Speeches
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
31 August 2021
Prime Minister, Minister for Health and Aged Care, Minister for Foreign Affairs
PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon everyone. I’m joined by the Health Minister, the Health and Aged Care Minister, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Women.
Our vaccination program is central to our national plan. Our national plan enables us to live with the virus, not fear it. That is our future. That's what we're moving towards, with each and every dose that is administered all around this country. All states and territories are on this journey of the national plan, but they're starting from different places. There isn't a common COVID position across the country. The situation in Tasmania and Western Australia is, of course, very different to what we're experiencing here in the ACT and New South Wales and Victoria, and different again in Queensland and South Australia, and of course the Northern Territory. But, the place we're heading to is the same - we may all be starting from a different point - and that place is bringing us all together again, connect us again as Australians, and to connect Australia to the world. That is the objective of the national plan. So, for wherever we're starting, the destination is what we share.
And, in addition to our vaccination program, there are many other elements that support it. Of course, there is the ‘test, trace, isolate and quarantine’ methods and measures, and they will look very different in Phase B and Phase C of the plan, as we discussed last week in National Cabinet, and further work is being done there. There's the public health social measures. They will continue. There is not a time that we are contemplating where we move into Phase B and Phase C that they are not part of our management of our COVID response. They are low level measures, sure, but they are necessary. They will continue. Other countries have chosen not to do that, but Australia has chosen to do that - to combine our successful measures, to keep them at a low level so as not to inconvenience Australians unnecessarily, and to combine that with test, trace, isolate, quarantine and, of course, our vaccination program. And, then there is the keen focus that we have long held on ensuring that our public health system can cope with the pressures that undoubtedly do emerge. And, that has been our focus for many, many months. That has been, in particular, a standing item, not only on the National Cabinet agenda but, of course, our own National Security Committee of Cabinet here at a federal level, led by the Minister for Health and Aged Care, in ensuring that we are providing the support necessary - and indeed some $6 billion or thereabouts has been provided specifically support the public health response of the states and territory on our 50-50 sharing, cost-sharing arrangement that has been in place since the beginning of our cooperation under this pandemic.
But, of course, most significantly, to drive the national plan forward, is the vaccination program, and it's important that we acknowledge that Australians have been responding at record levels. Our vaccination rates each week now exceed those on a per capita basis on the best of weeks in the United States and the United Kingdom, and Tasmania is leading the charge with the highest double dose vaccination rate in the country. And, New South Wales is running first when it comes to first dose vaccinations around the country, and others are close behind. Across the country, 58.7 per cent of Australians have had their first dose and 35 per cent have had their second dose. Now, that compares to some 40.5 per cent just a month ago - up now to 58.7 [per cent]. And, 18.7 per cent just a month ago - now at almost double that at 35 per cent.
I said when I announced the additional Polish doses that we were able to get for Pfizer that I would leave no stone unturned in bringing forward and accessing more doses of mRNA vaccines, and that's exactly what we've done. We've continued on, and I'm pleased to announce today that we'll be boosting our September effort with a new dose swap deal with Singapore which will see 500,000 doses arrive this week for distribution next week - 500,000 more doses of hope. That comes on top of the some 4.5 million that we already have planned for September, and the one million Moderna doses, and the many other millions of doses that are available from our AstraZeneca production, to ensure that we can continue on in September with the strong surge that we had over August.
It's a dose swap deal, which simply means we're taking the 500,000 they have now, so we can put that into our distribution this month coming, in September, and we will provide them with 500,000 in December. That means there are 500,000 doses extra that will happen in September that otherwise would have had to wait for several months from now, accelerating our vaccination program at this critical time as we work towards those 70 per cent and 80 per cent targets.
This will greatly assist the national vaccination program as it brings in two important age groups into the program. The 16 to 29s, which are, have already, which begin, have already begun this week and, of course, the 12 to 15-year-olds. Remember, there's 1.2 million children aged 12 to 15, and they start with bookings from the 13th of September, and so this will greatly assist with both of those efforts as those new age groups come in.
The doses will be distributed across our GP and state hub network and across the states and territories - in total between both of those. It will be done on a per capita basis. We need to vaccinate the whole country and we need for those doses to go from one end of the country to the other and for them to be taken up.
I want to particularly thank Prime Minister Lee, whom I directly discussed and pursued this matter with, and I want to thank the Government of Singapore more broadly, and the Health Minister who’s worked closely with Greg to ensure we've been able to bring this agreement to a conclusion. We have a tremendous partnership with Singapore and I've worked with Prime Minister Lee now over these last three years, and was there most recently just a few months ago as we stood together in Singapore and swapped notes on our respective responses to COVID-19 and many other issues.
I also want to thank Minister Hunt and Minister Payne and all of their teams for the great job that they have done in bringing yet another of these agreements together, after our successful Polish dose arrangement, which has already found its way into people's arms all around the country.
I want to give a special shoutout to our High Commissioner Will Hodgman, who I sent up there and he’s doing a fantastic job, and to all of your team, Will, thank you very, very much for the great work you've done.
And, of course, Professor Murphy and the great team down there at the Department of Health and Aged Care, who continue to steward these arrangements, and now it's over to General Frewen to get them out, and for the GPs and our state hubs to be getting those doses into arms.
Now, there are more irons in the fire, but there's more work to do on these, and I'll announce further arrangements once we're in a position to do so. As I said, I'd leave no stone unturned on this, and this is further demonstration that that has been the focus of the Government. Greg.
THE HON. GREG HUNT MP, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE: Thanks very much, Prime Minister. These are 500,000 doses of hope and 500,000 doses of protection for Australians. The big journey that we are on is, when we take into account the three million Pfizer we were able to bring forward from October, November and December to the current quarter, the Polish doses, now Singapore, and any other options, as the Prime Minister has indicated, what we will see is that we will have brought forward the balance and burden of our vaccination program from October and November to August and September. And, at this point in time, that means, as the PM says, that we've now passed 19.36 million doses that have been delivered - 276,000 in the last 24 hours, and I understand Victoria has a significant number of additional doses that they will be able to add to that, which, once they've been uploaded to the immunisation register. Very significantly, this now is a rolling average of over 1.9 million doses a week. That was a figure we'd hoped to reach in late September and early October, but has been achieved in August. And, that's protection but it's also hope, and hastens forward the pathway through to people regaining as much of their lives as early as possible, which is so absolutely critical.
Just to add to this, there’s a very important figure - we’ve now passed 12 million first doses. That’s 12.1 million first doses. What that means is that to get to the 70 per cent mark of 14.5 million, there are 2.4 million people we need to come forward. To get to the 80 per cent first dose mark of 16.5 million, there are now 4.4 million people we need to come forward. These are not huge numbers. These are numbers, when you look at what we’re doing - 1.9 million a week - are easily within reach. But, we do need everybody to keep coming forward. Australians have been magnificent, and I want to thank them and encourage them to continue to do so, wherever they are in Australia. Every dose matters, and every dose protects an individual, as well as helping to protect everyone else.
I’d just, in particular, add to the Prime Minister’s thanks. I want to extend my personal thanks to the Singaporean Health Minister, Minister Ong Ye Kung. He’s been a fantastic partner, as have all of our equivalents. I also want to acknowledge the High Commission and Will Hodgman, but within the Department of Health, Brendan Murphy and our chief negotiator Lisa Schofield, who have spent countless hours on this. They do this as public servants in the true meaning of the word. Throughout the pandemic, our public servants have worked around the clock and on behalf of the Australian community. So, it’s an important day, an additional day, a further day of hope for Australians.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you. Marise.
SENATOR THE HON. MARISE PAYNE, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Thanks Prime Minister, and and thanks Greg. I want to acknowledge Singapore, our trusted partner and friend, and to personally also thank Prime Minister Lee, and my good friend and colleague Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, and the people of Singapore.
This is a constructive and flexible way for governments to work together in all of our interests to manage COVID-19. It does demonstrate our, that our diplomatic capability can work to deliver to protect all Australians, and certainly to strengthen our security and frankly our prosperity. Others have acknowledged the High Commissioner and his team, and I would reiterate that as well.
