefully and we hope for the best for them.
JOURNALIST: Will you be sending more vaccines to South Western Sydney and also now to Melbourne to help counter this outbreak?
PRIME MINISTER: We've got more vaccines now because, as from next week, we start getting the additional Pfizer vaccines to when we're up to a million a week. So, the overall level of supply is increasing now. And, that means, I mean, ultimately, the New South Wales Government will determine where they're sending those in the allocation that they're receiving. But, equally, we'll be ensuring that we're getting them out across the GP network.
JOURNALIST: Is it true you've got a call scheduled with Pfizer, the Pfizer CEO soon?
PRIME MINISTER: It won't be the first time I've engaged them.
JOURNALIST: Have the past couple of weeks shown that the agreement that was agreed at National Cabinet, that in this current phase of the plan, lockdowns should only be a last resort - have the past couple of weeks shown that that agreement didn't really work?
PRIME MINISTER: No, because they really should be a last resort. They should be a last resort, but sometimes, with the Delta variant, you come to that position a lot more quickly than you used to. I think, I think, Australians understand that dealing with COVID-19 doesn't come with a rulebook. And, as much as we'd like the certainty that affects so many other areas of things that we have to deal with, that doesn't apply with this. Every single country, every single state and territory is wrestling with what is a very fluid situation. That's why we keep meeting together. That's why we keep working together. That's why we keep upgrading and updating what we're doing and where it can be improved, and I'm announcing some improvements that I'll take to National Cabinet tomorrow, then, then good. That's, that shows governments actually getting on with it and trying to protect people, not just their economic welfare. But, as I announced earlier this week, the increased support for mental health is incredibly important, massively important, particularly for younger people and those who are facing exams.
JOURNALIST: Sorry, Prime Minister, when will Australia be able to make manufacturing deals with companies such as Pfizer or Moderna to make locally made vaccines?
PRIME MINISTER: There is not a country in the world today, other than those who had that capacity before the pandemic began, that has an end to end manufacturing capability for mRNA vaccines, not one. There, with the Pfizer vaccine, they have entered into agreement, I think they're doing one with Korea, which does fill and finish. But, where those vaccines go, that's not sovereign manufacturing capability. That's an outsourced component of the manufacturing process from Pfizer and Pfizer will determine where those doses go. So, I think there's a bit of confusion about this. There is not one country in the world right now that has an end to end manufacturing capability for Pfizer, other than those who had it at the outset. And, not one is likely to have it, in that capability, for some years. There'll be elements of it that are done in different places. I mean, South Korea, for example, I understand actually does manufacturing of the Sputnik vaccination. But, putting that to one side, what that means is we are in the same process - and I can't go into too much detail because of the commercial sensitivity. Just this morning, I met again with the NSC, with the Industry Minister, who's been pursuing that tender process that you're aware of, and the consortia that have been brought together to pursue this opportunity. The issue still remains that the IP is held by Pfizer and by Moderna. But, I can tell you that the discussions with Moderna, which have been ongoing now for some time, for some considerable time, as they have been with Pfizer, but an end to end manufacturing capability, which is what we had with AstraZeneca and have with AstraZeneca, and what we would have sought to have with the University of Queensland vaccine had that been a vaccine we could go forward with, that was the only capability that could have been established to support the current pandemic. And, anyone suggesting that in Australia you could have had an end to end sovereign manufacturing capability for an mRNA vaccine, that we'd be rolling vaccines off the line right now, doesn't know what they're talking about.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, even once we get to a stage where, like what we see around the rest of the world, with much higher vaccination rates and freedom without lockdowns, there's going to be a lot more deaths, just being realistic, than we're facing now. Political leaders, yourself included, have been keen to talk about deaths being unacceptable. Do you think that that's going to change eventually when we accept that COVID is going to rip through a hopefully close to fully vaccinated population? There will be deaths.
PRIME MINISTER: There are two considerations here. The first one is, is that we need to provide everyone who wants a vaccination in Australia with that opportunity. And, we're on track for that by the end of the year. And, that puts us, despite the challenges we had earlier in the programme, particularly around the medical advice that was given around AstraZeneca, that puts us around about two months and behind where we hoped to have been. We've been catching up ground on that, and that's welcome. So, there is that element that if you wanted one, you could have had one. So, you've had a conscious decision about whether you've sought to protect yourself from what is a very virulent virus. The second part of it is the epidemiology and what that says, and looking at issues of hospitalisation rates and ICU rates and so on for people who are infected. The plan I outlined from National Cabinet has an important transition in step two and step three. And, that is we go from suppressing the virus, which is about case numbers, which is why we're having to do what we have to do right now, and we were always going to have to do at this stage of the pandemic, and moving to a situation where you're focusing on whether the virus is leading to people going to hospital, whether the virus is leading to people sadly losing their lives in a way that would be demonstrably greater than what occurs with other viruses. Of course, there are many viruses, there are many diseases that cause fatality in the community. The issue is getting this virus back to a level where you can treat it the same as other such viruses in the community. And, that's really the benchmark. That's the mark you've got to get to. None of us wants to see anyone lose their life because of a virus or ill health. But, sadly, that's the truth of mortality. And, so, what we, our objective is, is to get to that point where we can see COVID in the same way we see other infectious diseases. We're not there yet. And, frankly, they're not there yet in other parts of the world. They're not there yet. And, and we'd be kidding ourselves to think we are there or they're there.
JOURNALIST: Wouldn't it be easier to reintroduce a targeted JobKeeper scheme than this other approach you're taking?
PRIME MINISTER: No, absolutely not. It would be more difficult and people would be waiting longer for their payments. See, forgive me for just quickly going over how JobKeeper worked. When we introduced JobKeeper, we had to do it nationally. When we introduced JobKeeper, we understood that people, as many as five million Australians, could find themselves out of work with no income within weeks. The social security system was never going to be able to meet that demand. The whole system would have crashed. People wouldn't have had the security of income support. And, what would have followed from that is basically unknown. And, I don't even want to imagine it, and we didn't want to imagine it. So, we had to come up with a scheme that you could do at a scale that Australia had never seen before. So, what we did was, is we combined government with business and the banks. We said to business, how many employees can you keep on? And, that you can keep on, which at that time we thought might go for six months. And, they answered that question in their own head. And, we said, we now need you to go to your bank and we need you to borrow the money to pay that payroll at that rate of $1,500 dollars a fortnight. And, we said to both the bank and the employer, we will fix you up in arrears on the other side. That is the only way we could have got that support to three million people that fast. Now, we're not confronted with that now. In the normal circumstances, you would just let your social security system pay those payments to people who'd lost hours and done work. It's actually a lot quicker. It's a lot simpler, as people are finding. And, so, it is much more effective, much simpler to just have people who've lost those hours go to that website, register, or if they have to ring that number, and the payment comes within days. So, it's far more effective to do it this way, far more effective. You're not asking the business to take on a loan and to pay those employees. And, effectively, we effectively nationalised the private payrolls of Australian employers to ensure that we could deliver income support to the country. That's not what we're seeking to do now because we can provide that income support directly. The lesson from all that is, our Government, my Government seeks to solve the problem in front of us. The problem in front of us is always often different to the one that's behind us. Well, then one thing about COVID as I've learned, that's what you have to do. Every single time it's different. And, so, you've got to work the problem in front of you.