The dose swap that we’re announcing today is another example of Australia working with our friends and partners in the region, in terms of addressing the global pandemic. We are securing vaccines for the Australian community from a range of sources, and at the same time, providing access to effective vaccines for our region, to underpin that shared recovery. The delivery of 403,000 vaccine doses to Vietnam last week on the 26th of August was the first of many in in that case. Singapore has also delivered vaccines to Brunei, supporting Indonesia's COVID response, as is Australia. We’ve delivered over 2.1 million vaccines in our region now, particularly focused on the Pacific and on Timor-Leste, assisting our Pacific family where they need our support - overwhelmingly in Fiji in recent times, in Papua New Guinea and, as I said, in Timor-Leste. It is a task that we are approaching together, and it’s a task which we will continue in the coming weeks and months.
PRIME MINISTER: Happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, is there a, is there a plan for the distribution of the 500,000 doses to the states and territories per capita, or would it be based on need? Would it go to western Sydney as a priority, for instance?
PRIME MINISTER: No, as I said before, it's being done on a per capita basis across the GP and state hub network, across the states and territories. Phil.
JOURNALIST: I know you’re doing more work on this, but an original reading of the Doherty modelling suggests it might be a problem if you’re having more than a thousand cases, community cases a day. Is it your view at the moment we can still move into Phases B and C as planned, with with New South Wales, for example, recording well over 1,000 cases a day, or do they need to get that into the hundreds? And, if not, do we have to amend the plan?
PRIME MINISTER: No, the sensitivity analysis that was conducted and shared with National Cabinet on Friday reinforced the the thresholds around 70 and 80 per cent. The issue is then what you do between 70 and 80 per cent. And, they suggested caution, and I agree with that. That's why under the plan we left open the, being very specific about what happened between 70 and 80 per cent. But, I go back to the point I was making earlier. Every state is coming at this from a different perspective. In many states, where there are very few restrictions, they will, they will see less. But, in states like New South Wales and Victoria and the ACT, well, they will see more because of the situation they're in, because everybody's got a different starting point. But, the Doherty modelling reinforced the thresholds. But, it also said, as we're, you know, going through the short strokes of the actual measures in the 70 to 80 per cent mark - which in some states and territories could be a matter of weeks, not months - but once you get into the 80 per cent zone, no, of course you want the case numbers to be always, you know, necessarily lower when you're going to those phases. But, no, it doesn't affect what those actual thresholds are. You just exercising appropriate caution in that 70 to 80 per cent mark.
JOURNALIST: Is it consistent with the national plan for for states to impose hard borders with the principles, is it consistent with the principles of the national plan for states to impose hard domestic borders when vaccination rates reach 70 per cent?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it all depends where their vaccination levels have risen to. So, if you have New South Wales or Tasmania, you know, well above 70 per cent, and you have other states that are below 70 per cent, well, the national plan doesn't provide for them to move into Phase B. So, you know, it's all a matter of where they're at at any given time, and and that's what the national plan sets out. And, that the measures you put in place in one state, where there are no restrictions currently, well, you wouldn't be expecting too much change in those states because they don't have many restrictions at this point. I mean, the real changes I think we'll see are what is occurring in states like New South Wales and Victoria, which have much more serious restrictions in place, and the ACT. And, so, that's why the vaccination rates, I think, are so important, especially in those places. But, you know, why I give a big shout out to Tasmania - I think Tasmania is a great example. Tasmania has very low COVID rates - zero COVID rates - and they know they're just as vulnerable as anyone else to a Delta strain. And, they have, despite the fact that they have very low and little COVID, they've got the highest double dose vaccination rate in the country. So, they're getting on with it down there. They've had the same dose distribution that everyone else has had, and they're getting on with it. Well done, Tassie. And, again, a special shout out to Peter Gutwein, been in contact over the last 24 hours and I hope he's well and recovering. Andrew.
JOURNALIST: Just a couple of questions. First on, the AMA is saying that it wants states and territories to mandate vaccination for health care workers. Seems like an imminent exercise in common sense to me. Do you support that? I know it's a state and territory issue. And, secondly, can I ask about the review of the Liberal Party in WA. Sorry, I'm going to have to use FaceTime. It's a scathing report that's come out about the WA Libs. See, it talks about a new conservative force coming out in WA because of what's been going on there, says there's been unethical behaviour, and it says ‘What has been revealed is shocking and disturbing. It represents a party in decline and headed for the door.’ Can you respond to that report in WA?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I take the report very seriously, and I expect the Western Australian division of the Liberal Party to deal with it.
But, on the other matter, I would ask Greg to respond, particularly on the issue of health care workers. We've always been, I think, very forward leaning on the necessity of vaccinations for those working directly in health care, and for this additional reason that once we particularly move into these new phases, if you're vaccinated, you shouldn't have to be furloughed - if you're a close contact or something of that nature - because that's one of the real difficulties in managing the public health system. If you're furloughing your health workforce, well, that's only going to put further strains on the health system. And, I think when, that's one of the great advantages of the national plan, as it envisages being able to have greater capacity for the public health system to deal with this, which you wouldn't have had. I remember that, you know, the terrible difficulties we had last year in Victoria, where you were having to furlough significant numbers of health care workers and nurses and others in aged care, which was putting more strain. Well, in a vaccinated workforce in, particularly in that area, you are significantly strengthened.
THE HON. GREG HUNT MP, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE: So, a couple of things. Firstly, it, whilst it's a matter for the states and territories, it has been raised through the medical expert panel, the AHPPC, precisely for the reason the PM's been talking about. One is to protect patients. Two is not only to protect each individual worker, but to protect the workforce from being furloughed. So, this is now, I think, very high on the agenda of the state and territory chief health officers. It's, whilst it's a matter for them, we've made our decision at a Commonwealth level, in conjunction with all the states and territories. We've published the rates of our aged care workers - 78.8 per cent have had a first dose. That's increasing at about 20,000 a week. And, frankly, the honest answer is the difficult decision to mandate has led to a skyrocketing of rates amongst that group. And, so, it'll be up to each state and territory to indicate whether they want to publish their own rates of of vaccination. But, it's an understandable direction. It's what we've done at the Commonwealth level.
PRIME MINISTER: Clare.
JOURNALIST: Overnight Australia acknowledged assurances from the Taliban that they would, Australia acknowledged assurances from the Taliban that they would allow foreign nationals or people with foreign visas to leave after the US have withdrawn. Given there's a sense of urgency on the ground that the Taliban's word is probably going to be, mean less and less as time goes on, is Australia going to continue processing those humanitarian visas at the fast pace we saw during the flight evacuation? Do you acknowledge that there is now an extended window where there's potentially some good faith with the Taliban to get people to get out of the country, if we get those visas processed?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, well, I don't take any window for granted, I should stress, in Afghanistan. The Foreign Minister may wish to comment on this, also. Those commitments at face value, you have to be very careful about, but it doesn't change what you do and, which is to press on. We are very keen to meet at least the 3,000 that we would like to see taken into Australia under our humanitarian program this year, and more. I would like to see more. That's roughly, it was about that number, it was exactly that number actually that we were able to bring out under the Syrian program - it was 3,000 in the first year. So, we’re, that's the same. And, I, you know, I think, I hope we can achieve more than that. And, where the circumstances provide for it, we’ll seek to make the most of those circumstances.
But, that won't end this year. This will go on for many years, that we will bring people out from Afghanistan for many years to come. And, it's a key issue amongst the Five Eyes partners and coalition partners more broadly, who are all seeking to do the same thing. And, we'll work together, we'll work with the international agencies to that end. But, when it comes to the guarantees you refer to, I'm cautious about how substantial they will be and for how long they will be in place. Afghanistan is a place where the situation is deteriorating. As you know, the United States has now completed their mission there. And, so, they move into the same phase as Australia does, as does the United Kingdom and many other countries. So, we'll work together to continue to provide as many people, who we've worked with closely, the opportunity for a new life in Australia under those official arrangements. But, Marise.
SENATOR THE HON. MARISE PAYNE, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: So, Prime Minister, the undertaking by the Taliban is one which is being closely watched by the international community. And, I've been in contact with a number of counterparts in relation to that. And, it is an expectation in terms of the ability for safe travel and safe transit that we are very focused on. We know that for those who remain in Afghanistan, it's a question of of very significant concern. In terms of those who have been granted 449 visas who are still in Afghanistan, those temporary safe haven visas, they will be contacted through the processes of the Department of Home Affairs about what to do when it is safe, and the processing of those visas continues to be a priority.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the national plan is not explicit about state border closures. In your view, should they be ended at 70 per cent vaccination, 80 per cent, or are you saying this is a state matter?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, ultimately, everything is a state matter. But, I know that there was agreement to the national plan, which wants to see Australians come together, and we want to do that safely. This is a safe plan. This is a plan that has been based on the best possible scientific evidence to ensure that we can open safely and connect together again safely. And, that is exactly what I would be expecting all of us to be doing. Sarah.
JOURNALIST: Just in response to Trudy’s question, can you give us an indication as when, as to when you expect that state lockouts will no longer be happening in this country? And, if I could just ask, the Aboriginal Health Service Maari Ma warned the Federal Government 18 months ago of a potential catastrophe in Wilcannia. They wrote again to you last week urging Federal Government intervention to address the unfolding humanitarian crisis in that community. What more can the Federal Government do to address that, and why weren’t those warnings from 18 months ago heeded?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'll let the Health Minister comment on that issue, in particular. There is a federal intervention. There is federal support and direct federal measures that are being undertaken in those communities, in partnership with the New South Wales Government, to address the situation which is there. And, the Minister for Indigenous Australians, speaking from that very platform, has made reference to the efforts that were being undertaken on these issues for some time, when he joined me for a press conference here.
On the other matter, the measures, specific measures between 70 and 80 per cent, are the ones that we are working on right now. But, what I do know is when you've got more than 80 per cent of the country vaccinated, and especially when every state has passed that 80 per cent threshold, then what I do know is that the medical and the economic advice is that lockdowns do more harm than good. Greg.
THE HON. GREG HUNT MP, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE: So, just in terms of Maari Ma, we want to thank them. We responded last year and one of the things we did was establish last year, on the 5th of March, the- 2020, the Indigenous Working Group, and then on the 26th of March last year, the National Indigenous Protection Plan. That also included the biosecurity orders - which were made in my name - with regards to Indigenous bubbles, which were maintained until the communities and the states and territories sought for them to be removed. We also put in place this year, as of the 9th of March, the Indigenous vaccination plan.
Specifically in relation to Wilcannia, the vaccines have been available there since the 22nd of March, and they've been doing a great job. We've recently upped the number of vaccines available. We also have AUSMAT, which has been in place, the RFDS, which has been in place. And, what we see in the Wilcannia region is a 58 per cent vaccination rate. So, when I step back for a moment, one of the great fears and challenges we had, PM, we know, you know, through February and March of last year, we focused on Indigenous Australia. We have put in place specific protections. We actually listen precisely to groups such as Maari Ma. They are one of the many, many Indigenous groups - of course, Pat Turner and NACCHO. They've been wonderful leaders, and that's one of the reasons why across Australia we've had an Indigenous rate of cases vastly lower than the national average. And, in terms of, sadly, lives lost, there has been the first life lost in Dubbo, a community with a 56.9 per cent vaccination rate. And, we, at this point, have an Indigenous loss of life of one thirtieth the national average. We’ll continue to fight in every community, and the RFDS, AUSMAT, the ADF, as well as Commonwealth vaccination clinics, state vaccination clinics, GPs and pharmacies are out there doing that vaccination work in Indigenous communities, and supporting Indigenous Australians wherever they are.
PRIME MINISTER: So, just on the lockouts, because there was the other question about lockouts, let's just acknowledge what lockouts do. Once we get to the point, and that's certainly the case once we get past 80 per cent, and assuming, and this is an important development that needs to take place between now and then, is home quarantine needs to be a viable and widespread option for people who are travelling overseas and returning - indeed, people who are overseas and have been vaccinated with the vaccines that are recognised in Australia. For that to occur, then we need to get these home quarantine models up and running in states and territories across the country.
Now, that means that people will be able to, in states that aren't locking others out, those states who have moved into those thresholds, there will be the opportunity for people to go and travel and return to Australia and quarantine at home, that people in those states who are overseas can come back to Australia. The caps that are on flights coming into those places that have got into that zone, that aren't locking others out, they will be able to receive more and more, and that will be a big change. And, you know, in many states, when I think of states like South Australia, for example, and I discussed this with Premier Marshall yesterday, and he's a strong supporter of the national plan because he knows South Australia will need the students to come back. South Australia will need the skilled migrants to come back. South Australia will need to be connecting up with all of those things that enable their economy to be successful. And, it's important - whether it's the tourists, the students, the skilled workers, the connection with the rest of the world, the trade that comes from that - all of that is essential to Australia's future prosperity, in whatever state you live in in this country. And, that's why the national plan is so important. The national plan connects us together again as Australians and connects us to the world again and enables Australia to secure our future in the COVID world. Thank you very much.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
27 August 2021
Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister for Defence, Minister for Home Affairs
PRIME MINISTER: Morning, everyone. I’m joined by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Defence and the Minister for Home Affairs. Australia condemns the evil, the calculated and inhuman attacks that were undertaken in Kabul overnight on the innocent and on the brave. We join with our American and Afghan friends in mourning their terrible and awful loss, like so many other losses that have gone before them. We are especially mindful of the reported 13 US Defence Force personnel who were murdered at the Abbey Gate at HKIA, a gate at which Australian Defence Force personnel stood only hours before. And, like those 139 Australians who have been on that same airport and at that same gate, and many others like it, over the course of these operations, these brave young Americans stood at that gate to protect life, to save life, but lost their own in providing a pathway to freedom for others.
I have conveyed Australia's and my own personal deep sadness for the loss of those brave American souls, to the President of the United States, by letter this morning. They have fallen in a very worthy cause. And, to all of those in Afghanistan, suffering as they are now, suffering as they have for so long, and particularly suffering as a result of this most recent attack, we extend our deepest sympathies.
We thank the United States, and the United Kingdom also. The sacrifice of those young Americans was part of a broader effort over the course of these many days now, that has enabled Australia to engage in one of the most significant evacuations that we have ever taken part in. Over these nine days, we have successfully evacuated some 4,100 people from one of the most dangerous places on earth. Now, those 4,100 people we have evacuated are either back at our base at AMAB or indeed have been transferred to Australia.
The United States and the United Kingdom made that possible. Were it not for the some 5,000 troops that they had on the ground, it would not have been possible for Australia to engage in these operations. It would not have been possible to have the Coalition forces doing what they have been doing to ensure the evacuations of tens of thousands of people, including thousands upon thousands, if not tens of thousands, of Afghans, who have found a path to freedom at this most difficult time to achieve that.
And, to our American and British friends, we are, we are deeply in your debt, as we so often have. But, as I often always say about our allies and partners, we may look to them but we never leave it to them. And, in the course of these nine days, our Australian Defence Forces, our Home Affairs officials, our Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials, have played their part in this important evacuation.
Australia’s operations now for the evacuation have been completed. We were able to ensure the departure of the remaining Australian personnel over the course of last night, not that long before the terrible events that unfolded last night took place. I want to commend all of those who were part of that operation on the ground, be they wearing uniforms or they be civilians in our public service. I want to commend them for their bravery, first and foremost, for their sacrifice. I want to commend them for their dedication and their professionalism. I also want to commend them for demonstrating Australia's heart, their humanity and their compassion.
Some more than 3,200 Australians and Afghan visa holders for Australia have now been evacuated, but more than 800 also from our Coalition partners who were part of that evacuation program that Australians have undertaken. Currently, there are more than 2,500 people at AMAB, and I spoke to Crown Prince [Mohammed bin] Zayed last night and thanked him for the support of the UAE as part of these efforts, and appreciate the hospitality that has been extended towards Australia to ensure that we’ve been able to accommodate so many people, and for the graciousness of giving us the time that we will need in the days, and perhaps longer ahead, as we arrange for the further processing and transfer of people back to Australia. Some 783 people who have been evacuated out of Afghanistan are already home or in their new home here in Australia, and I want to thank the states and territories for their support as we continue to increase the amount of quarantine places available that will facilitate further returns today and in coming days, as those operations continue.
The United States and the United Kingdom of course remain in Afghanistan over the next few days. Australia's completion of our operations there mirrors that of many other countries now, taking similar decisions as Australia has done, and we continue to support the US and UK operations through our RAAF, although none of that tasking or request involves any Australian presence on the ground.