JOURNALIST: What's the light at the end of the tunnel for Australia, Prime Minister? Because at the moment we're living in a state of perpetual anxiety. The national mood has been shattered. The two biggest cities are in lockdown. And, really …
PRIME MINISTER: There's only one city in lockdown at the moment. Well, you may be pre-empting things. I don't know what you know.
JOURNALIST: Really, the national mood is one of deep sadness.
PRIME MINISTER: It's tough.
JOURNALIST: So, what is the light at the end of the tunnel?
PRIME MINISTER: The light at the end of the tunnel is both the continued resilience and strength of Australians to persevere, because we get through everything as Australians. No matter what is thrown at us, we get through it, as previous generations have done, to make the country what it is today. This is the test that our generation is facing and our generation is up to it. And, we will persevere and come out the other side and we can have the great confidence of this in the Australian spirit that that will be achieved, that we will not be overcome by this, that we will not be defeated by this, and nor will we give up as a country into into the frustration or the exasperation that can come, understandably, with these challenges. But, the second thing is this, that the vaccination program continues to gather pace, that the rollout continues to ensure that by the end of this year, all of those who are seeking a vaccination should be able to have received one. And, that means we can go into the next phase and the next phase after that. The other hope I'd give you is this. Because Australia has had the success to date where we've saved over 30,000 lives, where we've got a million people back in work, that shows the strength of the Australian economy to rebound. It shows the strength of the Australian people to come back. And, so, all we need to keep doing is putting our heads down, go forward, keep our spirits up, get the job done. And, Australia will not just get through this, we will come out the other side stronger.
JOURNALIST: PM, here in Sydney Premier Gladys Berejiklian is telling, Premier Berejiklian is telling workers to have a think about whether their work is essential and have a conversation with their boss about whether or not their work is essential. What can someone do if they can't work from home, if their workplace, say a retail shop, is open, and their boss needs them to come to work, is begging them to come into work, but they don't feel safe in doing so. What can that person do?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's a matter for the Premier, ultimately, and there's rules in New South Wales about what's open and what's not open. The disaster payments are made to those who can't get work, who can't get those hours. That's who it's for. If there is work available to you, well, good. But, if there is not work available to you, if you can't do that work, and as a result your hours have been reduced because you can't work - and that could be a situation of a sole trader, for example, who was covered by a different scheme, the $1,000 a week scheme. There are parts of the city that they will avoid working in, and that could have that impact. It'd be nice to think there are very hard lines about all of this, but there are not. So, I would support the Premier in her encouragement for people to have those discussions with their employers and to work this through together. That's how we always get through everything. I mean, let's not lose sight - despite the discouragements that are clearly there in front of us right now, let's not lose sight of what has been achieved. So much has been achieved, and even when we reflect on those employment numbers today, a million Australians are back in work. A million Australians are back in work because of the resilience, the tenacity and the hope of the Australian people. Thanks very much.
Press Conference - Kirribilli, NSW
13 July 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Great cooperation between the Commonwealth and the State Government. The pandemic continues to evolve, it continues to set its own rules. And what's incredibly important, that as governments around the country, whether it's the New South Wales Government and the Commonwealth Government, state and territory governments around the country, we must continue to work together to keep pace and where possible, get ahead of those events wherever we possibly can. And Australia's record, when it comes to saving lives and saving livelihoods, speaks to the way that we've been able to do that together. And no more has that been the case than here in New South Wales that has done an exemplary job in saving lives and livelihoods during the course of this pandemic.
As we've gone through this year, as we remain in the suppression phase, we came to an agreement at National Cabinet a few weeks back, before these most recent lockdowns, where we agreed that the Commonwealth would provide support directly for income support for individuals and that state governments and territory governments would provide the support for business payments. Now, in the case of the lockdown that most recently occurred in Victoria, that's exactly what has occurred. And we have followed those same arrangements here in New South Wales that were put in place for Victoria. Thankfully, that lockdown only endured for two weeks. But clearly, here in New South Wales, the situation has taken a very different turn. The New South Wales outbreak has proved to be more severe, more dangerous, and it's in the national interest that we now put in place an upgraded set of arrangements for cooperation with the states and territories that will first be put in place here, with New South Wales, when lockdowns enter into more protracted situations, i.e., we now have to go, we're in weeks three now, and the Premier obviously will make further announcements at the appropriate time about where the lockdown goes from here.
Throughout our response as a Commonwealth Government, and equally at the state level, we have always followed key principles for providing that support. It needs to be targeted. It needs to be timely. It needs to be proportionate, scalable, and the administration of those supports need to be done in a way so it can get to people as simply and as quickly as is possible. That is what was so essential when in March of last year, in April of last year, we put in place the arrangements about the cash flow boost, the support payments to keep apprentices in jobs, and what ultimately then was done with programmes like JobKeeper. Their design was built around those core principles. And so it has been the case as we've worked together over the course of these last few days to ensure that we can put in place an upgraded response for both individual and business support in the course of this lockdown as it goes into a protracted phase. Currently, right now, you're able to receive a payment if you've lost more than 20 hours of work a week in the Sydney metropolitan area, the greater Sydney area, of $325. So if you've lost between eight and 20 hours, doesn't matter if you're a casual, a part time worker, a full time worker, there is no application of what's called the liquid assets means test. You can call 180 22 66, or go to the Services Australia website and you can apply for access to that payment. It works exactly like the disaster payments that we provide in the wake of whether it's a flood or a cyclone or any of those other events, bushfires and so on, that has been provided by the Commonwealth for disaster payments. You can get that payment right now. You don't have to have lost your job. You don't have to have left your employer. It doesn't matter who your employer is. If you have lost those hours, you can access that payment, right now. What we have decided to do, to go forward into week four, is that those payments will be increased to $600 for those who have lost more than 20 hours, an increase to $375 for those who have lost between eight and 20 hours a week, or one day a week in hours, or up to 20 hours a week. Those payments, by applying for those first four local government areas that went into lockdown first, that's this Friday, you apply again to access those payments and then they become a recurring payment for the extent of the lockdown. So you won't need to keep reapplying all the time. Of course, if your circumstances change and you get hours back, then we would require you to advise us of that. And we will adjust the payments accordingly. But this ensures that as we go into the next week that people can get that higher level of support, they can get it through that simple process of calling 180 22 66, or on the Services Australia website. And that payment is then recurring from that point on.