The Foreign Affairs Minister will indicate the travel advice which has been updated just prior to us coming out here today, about the advice that we’re providing to those Australians and visa holders who remain in Afghanistan. It remains a extremely dangerous place, but as I said yesterday, our plan now moves into its post-evacuation stage, and that involves ensuring that we start the process of returning, through our official humanitarian program, people to Australia, working through other international agencies and working closely with our Coalition partners who are engaged in exactly the same exercise. And, that process, of course, will be undertaken by the Department of Home Affairs.
After my colleagues have spoken I’ll return to some of the other matters regarding COVID and National Cabinet meeting later today, but I think under the circumstances it’s important we continue to offer comment on these most terrible events overnight. Our hearts sank when we heard this news. Sadly, it was not unexpected, as we had previously flagged, but even events of that nature, when they are sadly expected, still make your heart sink.
SENATOR THE HON. MARISE PAYNE, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Thanks, Prime Minister. And, let me add my strongest condemnation of the attack at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport, targeting US personnel who were trying to help others and Afghan civilians who only sought safety and a better life elsewhere. We extend our deepest sympathies to those affected, to their families and to their loved ones, and we reiterate our sincere thanks to the United States, whose presence has helped Australia to evacuate those over 4,000 people that the Prime Minister just referred to, people at risk.
I want to pay tribute again to our officials and our military troops who’ve carried out this, one of the largest humanitarian airlift operations in our history, evacuating those Australians and visa holders and other citizens.
We know that this is a very distressing situation for Australians still in Kabul, for people with visas, and for family and friends who are here in Australia. I want to emphasise to those who are still in Afghanistan that we have issued new travel advice following our very clear travel advice of yesterday. Our new travel advice says Australian evacuation flights from Kabul have ceased. All Australian Government personnel have departed Kabul. There’s an ongoing and very high threat of terrorist attack. Explosions have occurred in the vicinity of Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport. Do not travel to the airport. If you’re in the vicinity, move to a safe location, and provides contact details for consulate support as well. I cannot encourage strongly enough the following of that travel advice, and I encourage those who are in Kabul, who have not registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, to register.
As to the question of whether there have been Australians affected by these explosions, we are unable to confirm that at this point in time. We will contact those for whom we have details, and that is why it is so important to register and so important to follow the travel advice that we have issued updated this morning. Thanks, Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: Peter.
THE HON. PETER DUTTON MP, MINISTER FOR DEFENCE: Thanks, PM, and thank you, Marise. Well, ironically, the barbaric acts that have resulted in the death of, the loss of life of innocent Afghan citizens and the brave US soldiers, they’ve demonstrated through those barbaric actions exactly the reason why Australia was with our allied forces in Afghanistan. Over the last 20 years, 39,000 Australians have worn the uniform and have fought in our country's name to keep that sort of barbaric act from our shores, and the 41 who have lost their lives should be honoured today as well, because it is the efforts of the Australian Defence Force personnel over the course of that period of time which has kept those terrorist attacks from our shores. And, we’ve seen the actions over several days now of all of our agencies, but from my perspective, the work of the Australian Defence Force is second to none in the world.
And, I want to acknowledge those members of the Royal Australian Air Force, bravely flying sorties in and out over the course of these days to lift people to a new life or to return them back home. I want to say thank you very much to the Regiment. The Regiment has performed again exceptional work in Afghanistan, and I recognise the work of those officers, as well as those from 3rd Brigade and also from 1RAR in Sydney, but others within the Department, the defence planners. The advice that we received back in May from our defence planners and others to close the embassy, to move our staff to safety and to evacuate those people at that time, and the remarkable effort that has been underway from the whole of the Australian Government and our personnel to evacuate people over a long period of time, since April, there has been a concerted effort. And, the fact that we’ve got 4,100 people out is quite astonishing and a great credit to all of those agencies.
I want to say thank you very much to the United States. There are many critics out there of the United States on every day, but we would not have recovered one person of the 4,100 without the efforts of the United States soldiers who secured that airport, and still do so today. And, we hope in the coming days that they and the Brits - who have had a significant footprint there and remain so - that they are able to remove their people and their assets safely, and to do that in an orderly way in very difficult circumstances. And, as Marise pointed out, the terrorist threats are still there. The expectation is there that there will be further attacks, and they are living with that circumstance at the moment. So, we want to see them safely home as quickly as possible.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you Marise, Karen. Sorry, Peter. Karen.
THE HON. KAREN ANDREWS MP, MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS: Thank you, Prime Minister. And, can I also give great support and thanks to those people that Australia has had on the ground in Kabul over the last few days, in particular. There has been an extraordinary effort by so many people in Kabul, also in the UAE, and here in Australia, to support our evacuation efforts. And, whilst those evacuation efforts has now ended, we are continuing to provide all of the support that we possibly can to Australian citizens, permanent residents and visa holders, whether they be in Afghanistan or on their way here to Australia.
Once we have been able to process the evacuees in Dubai, they are being brought to Australia. There has already been a number of flights that have come in here, and over, well over 700 people are already in quarantine here in Australia. Once they have concluded their quarantine, we’ll be looking to resettle them as quickly as we possibly can here in Australia. It was important that we made it very clear, whilst our evacuation efforts were underway, that there would be 3,000 places that were allocated to people to come here from Afghanistan. Work is already underway to identify people we will continue to bring to this country, and I do encourage those people who have not already lodged an application for a humanitarian visa to do so, so that we can start working with groups here in Australia to make sure that we are focusing on family members potentially coming to Australia, to minority groups, and to women and children. This work is well underway, and in the coming weeks and months we will be in a position to welcome more people to Australia to either return home or to call Australia home.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you. Now, on the other matters also, National Cabinet will meet later today. But, the National Security Committee on COVID met last night and confirmed the recommendations provided by General Frewen, and it follows the release of the ATAGI advice today on vaccination of children aged 12 to 15, supporting now, officially, the ability for us to undertake that. We’ve taken the decision that bookings will open for children aged 12 to 15 from the 13th of September. As you’ll recall from earlier, we had made and flagged the commencement of the ability for those aged 16 to 39 to be able to make those bookings and that is the next pressure on the system, and so we will allow that to commence and then on the 13th of September then people will be able to make those bookings. Now, principally I’ll see, I would see that happening especially through the GP network, and that provides the opportunity for family vaccinations, for the family to go along together across those age groups. So, that’s an important decision at National Cabinet this afternoon. Now, the Commonwealth’s decision to proceed will be briefed to the premiers, and we’ll start, continue the work, I should say, that we’ve already been doing with them through General Frewen, about their participation in that program.
Also, today, the Doherty Institute will be joining to brief - Professor McVernon - on the sensitivity analysis that’s been undertaken. We will also be examining in a first pass discussion issues relating to exemptions that can be afforded in Phases B and C for vaccinated persons. I don't anticipate any decisions on that today, there’s still ample time to work through those issues, but a lot of work has already been done to consider what the options are there, and they’ll be discussed in a first pass way today and that will provide some direction to further discussions on that ahead, before we reach those Phase B and Phase C marks.
We will also discuss today the important issue of the preparedness of public hospitals and our public health system, which has been a standing item on our agenda for many months, as we’ve looked at the pressures on those systems, and the Secretary of the Department of Health here has been working with others around the country to continue to understand and examine those pressures. The principle of those are really in relation to the management of workforce, the issue of when you’re furloughing staff - that is, isolating staff that have been secondary close contacts and things of that nature. And, they’re issues that we have to work practically through - the role of private hospitals, and so on. And, so, they will be discussed this afternoon, practically and cooperatively, because the preparation of our public hospital system and our public health systems are very important to the implementation of the national plan.
The national plan was developed to ensure there were gates to move through the different phases and we deliberately ensured that the calibration of what was done in each phase would be added. And, that's the discussion we’re in now. Of course, you need to have caution when you go through the 70 per cent mark, as opposed to the 80 per cent mark, and we’ve always left it open to ensure that we could calibrate what we were doing in that 70 to 80 per cent phase to ensure that it matched the risks that were present at that time, and we’ll have the opportunity to discuss those issues later today.
But, the good news is that we continue to make great pace towards those vaccination targets. Some 307,000 vaccines administered yesterday. That takes us to 33 per cent - one in three, almost - of the Australian population aged over 16 fully vaccinated in this country. Ten million doses now having been administered through the primary health care network, which is an extraordinary job undertaken by our GPs and pharmacists all around the country. So, with that, happy to take some questions.
JOURNALIST: On Afghanistan, the nation itself is obviously crumbling into chaos now. The jails have been thrown open, there’s terrorists on the streets. There’s an expectation there’ll be a boom again in the heroin trade. What do you say to Australians, how do you tell Australians when they ask will we ever go back? Is there a guarantee we won't go back to Afghanistan?
PRIME MINISTER: There is, there are no plans, of course, for Australia to be engaged in that type of an operation. I mean, the situation, as you've described it, and Peter may wish to offer comment on this, the situation, as you've described in Afghanistan, is, of course, very, very serious. And that is what occurs when countries go in, into these situations and we have been there for 20 years, 20 years, seeking to turn from a failed state into a successful state. And sadly, that hasn't proved possible. But what was done in those 20 years was extraordinary and the opportunities afforded to Afghans over the course of that 20 years provided an opportunity to a generation of Afghans that others have never had, and it is, of course, greatly concerning, and we will continue to monitor the risks very carefully with our partners, not just, not just our major allies, but those in our region as well. And the issue of terrorism has never gone away. It's not something that we've ever put to one side. It has been an abiding focus of our government. Every single, every single time we gather as a National Security Committee, we focus on these issues. So we will continue to take every step necessary to protect Australians, to keep Australians safe and to ensure stability, especially in our region. But, Peter.
THE HON. PETER DUTTON MP, MINISTER FOR DEFENCE: Just very quickly, PM. Obviously, all of the intelligence agencies are focused on the terrorist threat to not just our country, but to Australians who travel overseas in a normal year, and particularly in South East Asia, returning foreign fighters. And I think you'll see some activity of foreign fighters seeking to move around, et cetera, in the current atmosphere in the Middle East. Obviously, the pressure now is on the Taliban to honour their word and to execute by way of deed, that word, that assurance that they've given. And I think the world now is watching to see what they do next.
JOURNALIST: What of the Australians who are still stuck there, Minister?
THE HON. PETER DUTTON MP, MINISTER FOR DEFENCE: Well for the Australians who are there, we will provide every support that we can. But it was clear to us that it was unsafe for our personnel to remain there to continue the mission. And it was appropriate and proper for us to remove our staff from that situation. And they're now back safely at Al Minhad, as the Prime Minister has spoken about this morning. And we need to make sure that we can do everything we can to repatriate them back to Australia safely now as well.
JOURNALIST: How many Australians registered with DFAT remain in Afghanistan. How many people with Australian visas are still stuck there and do we have any chance of bringing them home?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, as the Home Affairs Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs may also wish to comment, the number of Australians in Afghanistan has been a number that has moved around quite a lot over the course even of the past several weeks. And the number of those who have been registering has been increasing over that time. So when we began these operations nine or so days ago, the number of of Australians who were indicating they were there has been growing each and every day. And that's why our operations have been sustained for so long. And the fact that we've been able to bring out so many is a testament to those who have been engaged in those operations. But the operation now moves into a post evacuation phase. And that is what we are now focused on, working with the Department of Home Affairs in dealing with the applications that are already there and then working with international agencies to ensure that those who can provide a pathway to Australia will be able to be received here in Australia under our official humanitarian programme.
JOURNALIST: [inaudible] the Australian citizens and residents and Afghan nationals who have been evacuated, or more than that, sorry. Can you tell us specifically how many Afghan nationals you've managed to evacuate? And for those who still remain in Afghanistan, do they have any chance of getting out on one of our allied partners' flights, the US or the UK?
PRIME MINISTER: Peter might want to comment on this as well, but on the first one, no, we won't be. We are still working through the confirmation of those numbers at Al Minhad now and as well as the Australians. And the priority right now is returning those Australians who are obviously Australians, but also those who would have been fully visa to come to Australia. And that's what's occurring at the moment. And they'll come back to Australia and the Department of Home Affairs will continue to work through those who were given temporary visas at the time to enable them to be evacuated out of Afghanistan. And that's now being worked through. The second question?
JOURNALIST: About the Australians and Afghans who have been granted visas who remain in Afghanistan, do they have a chance of getting out ...
PRIME MINISTER: Look, to be honest, the opportunities for that will be very restricted. We're in the final days now with the United Kingdom and the United States. And their priority will obviously be on their tasking, not only for those they are still bringing out, but the safe evacuation of their own forces and equipment. And that's what they'll be focused on. We're obviously still engaged with them. I can tell you that even when that last flight left last night, we ensured that it remained on the tarmac until I was confident that everyone we thought we could get on that last plane, we did get on that last plane. And there are individuals who will be on their way to Australia as a result of those, even those decisions at that time. And so I can only imagine what it was like for our people who had been on that tarmac for all those days sitting there patiently waiting as we ensured that we could take every last person we possibly could safely at the end of that operation. Peter.
THE HON. PETER DUTTON MP, MINISTER FOR DEFENCE: I'll just add this point. Many, many of the people who have provided assistance to Australia have also, as you appreciate, provided assistance to other allied forces, others that were present in Afghanistan, including, for example, the Netherlands. I think there will be a period of reconciling names of those that have been uplifted by partner countries. And we'll work through with the United States, obviously, their uplift in the thousands as well. It may be that people that we had issued visas to have actually ended up on a plane run by the British or run by the Spaniards or whatever it might be. So I think there will be a period of trying to reconcile that. And that should give us encouragement because more people than what we're acknowledging at the moment will have got out.
PRIME MINISTER: That's right. We are aware of some of those instances, but it'll take some time to reconcile it.
JOURNALIST: On COVID, the plan to live with COVID, the Doherty modelling forecasts, quite a large number of hospitalisations in the community, more than we're seeing now in New South Wales. We're seeing the New South Wales system really struggling with what they've got at the moment. As part of your deliberations on bolstering the health system, are we going to be looking at things like field hospitals, purpose built facilities? Like we've seen overseas in New York, for example.
PRIME MINISTER: That's not a recommendation or suggestion that has come forward to date from any of the states or territories. So certainly not that has been brought forward at a National Cabinet level or discussed at that level. The key challenge is not so much the bricks and mortar and the beds. The challenge is workforce, which is a constant challenge across many fronts in Australia. And one of the challenges for workforce is the policy that sits around the furloughing of health staff, around close contacts, and that is literally removing people from being able to work in hospitals and in health settings. So that is a practical issue that needs to be worked through. I mean in New South Wales, the ICU capacity is taken up about 20 per cent by COVID cases and more generally across the country, around 10 per cent. And so hospitals and public health authorities are able to adjust and manage resources that can free up capacity where they need to. And of course, our private hospitals agreement further adds capacity to that, both on beds and bricks and mortar, as well as important staff. Some 300 nurses already brought into that role already. What's important is having the plan to deal with it. We have had numerous discussions about how workforce can also be moved around the country to focus on areas that need it most, just in the same way that resources have been shared all across the pandemic up until now. So it's about having that plan. But the reports I have and indeed, as the New South Wales Premier and the New South Wales Health Minister has been at pains to point out, they are addressing the challenges in their own system, but the public health system and the public hospital system around the country is obviously a, a factor. And that needs to be fully understood.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, now, can you tell people when on your best advice we'll reach those trigger points of 70 and 80 per cent and why you believe the, you can assure them that the benefits of easing outweigh the risks at those points?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that is the clear advice. The clear advice to us is both the health and the economic costs of lockdowns, those are very serious heavy measures, once you move beyond those points. That's the clear advice that we've received that becomes of greater harm than good. And that's why when you get to 70 per cent and 80 per cent, sure, you've got to calibrate, you've got to fine tune. And that's the exercise that I think we're rightly engaged in. And the Doherty sensitivity work will help us do that. And if there are issues with public hospital systems in particular states, well, that is a matter that needs to be brought forward and has been and where there need to do more there, we will do that together. As you know, we have a 50/50 arrangement with all the states and territories and New South Wales alone that has seen more than a billion dollars extra go into the public hospital system to deal with the COVID response to date from the Commonwealth Government. And so we certainly haven't held back in strengthening the system. But let's not forget the significant work that was done over a year ago in terms of respirators and all of these sorts of issues to deal with those surges. But when we think back to the Victorian outbreak last year and even the outbreak we're engaged in now and the initial outbreak, our public health system in Australia has stood up on each of these challenges, we will face a new one now, but our task is to is to deal with those challenges so we can maintain the hope of opening up Australia, because living with COVID requires us to strengthen that system to the extent we need to to ensure that we can live with COVID.