Now, as a result of the partnership with the New South Wales Government, that payment will not only be made in the greater Sydney area as defined by the Commonwealth hotspot, but because of the New South Wales Government support, they will be supplementing that to ensure that that payment can be made available statewide. So areas outside the Commonwealth hotspot area and those two payments will be available right across the state of New South Wales, with New South Wales picking up the costs of that broader payment in the regional and rural areas, and the Commonwealth continuing to meet the costs in the metropolitan areas. I'd note that those payments of $600 and $375 were the payments that were in place during the December quarter, which was when the Victorian lockdown was still in place last year. Of the lockdowns that we're looking at, this lockdown and the circumstances we're dealing with are more akin to what we saw at the beginning of that process than what we saw most recently. And I note that during that lockdown, the Commonwealth provided to the state of Victoria, in the form of JobKeeper specifically, $13.4 billion. That was the support provided to the Victorian public in relation to the long lockdown that we had, regrettably, in Victoria. I also note that in the Northern Beaches lock down earlier this year, the Commonwealth provided over a billion dollars in that support into those communities to provide support going through that very difficult time. So the payments are what they were back in the last quarter of last year at $600 and $375.
The other thing we have agreed to do and cost share, 50/50, which the Premier and the Treasurer will go into more detail on, is to provide a direct payment to businesses up to a turnover of $50 million a year. That payment will be made, it's modelled on the programme we did with the cash flow boost last year, which you will remember, we made payments of between $10,000 and $50,000 over a three month period. It wasn't over a week or two. It was made over a three month period and we did that for two successive quarters. So through the cash flow boost, we provided as a Commonwealth Government, between $20,000 and $100,000 to support the cash flow of businesses over a six month period. Now, it is certainly our intention and our hope, and I know the Premier's and the Treasurer's, that we will not be in that situation and everything is being done to prevent that. And I thank those right across Sydney and more broadly across New South Wales, for their patience in going through the current lockdown.
But the payments that we'll be making to businesses of up to $50 million are $1,000 for sole traders and then payments of between $1,500 and $10,000 per week, paid on a fortnightly basis to the businesses of that order. And those payments have a maximum, as I said, of $10,000 and payments can be made up to 40 per cent of turnover. So for the businesses that are much smaller, they will receive a minimum of $1,500. And then it goes at 40 per cent of your payroll, I should say, not turnover, of your payroll amount. And then it maxes out at $10,000. That will come at a cost between the Commonwealth and the states of around a half a billion dollars a week, met equally by the State and the Commonwealth government and the New South Wales Treasurer and Premier will say more about that.
The third area that I wanted to mention today is it's not just about getting through this economically. It's about bringing people through in a healthy state of mind. As we found in the Victorian lockdown, the provision of additional mental health support was absolutely critical. We'll be doing that again here with the state government. The Commonwealth is committing $12.25 million as part of a round about a $17.5 million package thereabouts, which will be providing additional supports, $1.5 million to Lifeline, this is from the Commonwealth, support for the Kids Helpline, Headspace, beyondblue, a range of of of key organisations that have been so critical to supporting the mental health of, at that time Victorians, and now those from Sydney and New South Wales who can access that additional support through these services. The Butterfly Foundation also receiving support. New support, as I said, through Headspace.
I particularly want to send a message to those students who are doing their HSC, which I'm sure the Treasurer and the Premier will join me in sending. We know this is a tough time for you. HSC students in 2020 were going through a very similar process, particularly down there in Victoria. And you will get through this. This support is being put there particularly to help you. And so I encourage parents and community members to let young people know that help is at hand and you can access that help. And we are upping the services to ensure that that help will be there for you as you go through what I know is a very difficult time. So you're very much in our thoughts.
So to summarise, again, additional support for individuals, additional support for businesses through a new shared programme between the Commonwealth and the state government, and additional support to help people with their mental health as they go through this pandemic lockdown. I'll hand you over to the Premier.
PREMIER OF NEW SOUTH WALES, THE HON GLADYS BEREJIKLIAN: Thank you very much, Prime Minister. And can I begin by thanking you, and our respective Treasurers, Josh Frydenberg and Don Perrottet, for working so closely together to be able to deliver this package for the people of New South Wales. And whilst the Prime Minister has quite rightly outlined what is the national framework for these payments, the New South Wales Government was very pleased to be able to extend with our part of the payments to all of New South Wales so that no matter where you live, if you're suffering because of the stay at home provisions, you are able to make sure that you and your loved ones don't go through that stress, no matter how the lockdown lasts.
Now can I make this point? Our intention always is to have this lockdown not go longer than it needs to. But these payments will make sure that whether you're someone who runs a business or someone who's an employee, you'll be able to respect the rules we put in place and also have peace of mind. It's really having peace of mind and also the ability to follow the health advice because they're the two things that will help us get through this lockdown. And that's why I'm very pleased with the package that's announced today. Essentially, individuals will go through Services Australia for their payments and businesses will go through Services New South Wales. And in terms of where you get your information, they're the two bodies that you go to, and we make sure that we give you the information you need during what is, we understand, a very stressful time for people. I'm also pleased to say that the New South Wales Treasurer will also announce other measures that we'll be taking as a state government, which are over and above what the Prime Minister has announced. And they're specific to our state, including payroll tax exemptions and other opportunities for businesses to get support from us.
But in the first instance, I do want to thank the Prime Minister, the Federal Treasurer and also my Treasurer here in New South Wales for the work they've done to support New South Wales during this difficult time. We never can predict the twists and turns of a pandemic, but what we do know is that in order to have this lockdown end in a timely way, but also provide support to our citizens, it's important to make these arrangements clear as soon as possible. And I'm grateful for the speed with which the Commonwealth has responded to the issues that we raised. I'll now ask Treasurer Perrottet to outline some New South Wales-specific details and then we'll take questions. Thank you.
TREASURER OF NEW SOUTH WALES, THE HON DOMINIC PERROTTET: Well, thank you, Premier. We know it's a very challenging and difficult time for businesses and workers right across the state. This is not just a health crisis. It's an economic one, too. And our message to every business and every worker right across New South Wales is that we've gone through over the last 18 months and together we will get through this period of time as well. The package that we've developed, we believe, provides support for every worker, for every business right across the state. I want to join the Premier in thanking the Prime Minister and the Federal Treasurer for the constructive and cooperative way that we've worked through the details of this cash booster scheme, which will provide important cash flow to businesses to ensure we keep as many workers in work and as many businesses going during this period of time.
An important part of this package is to ensure that those businesses who access this payment will also be required not to reduce their headcount. We want to keep as many workers in work during this period of time. The New South Wales economy is stronger today than it was before the pandemic. We've always said we'll prioritise the economy before the budget. We've done that and that's ensured the economy is stronger, that more people are in work then when the pandemic began. And that's where we'll be once we get through this difficult time as well. As the Premier has indicated, we'll also be providing support as part of that disaster payment for workers right across the state who will be able to access that, not just in the hot spots that have been declared. So as the Premier has outlined, those payments will be made through Services Australia, and we encourage all workers right across New South Wales, as we know, this is not just focused on Sydney. There are many workers who are doing it tough outside those areas and they'll be able to access that programme as well.
In addition to this programme today, we're also announcing a further expansion and extension to our small business grants. They will increase and access to those will be expanded for businesses with payrolls of up to $10 million. We will also be deferring all payroll tax liabilities for the next two months. And for those businesses with a reduction in turnover, a reduction in turnover of 30 per cent, which are under $10 million in payrolls, we will completely waive payroll tax for the first quarter of this year.