JOURNALIST: Just on the evacuations, did you, have you so far received a call from Biden directly about the Afghan evacuation? I understand he's spoken directly to Johnson and Merkel. Have you spoken to him directly over the phone?
PRIME MINISTER: No, I haven't. We've been in constant engagement through national security advisors. There's been defence level contact, foreign affairs contact. There's been direct contact between the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Foreign Secretary and Secretary of State, I should say. So there's been high level engagement and constant, our partnership has worked incredibly effectively.
JOURNALIST: Can you just clarify how many hours elapsed between Australia pulling out and when we publicly as a Government confirmed that we were out and what efforts were made on the ground to let Australians and visa holders know that that was going to happen if they had, in fact, defied the advice and still headed to the airport?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we gave very clear advice and Marise may want to comment on this one. We gave very clear advice. In fact, we confirmed what that advice was here to you yesterday about the dangerous situation at HKIA. And we continue to take advice even as late as yesterday as we're working through our final operations before making the ultimate decision to remove our people and evacuate our own people from Kabul yesterday. I'm not going to go into the timetables around those things. What I am going to say, though, is that we made that decision based on, I think, the very astute advice from our defence forces, in particular the intelligence services that have been supporting us through this time. We were obviously aware of the terrorist threat that was being proposed and that it was credible. And that is the judgements that you have to make in very difficult situations like this. Australians had been risking their lives for the past nine days and more in evacuating 4,100 people out of Kabul. And I have a special duty of care to those Australians to ensure that in undertaking that very dangerous work, that we carefully assess those risks and make the right judgements. And there's no doubt in my mind that we made the right judgement.
SENATOR THE HON. MARISE PAYNE, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Thank you, Prime Minister. We gave very clear, explicit advice yesterday about not coming to Hamid Karzai International Airport and that if you were in the vicinity of Hamid Karzai International Airport to move away from the airport, to move to a safe location. In all of our contacts yesterday, both here through the consular process in Australia, through contacts to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, from advocates and supporters here in Australia and in everything that we did with Australians, Australian citizens and visa holders on the ground, we explicitly reiterated that advice consistently right through the entire day yesterday.
JOURNALIST: Now that ATAGI is recommending vaccines for 12 to 15 year olds. Will they be included now in those vaccine targets of 70 and 80 per cent? And what will you say to state leaders who have been pushing that, today in National Cabinet?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, again, we'll take the advice today from Doherty and their advice, as recently as yesterday, is those two things, it's necessary to vaccinate children aged 12 to 15. But there is, there is no recommendation before us that it should be included in that target. So inclusion in the target does not mean they shouldn't be vaccinated. The target is about the overall level of vaccination in a adult population, which are the primary transmitters of the virus. So that's the science of that. The medical advice is that they should be vaccinated and that's exactly what we're going to do. So I think the conflation of those two issues is not something that has stood up to the advice that we've received.
JOURNALIST: It is something, though, that some of the state leaders have been pushing for, so will you be pushing against that?
PRIME MINISTER: There is no recommendation for me, from any of our medical or health advisers, to do that. And so I don't see the point of that. What I see the point in doing is vaccinating children. That's what it means. That's what it's about. And of course, we will. We've been patiently awaiting the advice from ATAGI, which we've only received the final version of today, and we've immediately, immediately decided to press ahead with that. And that will occur from the 13th of September. And that will follow, obviously, the opening up to those down to 16. And that will enable the system to gear up to do that over the next few weeks. And certainly all of us who have kids aged 12 to 15, I've already had the chat with mine, and they'll be going along to their GP and to get that opportunity very, very soon, we hope. We'll get in line and make a booking like anybody else, and I'll be encouraging other parents over the course of these couple of weeks to have that conversation with your kids about getting that vaccination and why it's important. Remember, we've also got school holidays coming up soon, and that will be another really good opportunity for families to get vaccinated at that time. We have some promising leads in terms of doses. I can't confirm those at this point, but we've been working on them now for some time. And when we're in a position to say anything further about that, but that is giving us some greater confidence about being able to particularly go forward with this decision to vaccinate children aged 12 to 15. One last one.
JOURNALIST: Has Qantas given false hope to people by suggesting that we could be travelling overseas by Christmas?
PRIME MINISTER: Sorry?
JOURNALIST: Has Qantas given false hope to Australians by suggesting that we could travel overseas by Christmas?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, if we hit 80 per cent, Phase C of the plan enables Australians who are vaccinated to be able to leave Australia and return. That's what 80 per cent Phase C means. So if we can achieve that, then that sounds like a really good reason to get vaccinated. And that's why the national plan is so important, because the national plan is to say it's not tied to a day. It's tied to the achievement of a vaccination rate that enables us to do things safely. It enables Australians who are vaccinated in situations like that to be able to travel and return at significantly reduced risk to themselves and to others. The South Australian home quarantine pilot is underway. And that, I think, will prove another very important tool to facilitate the very things that you're talking about.
But it's important to say about the national plan, which is agreed by all states and territories and and the Commonwealth that this plan, it's safe. It's about opening safely. It's about opening smartly. It's about opening in a way that is phased. It all doesn't happen on one day. It happens in Phase B, which is what I'd call a very soft, careful opening. And our task now is to ensure we get those careful settings, because I agree with the Doherty Institute that we have to be careful in 70 to 80 per cent. It's a soft opening period, not a big opening period. And then when we get to 80 per cent, we take another step. But at both phase B and phase C, you are still having in place those baselines and common sense measures that are protecting people from COVID. But that doesn't mean lockdowns. I've already said on many occasions that where you have discrete communities or particularly vulnerable communities that may have very low levels of vaccination and so on, then of course, there is the the actions that are available to states in those circumstances. But once you get particularly into Phase C, then you're in a position to use those common sense measures, your protection. That's what we call optimises TTIQ. When you have those in place, you're optimising the strength of your testing and and your isolation and your quarantining processes. And that optimises the result in terms of meaning that you get the same outcome as living with the flu, whether it comes to hospitalisation and other things of that nature. So the national plan is a safe plan. I look forward to making further progress on that this afternoon. It's unlikely we will probably hold another press conference on that today, given the lateness of the hour that I suspect we will finish this evening. The meeting's been pushed back this afternoon because of the Tasmanian Budget. And so after that will gather again.
But let me just finally say, in thanking all of my colleagues here in particular to Peter and to Marise and to Karen and I make a special mention of Alex Hawke as well as Minister for Immigration. In the course of this month, the National Security Committee has met on this matter 18 times, many times a day on occasions. And I want to thank them for their leadership. I want to thank the Chief of the Defence Force, Angus Campbell, and the many other brave souls at DFAT and Kathryn Campbell and Michael Pezzullo at the Department of Home Affairs and all of their offices. This is a sombre day. It's a day when we are reflecting on, yes, the evacuation of some 4,100 people out of Kabul and one of the biggest evacuation operations that Australia has ever been engaged in, in these types of circumstances. And we've done that and have got all of our people who are engaged in that out safely as well, is a credit to them and all those who have led them at an operational level. But we are equally reminded on our departure, at the terrible circumstances that are present in Afghanistan by that cowardly and ugly and evil attack that we've seen and it reminds us, that we will continue to stand every single day with our partners and allies. The United States, the United Kingdom, as they stand in the cause of freedom, so we will too always.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
26 August 2021
Prime Minister: Well, good morning everyone. I’m joined by the Foreign Minister and the Health Minister. Today has been another day of hope. Yesterday, 335,420 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were administered here in Australia. Another record day. Records that give us the hope that the national plan can take us to where we want to be. That means bringing the country together. It means being able to join with other Australians as we go through the balance of this year. It means businesses having the confidence to be able to know that they can come through, and that their financiers and their investors can have that same confidence that people will be able to get those hours back and go back to work. That people can get on the bus again and on the tram again and go to work. That performers can get on the stage at live venues again. That people can gather in restaurants, and they can do it not just for a couple of days or a couple of weeks, but know that that can be their life again going forward, and we can have the certainty.
Our national plan is a safe plan. It’s the safe plan to ensure that Australia can open up again with confidence. Eighteen million people have now had, sorry, 18 million doses have now been administered in Australia, 1.9 million in the past week alone. Fifty-five per cent have had their first dose, and we will finish this week with more than a third of Australians having had both doses, and that has increased significantly in the last two months. We keep that pace up over the next two months and we’re really going to make a big dent in this.