We are also providing support for micro businesses as part of the package today. Those businesses with a turnover of less than $75,000 but greater than $30,000 will have received a turnover reduction of 30 per cent during this period of time, will receive a payment of $1,500 per fortnight, starting from week one of the lockdown period until the completion.
In addition to that, we will also be providing support for tenants, commercial tenants and retail tenants. We will be mandating that there'll be no lockouts or evictions during this period of time and any rent reduction from landlords to their tenants in that space, we will provide a rebate or discount in relation to land tax payable from that landlord to the state. So we want to encourage retailers right across New South Wales to work with landlords to make sure we all get through this difficult time together.
In addition to that we'll also be providing protections when it comes to residential tenancies. There will be no evictions for the next 60 days. For those who are doing it tough, for workers who have had a reduction in income by 25 per cent, I will also provide the same land tax reductions and rebates for residential landlords who can provide some rental relief for their tenants. For those landlords that don't that don't qualify for land tax, we'll provide a $1,500 payment as well to also reduce the rental obligations for those tenants.
We're also providing today, in addition to the mental health support with the Commonwealth Government, some extra support to ensure that those people right across New South Wales who are sleeping rough, close to another additional 4,000 temporary accommodation places in the state. It's a programme that has worked from the start of the pandemic. And we want to make sure that wherever you are right across the state, all vulnerable people are given the protections and support they can. We've always said from the start that we will prioritise the economy before the budget. So whether you're a casual worker, a permanent worker, a small business, a large business, the New South Wales government has your back. We are going to get through this difficult time and come out stronger on the other side.
I want to finish by thanking the Prime Minister and the Federal Treasurer once again for working very closely and putting together, what I believe, with the New South Wales Government today, is an unprecedented package that will help every single person through this state get through this difficult time.
JOURNALIST: [inaudible question].
TREASURER OF NEW SOUTH WALES, THE HON DOMINIC PERROTTET: Well, in conjunction with the Commonwealth, we're putting $4.1 billion addition. Our package today, $4.1 billion. The Commonwealth over $5 billion. The $1.4 billion for that small business programme has been expanded. That will now be $2.1 billion and will provide an opportunity for small businesses to have access to, it was previously up to $10,000 in grants, that will now be up to $15,000, to provide that important support.
JOURNALIST: How many weeks?
TREASURER OF NEW SOUTH WALES, THE HON DOMINIC PERROTTET: Well, some of those payments are one off payments, but obviously with the package that we're announcing today, in conjunction with the Commonwealth, will be paid on a fortnightly basis for as long as the lockdown continues. And obviously for some of the support packages in relation to those micro businesses, that will play out as well from week one for the duration of the lockdown.
PRIME MINISTER: Just on the individual payments, they will go, that is the $600 payment and $375, that will continue as long as the lockdown continues. And, of course, the point that the Treasurer has just made is that we estimate the cost of this each week is around $500 million. It's demand-driven so that's not an allocation, that's just a very initial estimate of what the expenditure may be in these circumstances. And the Commonwealth understands that we'll be continuing to support that for as long as the lockdown remains in place. And hopefully that won't be too long. And I have no doubt that New South Wales will ensure it will only go as long as it has to, but it'll go for as long as it needs to.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the Treasurer mentioned the cash flow payments will require staffing levels not to adjust, I think it's from 13 July. How will you enforce that and what are the penalties?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's based on a headcount as of the date of the announcement, which is today. And the undertaking for people receiving this payment is that that's what they will indeed do. Now, we've had similar type arrangements in place in the past. We expect people to honour their commitments. And, you know what, people have. There's, right now, particularly in New South Wales but I'd say more broadly, it was only a month ago that employers were coming to me saying that we needed to get more people into the country because they needed more workers. People in New South Wales, employers, and particularly in New South Wales, understand that the labour market has got a lot tighter over the course of this last 12 months. One million people, thereabouts, have come back into work since the pit of the recession caused by the COVID pandemic. So it's not in any New South Wales employer’s interest to leave staff behind at the moment. They know that they will need those staff in a few weeks time, hopefully it's as soon as that, and they'll be wanting to keep them on their books.
And so that's why I just want to stress with this payment again, you can still remain with your employer. So you may have been working 40 hours a week and you have agreed to reduce your hours down to 20 hours a week. That means you can keep working in that businesses, under those arrangements, and you can pick up the $600 payment from the Commonwealth. And that will help you continue to go through what is a difficult time. Previously, those payments were made through JobKeeper because that was a national scheme involving a very large scale. That's not necessary on this occasion. We can get those payments directly to people who have lost those hours directly through the Services Australia system.
JOURNALIST: [INAUDIBLE]
PRIME MINISTER: I'll let the Treasurer speak to the second matter, but for individuals, they will have to go on, if they're in those first four, I think it was, Gladys, LGAs, they're eligible to go on this Friday and to make their claim for these new payments and then they are recurring. You don't need to go back in after that for the extent of the lockdown. For businesses, it's also a one step process. But the Treasurer can give you the timelines on the registration and application and payment timeframes for that.
TREASURER OF NEW SOUTH WALES, THE HON DOMINIC PERROTTET: Thanks, Prime Minister. So in relation to the small business grants, which you've already announced, applications can be made on the 19th of July. And in relation to the joint arrangement with the Commonwealth for that cash booster programme, expressions of interests will be open tomorrow. And we want those funds out the door as quickly as possible. But importantly, this provides certainty to businesses that they can keep their staff on. That's why all our programs have ensured that on application you must make sure that you do not reduce your headcount. We are going to get through this, it's a difficult time, but we want to keep as much cash flow going into businesses during this time. And we believe that the quantum of this programme, this unprecedented investment, will ensure that we'll get through the other side stronger than ever. In relation to the question on the individual payments, as the Prime Minister has said, once that application is made through Services Australia, it's then an ongoing payment for the length of a lockdown.
JOURNALIST: If expressions of interest open tomorrow, when will money go out the door?
TREASURER OF NEW SOUTH WALES, THE HON DOMINIC PERROTTET: As quickly as possible. Obviously, we want to make sure that those funds are verified. We're working very closely with Service NSW. We've had success in the past in relation to getting that money as quickly as possible to businesses who need it. In relation to small business application, as I said, on the 19th applications open, that's within six days, and payments will be processed by Service NSW within four days. So that's the payment of $15,000 for businesses with a reduction of 70 per cent turnover, a payment of $7,500 for businesses with a reduction of 50 per cent turnover. But those payments will be available for application on 19th of July. And in relation to the programme we're announcing today, in conjunction with the Commonwealth, expressions of interest will be open tomorrow, and we will have applications opened as quickly as possible and as close to the date that we have for those small business grants.
JOURNALIST: [INAUDIBLE] that lockdown does continue into next week?