I want to make clear very also, I want to make clear also - and I will do so after I’ve touched on the very important matters in Afghanistan - 12 to 15-year-olds in Australia will be vaccinated. And, later today the National Security Committee of Cabinet - which meets on COVID matters specifically - will be considering that plan, coming forward from General Frewen, which is consistent with the interim advice we have received from ATAGI. We’re expecting final advice from ATAGI very, very soon. And, that will enable us to move forward with the vaccination of 12 to 15-year-olds. There’s 1.2 million across Australia, and you can see that when we can get 1.8 million doses done in just a week, then the task of ensuring that we can also, in parallel, vaccinate 1.2 million 12 to15-year-olds and achieve the levels that we would need to achieve there, is a task that is certainly well within the capability of the vaccination program. So, it is a safe plan and we’re proceeding with it.
It’s also pleasing to know that the South Australian home quarantine pilot is now underway in South Australia, and I want to thank Premier Marshall for the great work he’s done there.
Turning to the very serious issues in Afghanistan, and particularly at Kabul. It remains a highly dangerous environment. That danger, those risks have been increasing each and every day, as we always knew they would, and that’s why we have been moving with the haste that we have. Overnight, around 1,200 people were evacuated from Kabul on six Australian flights and one New Zealand flight. They included Australians, Afghans and other nationals. That means, in total, around 4,000 people have been able to be evacuated as a result of this operation in some 29 flights over the last eight days. Now, that is probably more than three times what we would have anticipated when I was standing before you here with the Foreign Minister just over a week ago, and I want to thank all of those who have been putting themselves at great risk in Kabul, in particular the men and women of our ADF, those from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Department of Home Affairs. There are a large number who are now accommodated at AMAB, and we thank the United Arab Emirates for their great support in ensuring that we’ve been able to bring people safely there.
There are two further transfer flights that are scheduled to depart AMAB today, one arrived this morning. 639 people who have been evacuated from Afghanistan are already now here in Australia, including the 220 who arrived earlier today. Australian citizens, residents and pre-visaed Afghan nationals are the priority for those transfer flights back to Australia. And, the Department of Home Affairs will continue the additional processing that is required for those we’ve uplifted out of Afghanistan, with temporary visas, and we will do further processing at AMAB before their transfer to Australia.
I want to thank the states and territories for their support in making sure that we have the quarantine space available for them to be returned to Australia - that operation will now run for many days yet - and the quarantine arrangements and the reception facilities that we have here. There has been an almost zero level of COVID that we’ve seen in those tested who’ve returned to Australia out of Afghanistan. But, it isn't just COVID that we have to provide for. What we have to provide for, as you can imagine, the severe trauma that people have been going through over these many months, and particularly the circumstances prior to their departure. And, we’ve been closely with those who are expert in this area to ensure the psychological and other support that is needed for people who are being transferred back to Australia is there to help them adjust, in many cases, to their new life in Australia, and for those residents and citizens who are returning, to help them to adjust to what has been an incredibly harrowing experience.
So, those operations remain in place, they continue even now, but the situation is deteriorating. And, we will continue to operate safely, but paramount in our operations is ensuring the safety of those Australians who are directly involved in the evacuation effort. Marise?
Senator the Hon. Marise Payne, Minister for Foreign Affairs: Thanks very much, Prime Minister, and let me start by reiterating our gratitude to those Australian officials who are working and continue working to evacuate Australians, as well as Afghans holding Australian visas.
As the Prime Minister said, we have now evacuated about 4,000 people from Kabul during the current operation. That includes Australian and New Zealand nationals and visa holders, and also citizens of other countries. And, our cooperation with other countries, including New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, has been very important in achieving this outcome.
We changed our travel advice early this morning. Our clear travel advice is now, do not travel to Hamid Karzai International Airport, and if you’re in the area of the airport, move to a safe location and await further advice. Afghanistan remains highly volatile and dangerous. Be aware of the potential for violence and security threats with large crowds. There is an ongoing and very high threat of terrorist attack. That is the revised travel advice which we have issued. It is consistent with revised travel advices issued by both New Zealand and the United Kingdom in recent hours.
Throughout this process, the Prime Minister and I have consistently emphasised that this is a highly volatile and dangerous environment. All the way through this, our priority has been the safety of Australians, including our officials, our citizens, our local employees and families. But, we must listen to reports of credible threats. That is why we have issued a revised travel advice.
Can I, I can also confirm, as the Prime Minister said, that we have been able to bring 639 of those 4,000 evacuees back to Australia, including that flight into Brisbane this morning. So, we now have Afghan evacuees in Perth, in Melbourne, in Adelaide and in Brisbane. We thank those states for accommodating those evacuees and we welcome them to Australia.
We continue to coordinate closely with our allies and our partners, and we do understand that this is an extremely distressing situation for Australians, Australian family members still in Kabul, people with visas, and for family and friends who are here in Australia. We remain focused on the safe evacuation from Afghanistan for as many Australians and visa holders as possible, for as long as possible. Access to Hamid Karzai International Airport is extremely limited, it is extremely challenging in terms of checkpoints, difficulties in those processes, particularly through restrictions imposed by the Taliban on the movement of Afghan nationals, and this has been a difficult period for Australian officials. The fact that they have seen 4,000 take to the air to be evacuated from Kabul has been their motivation to keep going, and they are still doing that.
Prime Minister: Thank you Marise, and Greg on COVID.
The Hon. Greg Hunt MP, Minister for Health and Aged Care: Thanks very much, Prime Minister and Marise. A record day of vaccinations, as the Prime Minister said - 335,000 vaccinations and now over 18 million doses delivered. Very significantly, what we’ve seen is 6.7 million doses in 30 days - Melbourne, Adelaide, Wollongong in 30 days. And, so, these are real numbers that are bringing safety and protection and hope to all Australians everywhere. That, this message that each dose protects the individual, but every dose protects all of us, is a profoundly important message to Australians across the country. We’re closing on 10 million primary care doses - our GPs, our pharmacists, our Indigenous medical services, they’re doing an amazing job, and I want to thank them in particular. They have worked tirelessly.
In addition to that, our over 50s now - 76.7 per cent, over 60s - 81.6 per cent, and our over 70s - 86.2 per cent. And, in the epidemiology update I had this morning from the Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly, what that showed is that in the New South Wales outbreak, this is leading to very different outcomes from a year ago in Victoria. You know, challenges, of course, but the vaccinations are saving lives and protecting lives.
Prime Minister: Thank you.
Journalist: Prime Minister, by what date will 12 to 15-year-olds have the opportunity to be vaccinated, and given the transmissibility of Delta has cast doubt on Doherty’s advice that they don’t change the outcome of the modelling, why not include them in the national targets?
Prime Minister: Well, on the first point, as you said, the plan for the vaccination of 12 to 15-year-olds will be considered by the National Security Committee of Cabinet on COVID matters later today, and I’ll be advising the Government's decisions on that to the National Cabinet tomorrow for proceeding with that plan, so there’ll be more details following, you would expect, after that plan has been considered, decisions made, and then we can advise accordingly. So, there will be further advice following on that.
But, I want to be very clear, we understand, particularly for parents with 12 to 15-year-olds, they want to know, they want to know, firstly, that any vaccine that they would have would be backed in by the expert advice that those vaccines can be provided to 12 to 15-year-olds. Now, we have some interim advice, which is very favourable on that score, but we expect the final advice very soon to be consistent with that, and that enables us to move forward with the plans that are being prepared now for some weeks. And, as I said, we’ll confirm those later today, as a National Security Committee of Cabinet, and make further announcements about that at the appropriate time.