PREMIER OF NEW SOUTH WALES, THE HON GLADYS BEREJIKLIAN: I've already made clear the unlikelihood of the lockdown finishing on Friday, and the numbers speak for themselves. And we'll have more to say about that tomorrow. But what this does is give us peace of mind and a breather for everybody in that when you provide that economic support for individuals and businesses, it gives us the freedom to do what we need on the health side by asking everybody to respect the advice that we're providing, but also having that confidence not to leave the house unless you absolutely have to. And this financial support, which we're very grateful, is a joint measure with the Commonwealth and ourselves, gives us that freedom, gives everybody that breather to be able to follow the health advice and to try and get out of this lockdown as quickly as we can. So I wouldn't read too much into the length of lockdown because none of us know that. But what we do know is that we have the financial support there so that individuals and families and businesses don't have to stress. And they know that for the duration of the lockdown, the support will be there and the support will be there, both from the Commonwealth and from the State Government working together to make sure every individual or business across the state has access to it, which is very important. And also, irrespective of when the payment goes in the bank accounts, and obviously we'd like that to happen as quickly as possible, it gives people peace of mind so that your bank or whomever you deal with has peace of mind the money is coming, it's there, and you can make decisions against that.
JOURNALIST: [INAUDIBLE] a completely new variant and it really changes the game and that we can't live with the Delta variant until a majority of our adult population here in New South Wales is vaccinated. If we can't live with the Delta variant and cases don't come under control and the health advice necessitates a longer lockdown, is the Commonwealth prepared to pay all of this cash until the vast majority of the adult population is vaccinated?
PRIME MINISTER: Well what I indicated at the outset was that what I'm announcing today is not just a partnership with New South Wales. What I'm announcing today is an upgrading of the Commonwealth Government's national response. So it is certainly our hope and ambition that we would not see lockdowns extending like we're seeing them here in New South Wales and other states and territories. But as I said, COVID-19 will set those rules. And so what we're saying is that when situations get like this, it is in the national interest that we ensure that a lockdown that is occurring here in New South Wales will be effective, it will be effective. And that Australians living here in New South Wales and across particularly the Greater Sydney area, know that the sacrifices they're making will get the job done and that we will support them through that. Help is here and help is on the way as well. That's I think our key message.
JOURNALIST: [INAUDIBLE] a lot are losing a lot more than that. Is it enough of an incentive for them to not sack staff?
PRIME MINISTER: Sure, it's a very good question. Now, first of all, I'd say you've got to look at it as a combination of both the business support and the support we're providing directly to individuals. So the $600 support, the business now no longer, if they've reduced hours of someone, they don't have to be as concerned as they were before under JobKeeper to make those payments. The Commonwealth Government is making those payments. So if you're an employer, and sadly you may have had casual employees or you're speaking to your permanent employees, and saying we really need you to do less hours at the moment because we can't afford to pay that, they can say ring 180 22 66 and the Commonwealth will be able to give you that income support to get through that period of time for a couple of weeks. So that would have otherwise gone through the business, now it's going direct to the person who needs that money. That means it's available right now. Help is there right now. And so if you get on that line, which is Friday for those first four LGAs, for the rest of the state and the broader greater metropolitan Sydney area, it's Monday, then you can access that. For the businesses, we have modelled this on the cash flow boost that we provided last year. And so to give you an example, the weekly payment that was made under the cash flow boost last year for businesses with a turnover of, say, $75,000 a year was $769 dollars. Under this program, it's $1,500. If you look at a business with a turnover of around $1 million, last time, then the payments that were made available back then were around $1,900 and they're $1,900 now. When you go to a business which had a turnover of some $5 million, then previously they were receiving a $3,846 cash boost per week, under this programme they're getting $7,692. See, what we've learnt during the pandemic is you do what works. And when you need to do it again, you do what works. And the support that has been provided through this cash flow boost is not only commensurate with what was provided last time, but in most cases it's actually greater because it needs to be more concentrated. It's kicking in in week four and will go for as long as the lockdown requires.
JOURNALIST: Just on the lockdown, the Treasurer reportedly disagreed with the Premier. You thought that there shouldn't be an extension of the lockdown. Is that still your view or have you been mugged by reality?
TREASURER OF NEW SOUTH WALES, THE HON DOMINIC PERROTTET: Not at all. I mean, I won't talk about discussions we have in crisis cabinet, but ultimately we've always balanced, here in our state, the economic needs with the health needs. And this is not just a health crisis. And to every single business and worker out there right across our state who is struggling right now, we say today that we have your back. And the Prime Minister has spoken about the challenges of different variants. The reality is, and the difficult reality is, is that as you see around the world, that as these variants change, there are always challenges as the vaccination period rolls out. And ultimately, we will have to learn to live alongside the virus. And we don't want to be in a position, we've always resisted going to lockdowns in this state. There has to be a balanced and proportionate response. We have always done that. We want to keep the people of New South Wales safe. We have done that. We've done that right across the country in a way that is world leading. And ultimately, we're in a position economically where New South Wales is stronger today than it was at the outset of the pandemic. So, yes, there are challenges facing our state and our country, but also we have come through the last 18 months and we'll come out stronger during this period of time, as well.
JOURNALIST: [INAUDIBLE] think that this can still go ahead in any realistic form?
TREASURER OF NEW SOUTH WALES, THE HON DOMINIC PERROTTET: We're committed to looking at the pilot. And obviously right now, the complete focus of the New South Wales Government is making sure we keep our people safe, we keep as many businesses in business and as many workers in jobs during this period of time. That is the Premier's focus, that is my focus, that is our entire crisis cabinet focus. But also that is a very important industry to the New South Wales economy. And we need to ensure that we get international students back into our state as quickly as possible. There are tens of thousands of men and women right across our state who rely on that industry for work. We're completely committed to doing it. And obviously we'll deal with this challenge that's in front of us now, this immediate challenge, and then we'll get back to work on ensuring that we bring back that industry to New South Wales. And importantly, I'll make this comment, when it comes to bringing back returning Australians, let's not forget that New South Wales has taken the lion's share of returning Australians. More than half of those Australians returning back to this country have come through Sydney. We have done the heavy lifting in relation to that. And we'll always act in the national interest in that space but ultimately, that is an industry that's our largest service export here in New South Wales, our second largest overall export. And it's important for many men and women right across our state who rely on that industry to provide for their families.
JOURNALIST: [INAUDIBLE] you told 7NEWS today that 80 per cent is the rate you would like to see, I think you were waiting on advice from them still. When it comes to you setting these thresholds, is that something that's going to be based purely on their advice or the health advice, or are there other factors that have to be weighed in?
PRIME MINISTER: Well there's always other factors. And what I said at the press conference we had here last week was that, of course, the decisions we're making will be informed, absolutely, the Premier and I and the other members of the National Cabinet, because as the Treasurer just rightly said, there are a range of interests here. And there are the economic interests, there are the health and wellbeing interests, and of course, there's the epidemiology which we've asked them to provide advice on. What the Doherty Institute can give to leaders is what the spectrum of risk is. Now, in the UK at the moment, they haven't quite reached 65 per cent on two doses. The UK Government has made a series of decisions. They're also seeing, we know, very high levels of cases and they've seen some escalation in the levels of hospitalisation. There are a lot of experiences that we're watching very closely around the world. And there is no simple, definitive pop out answer here. It's based on an assessment and evaluation of risk. And what we've asked the Doherty Institute to indicate to us is what that balance of risk is, and how you can then adjust measures to suit that risk to ensure that we meet all the objectives that we need to have as a country. What is important is that we continue to move as quickly as we possibly can. Certainly by this time next week and indeed earlier, we will have passed the mark of over 10 million doses and the vaccination programme continues to gather pace. And that is welcomed. The additional Pfizer doses that become available, the additional that were provided to New South Wales this week, the opening of new clinics and opening of new clinics, the Chester Hill clinic I understand is opening very, very soon, importantly, in south western Sydney. All of this is happening. And so it's important that people go and support that. And I believe that by the end of this year, we will have got in that position where we have offered everybody who seeks a vaccine, a vaccine, and we are aiming to have that percentage as high as it possibly can be. But on that note, can I thank again, can I thank the Premier, can I thank the Treasurer, can I thank Treasurer Frydenberg as well and all of our Treasury officials who have been burning the midnight oil over the course of these last few days, particularly last night, for the great work that they've been doing to bring together what I think is a very important package. We have always got through COVID together. Governments have got through it together, communities have got through it together, families have got through it together. And that will continue to be the case. This is a next level of partnership that is necessary to ensure the sacrifices that are being made across Greater Sydney and across New South Wales are going to get the results that we're looking for. And that is that we can move back into the position we were at some weeks ago and that we can get those people back to work, those jobs saved, Treasurer, and ensuring that we're in a position for the New South Wales economy to pick up where it left off, which has been the powerhouse of the national economy, frankly, during the course of the COVID pandemic. Thank you all very much for your attention.
Press Conference - Kirribilli, NSW
9 July 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon. National Cabinet met again this afternoon. We're going to continue to meet together on a weekly basis as we have been now for the past few weeks. As we particularly deal with the issues that are arising from the very serious situation with us here in Sydney. I want to start particularly by extending my thoughts to all fellow Sydneysiders who go into even firmer restrictions as of this evening and just simply say that we will get through it together. This is a very necessary set of restrictions that have been put in place by the New South Wales Government. I strongly support them and the Commonwealth Government will continue to provide the support necessary to give effect to those restrictions and to ensure that the New South Wales economy and the people of Sydney in particular are supported through what is this very difficult time. Many other cities, particularly down in Victoria and Melbourne, have gone through this before, and Sydneysiders, I have no doubt, will continue to push through. I know it's tiring. I know it's exasperating. I know it's frustrating. But we need to keep pushing through. And so my thoughts are with all of my fellow Sydneysiders today.
The meeting of the National Cabinet today considered a wide range of issues, most of which was following through on decisions we'd taken previously and updating on those actions in particular, in addition to getting updates from the New South Wales Premier on the situation here in New South Wales and other premiers were very fulsome in extending their support to New South Wales, just as New South Wales has done in so many other cases when other states have found themselves in difficulty. One of the pleasing elements of the report, we heard today was the the flow on from the Tanami Mine issue, where we had a worker who'd been through Queensland and into the mine. That outbreak has been able to be contained. That was one that was very seriously concerning us over the last couple of weeks. And so the practises put in place by the mine operators there proved to be very effective and very helpful. And we thank them for the way they did that. And it's a reminder that across so many workplaces in Australia, over the course of the pandemic, very good COVIDSafe practises have been put in place and that is enabled, particularly our heavy industry, to keep operating and keep operating safely. And on this occasion, where there had been a breach, still because of the practises and processes they had in place, it meant that they could be tracked down very, very quickly.
We're also noted today that in our own region, not only here in Australia and here in Sydney, but not far from Australia, particularly in Indonesia and of course in Fiji, they are facing even more serious circumstances. And in both cases, the Commonwealth Government, the Australian Government has been reaching out to provide that support to both Fiji and to Indonesia. And I was in contact earlier this week with the Indonesian President, President Widodo, only this week to that end.
We noted that the Doherty Institute would be coming back to us over the course of this month. The First Secretaries Group, which is the heads of the director-generals of the Premier's Departments and the Secretary of my own Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, will be pulling that work together of the Doherty Institute. That will actually set out what the spectrum of risk is across various levels of vaccination in the population and what the levels of vaccination in high risk vulnerable groups are and what the risk is then associated with COVID being in the community. That information will be combined together with the passage of the health system and the advice of Treasury and Treasury Secretaries around the country to ensure we get the best assessment of what the thresholds are to move from phase one to phase two to phase three and ultimately phase four, which I outlined to you last Friday. So that work is in process. The Doherty Institute are continuing that work.
On the vaccine rollout today, the Lieutenant General Frewen was able to update the National Cabinet on the arrangements that have been put in place, as with Pfizer, which is bringing forward those vaccines out of our vaccine purchases, which were to be in place over the course of the year. And the new horizons, as their defined by Lieutenant General Frewen, had been advised to the team leads in each of the states and territories on the projected distribution from those new brought forward supplies that have been, will come available this month that will see us rise to a million a week. That will see us move from 2.8 to over 4.5 million doses coming in from Pfizer in August. This is going to greatly assist the further rollout of the vaccine programme.
And today we have again seen very strong numbers when it comes to the vaccine programme. The vaccine numbers that have been released today show the second highest day yesterday that we have seen some 164,773 doses administered. That gets us to 8.8 or rather 8.9 million doses as present. That would likely see us hit 9 million doses by the end of this week, most likely by the time we report again tomorrow. And so we will then be hitting that very important mark of a million doses every week. You hit your marks there, you hit your straps on those sort of a vaccination roll out as we are now achieving. And that puts us in a very strong place to be able to get this job done as we move towards the end of the year and indeed, perhaps sooner than that, to ensure that everyone who was seeking to have a vaccine would be able to have one.
We also reported today and importantly did a stock take and that will continue over the course of the next week in terms of our health system capacity. Now, what I'm referring to there is you'll recall at the start of the pandemic that one of our key issues was ensuring that we had sufficient respirators and all of that equipment in place in the event of a very serious outbreak. Now, what we was able to report today, was the ICU capacity currently has Australia with 2,020 spare ventilators nationally with an expansion capacity of some 7,500 ventilated ICU beds to treat hospitalised COVID-19 patients. Now states and territories, this will be a continued standing item on our National Cabinet agenda to ensure that we have been able to maintain that health system capability to deal with any potential outbreaks. And there were no concerns expressed today by premiers or chief ministers in terms of their preparedness of their hospital networks to deal with any potential outbreaks. And the hospital capacity here in New South Wales, in Sydney in particular, is proving to be more than up to the task of what is currently presenting.
Also note this Sunday, and Lieutenant General Frewen, will have more to say about that on Sunday, there will be a new campaign launched in relation to the vaccination programme. This is the next phase of those communication campaigns. It coincides neatly with the additional supply that has been brought forward to support the vaccination programme.
On aged care, today, we received the final presentations to Lieutenant General Frewen in terms of the inreach and hub systems being put in place to support vaccination of aged care workers. We also discussed an incentive system today that was suggested by Premier McGowan, which I think is an excellent idea, we'll be engaging with the corporate sector as to how that can be put in place to incentivise aged care workers as another way of ensuring that if those levels of vaccination amongst aged care workers. I had confirmation from all states and territories, except Victoria, today that they would be introducing public health orders to mandate the vaccine for aged care workers. I stress, though, that in Victoria that is not a decision of the Premier or the Minister. Under their legislation that is an independent, statutorily independent decision of the Chief Health Officer of Victoria. So that person is the only one who is authorised to decide whether to put in place a public health order. And so I would have to refer you to the Chief Health Officer in Victoria as to what his intentions are regarding the mandating of vaccines for aged care workers.
There was also papers received from the medical expert panel that dealt with the vaccination of disability care workers. And while they're not at this point recommending mandating of the vaccinations for disability care workers, they are strongly recommending it. And so with that corporate programme that can be used to incentivise vaccinations for aged care workers, we would look to extend that to disability care workers as well. We also considered for what are called mobility workers, those working in the air transport sector and other transport sectors as to whether there was a requirement for mandatory vaccinations there. That is not being recommended at this stage. But, of course, across all the community where you're able to get those vaccinations, then of course, we strongly encourage, particularly when you're working in an area which would bring you into contact with more people.
We also agreed today that a National Cabinet pilot would be established for home quarantine. That would be done in a lead jurisdiction. And South Australia has indicated their intention to go forward as the host jurisdiction for that home quarantine trial, which would be a two week quarantine period based on the advice received from the medical expert panel. And we'll be working with South Australia to put that pilot in place as soon as possible. That will be a transparent project with all the other states and territories. It will be run, of course, by South Australia, but with the active engagement and visibility of all the other states and territories, so they are in a position to pick up that project on the completion of a successful pilot programme.
In relation to inbound and outbound travel. On inbound, since the announcement made last week, we have 29 now scheduled facilitated commercial flights that will be going into Darwin. That should see us taking in around 4,000 people a month into Howard Springs and fully utilising, ultimately the quarantine capacity at the National Resilience Facility at Howard Springs and I thank the Northern Territory Government for their close cooperation in getting those arrangements in place. We also have the Australian Travel Declaration, which will be from the 16th of July, we'll be including information on inbound arrivals vaccination status. That will be done through what is called attestation. This is not linked up to other international databases at this stage. This would be requiring people to attest, whether they have received a vaccination, the vaccination that they have received, the date of that vaccination and the jurisdiction in which they receive that vaccination. That will provide information, particularly to the states who will be in a position then, potentially to look at how they're managing quarantine operations in their state, as the Commonwealth can with the Northern Territory Government at Howard Springs to look at ways that vaccinated and non-vaccinated travellers can be treated in the quarantine programme. Obviously, those who are vaccinated have a much lower risk of infection than those who are not vaccinated.
And finally, on outbound, it will be our strong preference for those who are who are given an exemption. And there are very clear and limited reasons why people are able to travel outbound presently. And that is our strong preference that people will be vaccinated if they're travelling overseas. That reduces the risk posed to them personally, because as we know, COVID is riddled through many countries around the world and many of the places Australians would be travelling to. And that also, of course, reduces the risk of when they return to Australia. Now, for those who are unable for medical reasons to receive a vaccination or at this point in the cycle, they may not have access to that vaccination, well they are obviously issues that will be taken into account by the Border Force Commissioner in considering those arrangements. Now, those last points that I make about outbound travel, facilitated commercial flights, the Australian Travel Declaration, they are all decisions that the Commonwealth Government and they were noted today by the National Cabinet. So happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, now that the Pfizer supplies are being brought forward, will under 40s be able to be vaccinated in August?
PRIME MINISTER: I couldn't quite hear the last part of that question.
JOURNALIST: Will under 40s be able to be vaccinated in August?
PRIME MINISTER: Those decisions at present haven't changed in terms of the age eligibility, and they will be considered further based on this supply by Lieutenant General Frewen, in concert with the medical advice that he receives, because right now our focus remains on getting people who are aged over 70 vaccinated. Now, we are over that 70 per cent mark, 72 per cent it was yesterday, of those over 70 who received that first dose. Older Australians are still the most vulnerable, and that's why we would implore people who have eligibility for those vaccines now to go and get them. And, particularly if you're waiting on your second dose and it's on AstraZeneca, well as I said yesterday, the health advice I've received from Professor Kelly as well as Professor Murphy is that the balance of risk is that you should seek to have that at least at eight weeks.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Labor's tried very hard today to make out that this Pfizer news isn't really anything new or particularly noteworthy. What's your response to that?
PRIME MINISTER: Labor's always hoping for the worst. In the middle of a pandemic, this is very disappointing and they're wrong. We've been able to bring forward these important doses out of our contracted programme, which means they're available now, in July. It's real. I don't understand why Labor always hopes for the worst. I mean they hope that 100,000, 150,000 people have lost their job at the end of JobKeeper. They were wrong. And they're wrong about this, too. They should just get behind the programme and stop trying to play politics.
JOURNALIST: On the Pfizer changes, the delivery dates and the numbers that they're talking about today do appear pretty similar to what's been announced previously. Even Pfizer felt the need to issue a statement clarifying there were no additional doses coming this year. So …
PRIME MINISTER: I never said there were additional doses. They're bringing forward doses.
JOURNALIST: So, I know, but Pfizer felt the need to clarify that. And, so, are we really talking about, you know, changes here that are a game changer for our vaccination rollout, and if it is a game changer then what does that say about the situation so far?
PRIME MINISTER: What it says is that we will have more doses being distributed this month than we had planned to distribute this month and quite significantly more, and more next month, as well.
JOURNALIST: So, are these changes a game changer?
PRIME MINISTER? We've been bringing forward the doses, which is what we've been seeking to do. And the reason we've had to bring forward those doses is because of the ATAGI advice on AstraZeneca, which has limited the use of that vaccine to be the workhorse of the vaccination programme. And so since we've had that advice, and so that since that impact has been made on the vaccination programme, it has been our priority to work with Pfizer to bring forward the doses that we've contracted and we've been successful in doing that.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, does the Government have to pay an extra price to bring forward these doses of Pfizer? And, sorry if you've addressed this it's hard to hear back here.
PRIME MINISTER: Sure.
JOURNALIST: What is the difference, how long will it be when those vaccines actually land and then they end up in people's arms?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, on the first point, I mean, the commercial arrangements between us and Pfizer are not matters that we can go into for commercial in confidence reasons. And so don't draw any conclusion from that. That's been our practice from the outset, and that will continue. In relation to the availability of those doses well, we've gone from 300 to 350,000, that ramps up further to a million, and and even more so or thereabouts when we get into August, because we'll have around about four and a half million doses next month. It takes around about a week to 10 days or thereabouts from arrival, up to, and it can be less than that for those distributions once they come in to go through the process and and for them to be making their way out to the GP surgeries or to the state-based vaccination clinics or which ever the point of presence is through which those vaccines are being distributed. We've got 1,300, 1,300 extra GP's on the job this month to be supporting the rollout of these additional Pfizer vaccines. But the workhorse still remains the job that needs to be done, with the AstraZeneca vaccines as well, particularly for those who are aged over 70, but also for those who are aged over 60 and who are going through their second doses, encouraging them to do just that. It's incredibly important. But, we're now, this time tomorrow we'll be talking about a million doses a week. Now that's what you need to hit in order to get this job done. And we've worked hard to get over the challenges that we've had in the vaccination programme over the course of the last four months. It's been a tough job. We've got on top of that. We're now hitting those a million a week as of tomorrow we believe that will see us really be able to get this job done in the months ahead.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, is Sydney in the position that it's in because your vaccine rollout has been so slow?
PRIME MINISTER: No, absolutely not. There's not.
JOURNALIST: We're facing the prospect of a very long lockdown compared to Melbourne.
PRIME MINISTER: There's not a country in the world other than Israel that has a vaccination rate of two doses more than 65 per cent. Israel is the only country in the world that has that. Now in Australia, in Australia the number of cases we have had in our community means that say, compared to the United Kingdom, which had as many cases in one day this week as we've had in 18 months. So there's far more antibodies that exist say in the UK in the general population than in Australia. And that's thankfully so, because we've saved over 30,000 lives in this country by ensuring that we didn't lose that battle again, in the first round against the coronavirus. And, so, it was always known at this time of the year, in July of this year, that we would still be in the suppression phase. And, that means that in the suppression phase you need to keep the systems as tight as possible. We've had breaches here, there have been breaches in other places. And when there are breaches it's about trying to contain it as quickly as possible and move as quickly as possible to get us in that situation which is what the New South Wales Government is doing.
JOURNALIST: Can you tell us the month when under 40s will now be eligible for the Pfizer vaccine, and also ...
PRIME MINISTER: I'll leave that to Lieutenant General Frewen and that will be based on the medical advice and the supplies as he's rolling those out to meet the priorities of the vaccination programme, which, as I said, is the most vulnerable of the population, which is those who are over seventy.
JOURNALIST: Will any of those Pfizer vaccines be diverted to Sydney to help with the current outbreak?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, as I announced yesterday, we've provided an additional 150,000, brought forward an 150,000 vaccines for New South Wales from the Pfizer distributions, and 150,000 of AstraZeneca. So, New South Wales is receiving 300,000 additional vaccines next week, and that is not at the expense of what were the planned distributions of vaccines to other states prior to that announcement.
JOURNALIST: With the Pfizer vaccine, have we considered pushing out the interval between doses so that the supplies we do have can be used, say in Sydney during the current outbreak, to get more first doses in arms quicker?
PRIME MINISTER: This is why we just put an additional 300,000 doses into New South Wales next week.
JOURNALIST: Is there a possibility that you might extend JobKeeper, and do you agree with Philip Lowe who said that migration had been suppressing wages?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we're not bringing back JobKeeper. What we put in place is the COVID Disaster Payment, which is set at the level that JobKeeper was at when JobKeeper ended at the end of March. We're in the position now where we have a very targeted need here in the Sydney metropolitan area. It's not a national, JobKeeper was a nationwide programme. This enables us to directly make payments to people who need that help, and those payments, as we eased the restrictions on those payments yesterday by waving liquid assets just yesterday, means that those payments will be available to more people in the Sydney metropolitan area that are, that need that additional support. So, we will keep working with the New South Wales Government. I was talking to their Treasurer today, again, obviously had the Premier on the National Cabinet call today also, on what may be required pending what further decisions the New South Wales Government may have to make to suppress this latest outbreak. So, we'll work specifically in a partnered way on that and we'll do the design and the targeting in a way that's appropriate to that problem. In relation to the debate about migration and wages, I mean, we're in a quite an extraordinary, an extraordinary situation at the moment. It's not common to have net migration which is negative in this country, and for it certainly to be at zero. So, that is an extraordinary set of circumstances. That's obviously put some constrictions on the labour market. But, at the same time, we're seeing job rate, jobs picked up very, very quickly. I mean, here, particularly here in New South Wales, as I was discussing with the Treasury Secretary and the Treasurer today and yesterday, New South Wales comes into this most recent outbreak after some very strong performances. The significant levels that we're seeing on the savings ratios for the most recent national accounts, which is elevated still to the levels of the global financial crisis and higher. So, a lot of Australians have been building up their balance sheets over the course of the last 12 months, which is giving them a bit of a buffer at the moment, it's not big, I'm not pretending it's big, but that means that they're in a position for short periods of time to be able to deal with this in a way that perhaps they weren't able to do before. And, the labour market is incredibly strong. When we introduced JobKeeper, we were looking at a million people losing their jobs. Now, the labour market nationally, and even still here in New South Wales, is strong. And, so, so long as we can get on top of this in a reasonable period of time, then we anticipate that the economic impacts of this can be [inaudible].
JOURNALIST: What do you think of the pub in Melbourne that's been asked by the TGA not to give free beers with vaccines?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the Health Minister and I noticed this yesterday evening, and the Health Minister I asked to have a chat with the TGA. I mean, the rule is that which they, they're just doing their job, the TGA, and the rule is that companies shouldn't be able to provide incentives of alcohol or cigarettes to get people to buy prescription medicines. Now, that's a common sense regulation. But, this is a national interest vaccine programme and we'll be making some changes to ensure that these good hearted, good natured sort of initiatives that people may take on of their own volition, which is the case of the PA in Victoria, or indeed of the type of thing that I've just indicated where we're seeking to incentivise through the corporate sector vaccination of aged care workers or other important employment groups, and we just want to make sure that the rules are common sense. I think it was done in good faith and in good spirit by the public and down at the PA in Melbourne. But I think, also, to be fair to the TGA, they're just doing their job and they've got to follow the letter of the law there. So, we'll tidy that up. Common sense will reign once again, and cheers to the PA.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, what's the earliest date that the home quarantine trial will begin in South Australia?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, they'll be working that through now …
JOURNALIST: Can you give us a month of when that could be…
PRIME MINISTER: I can't at this point. South Australia only indicated sort of formally today at today's meeting that they'll, they intend to host that pilot. And, so we will work with them now to set up the timeframes and how they will put together transparency arrangements with the other states and territories. I think this is an important development. I think it's trialling out these new quarantine arrangements, which will take significant pressure off - if it's successful, of course - the quarantine, the formal quarantine system. If you're able to make this work, it means in phases, particularly phase three, but even potentially in phase two, you have a greater opportunity for Australians who are vaccinated to be able to leave Australia and come back and put no pressure on the hotel quarantine system. And, that can see some of these restrictions ease with very low risk. The programme will focus on countries, low risk countries. That's the advice that's come through. And, so, South Australia will be very mindful of that as well. And it'll, and the advice is also principally at first to focus on Australian vaccinations, as well. So, thank you very much, everyone.