In relation to the other matter you raise, no, I don't share your view, and the Doherty Institute have also made their own comments on the assertions made in the question, so I’ll refer you to their comments about their own modelling. And, what they have been saying, what they have consistently said to the National Cabinet and to the Federal Government, in particular, that the rates of vaccination across the broader population over 16 give us the indication of the level of vaccination ready needed to be able to move to Phase B and Phase C. But, that does not by implication say there is no need to vaccinate children 12 to 15. And, that will be a very clear decision of my Government that we will need to go ahead and vaccinate children 12 to 15. And, so, these two objectives are not working against each other, I see them working completely together with each other. And, there are different rates of vaccination in the Doherty modelling, those who are very familiar with it will know that as you go across the age cohorts, as to understanding what their expectation is of what does 70 per cent overall look like, what does 80 per cent overall look like, there are different rates of vaccination by different age groups. And, obviously those who have the highest rates of vaccination in those scenarios are those who are in the older age groups, who are the most vulnerable to death. And, as the Health Minister has just observed, the fact that we have had in aged care facilities double dose vaccination rates now, of I think 84 per cent, and when you compare the terrible fatalities we saw last year in the Victorian outbreak compared to the Sydney outbreak this year, it is a factor of eight to one, thereabouts. And, so, the vaccines have clearly been doing their job in protecting people, particularly in residential aged care facilities with the- who are the primary, almost overwhelmingly exclusive casualties of that wave in Victoria last year. So, the vaccination and the vaccines are doing their job, and the fact that one in three Australians over the age of 16, by the end of this week, will be vaccinated, that, we are a long way, we have come forward a long way in these last few months as we’ve dealt with the challenges in the program and achieving what are now world rate performances when it comes to our vaccination as a share of our population. Lanai?
Journalist: Prime Minister, why are you building a quarantine facility in WA at Bullsbrook, three kilometres from a contaminated site, where groundwater won't be able to be used and you’ll have to ship the water in? Would you let your family stay there?
Prime Minister: Well, if we were flying into Perth, and we were quarantining in Perth, and that’s what we had to do, then of course I’d go there, if that’s what was required. The facility that we are now looking at has proven necessary because the one at Jandakot wasn’t able to be secured on the appropriate terms and conditions. And, so, we have moved with another facility that meets the national guidelines that we’d set out for getting that program moving forward. Mark.
Journalist: Prime Minister, Premier Pałaszczuk has just announced that she will fund the quarantine facility at Wellcamp because your Government won't, and that she will use it as a replacement for hotel quarantine, not as an addition to that. What’s your response?
Prime Minister: Well, she's been at liberty to do that for months. We've made it very clear that that facility did not seek to meet the national guidelines. And that's why we're going together, forward together at Pinkenba. But the Queensland Government was always in a position to go ahead with that facility, if that's what they wish to do and to have people quarantine there rather than in hotel facilities. That is entirely a matter for the Queensland Government. And they've made that decision. And they could have done that months ago if that's what they wished to do. But good for them. And I wish them every success.
Journalist: [inaudible] video that’s come out overnight of an Australian citizen being bashed by the Taliban and perhaps to you and to Marise Payne, what efforts are being made to contact that fellow, poor fellow, and ensure that his safety and possibly getting get him out, as difficult as that might be?
Prime Minister: Well, I'll give you a general response, because it is our view that providing specific responses on individual cases is not helpful to individuals. So I'll give you a general response. And that is the efforts that we've put in place over the course of just over a week has ensured that around 4,000 people have been evacuated from Kabul. And that gives you an indication of how seriously the government has moved and taken great risk to achieve the evacuation of so many people in very similar circumstances to the ones that you've outlined. And so in so many cases, we have been able to evacuate people in these circumstances. It is a highly dangerous situation. We have been very honest about the nature of these challenges and the likelihood of being able to achieve everything we would hope to achieve. But we have to deal with the reality, the terrible, brutal and awful reality of the situation on the ground.
Now, I have not sought to overstate expectations about this operation at any step. And I've been very clear and I've been very honest and I've been very candid about that. And that is difficult for the government to be daily making decisions. As I said, the National Security Committee has been meeting every single day and on many occasions more than once, to be looking at very specific circumstances and what can be done in various situations. And many actions have been taken, not ones that I can go into in a press conference like this. But I can assure you where anywhere we've been able to make to make it possible to get people out, we have been doing that. And there are 4,000 people who can testify to the actions of the government, the Defence Forces, Department of Home Affairs officials and DFAT officials that have been able to achieve a result that, compared to where we were last week, has so far exceeded our expectations about what we hoped we might be able to achieve. Marise?
Senator the Hon. Marise Payne, Minister for Foreign Affairs: Thanks, Prime Minister. And Andrew, those scenes are obviously deeply distressing and they have unfortunately been replicated on a number of times in the last days and week in relation to a whole range of of individuals trying to seek evacuation. We have worked very closely with their advocates, with their families, using countless telephone calls, countless direct contacts to try to bring them to points where they have been able to to access Hamid Karzai International Airport in the days before we came to the point we're at today. I understand, as Prime Minister said and agree, that commenting on specific cases really only exacerbates the danger that those people face. And the exposure that that gives them is not helpful. But we have tried very, very hard, 24/7, literally, to make sure we are dealing with as many of those individual cases as possible. I have seen, heard reports of the attacks on women, attacks on children, threats at checkpoints, invasions of transports where children and families have been threatened in those transports as they've been trying to get to the airport. The complexity of this is is significant, but we are trying to contact, as many have tried to contact and continue to do so of those people as we can.
Journalist: Given the airport is the only way out of Kabul, how, should you be bracing Australians for the fact that we may not get any more people out now? Could 4,000 be as far as we go if that security situation doesn't improve? And what is your concern that the people in Afghanistan right now are far more scared of a life under the Taliban and might think that the risk of a terror attack at the airport is one worth taking? Are you concerned that even with this advice, people will not heed it?
Prime Minister: Well, I think you've set out the situation very well, Clare. And for more than a week now, I believe I have been preparing Australians about the difficulty of this operation and the extreme moral hazard of the environment in which we're operating. I said we'll do everything we possibly can to get as many people out as safely as we can. And so far, that has seen around 4,000 safely evacuated from one of the most dangerous parts of the world. And that has been done by Australians who have been putting themselves at great risk, for whom I also have a very personal responsibility as Prime Minister to do everything I can to ensure that I am asking them to do things that are done on the basis of that balance of risk and putting putting their safety very high, extremely high in our assessments. And that is why we have been meeting together as a National Security Security Committee so regularly, because these assessments are having been done many, many times a day to ensure that we are not putting our people in positions of unacceptable risk in these circumstances, but equally taking the necessary risks to save lives. And that is what we've been doing. So I would say to Australians that when the time comes, when the operations are no longer able to be safely conducted, that we can say honestly to them that Australians have done all that we possibly could have done in these circumstances to get as many people out as safely as possible. And the result of that is more than, it will be more than 4,000 by that time. And so many Afghan nationals who have helped us being settled here and making their life in this country as very welcome Australians ultimately, which I'm sure they'll take up that opportunity when it's provided to them. Chris.
Journalist: [inaudible], the Brits have said that they might go out a day before that. So that time is coming soon, isn't it? Do you have any time on when the Australians might go? Would you go sooner than the Americans go?
Prime Minister: I won't be making any comments on that because of the nature of our operations and the security of those operations.
Journalist: [inaudible] have gone into this detail, which is why I'm asking you, what engagement has Australia or its departments had directly with the Taliban or their representatives and in particular to assure that Australians are able to be assured of safe passage out of the country? Because we're seeing the opposite now.
Senator the Hon. Marise Payne, Minister for Foreign Affairs: Australia has been working with our international partners, who particularly the United States and the United Kingdom, who are engaging directly with the Taliban. Let me be very clear in terms of what we expect. The Taliban has made a range of undertakings. And in relation to people seeking to leave Afghanistan, including Australians and Australian visa holders, we would expect those undertakings to be met and to allow those people, our citizens and our Australian visa holders to depart safely if they wish to do so. But our travel advice remains that you should not come to Hamid Karzai International Airport because it is not safe to do so, and that if you are in Kabul, you should shelter in place, move to a safe location and await further advice. For those Australians and for those visa holders who are in Afghanistan, can I also advise that through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, through the Department of Home Affairs, those individuals will continue to be contacted by those agencies as relevant in each case. And those who have been granted temporary safe haven sub-class 449 visas in recent days will be contacted with specific advice about what they should do when it is safe to do so. And we encourage people in Afghanistan who don't have a visa and would like to seek Australia's assistance to also apply under that humanitarian programme. We will work with the International Organisation for Migration, the IOM and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, as we've discussed here earlier in the week, to provide humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan and in neighbouring countries. This will be a collaborative, cooperative international process and Australia will be called to that in terms of supporting Afghanis who wish to come to Australia and who qualify under the visas to do so.
Prime Minister: It's a very important point. We will be moving to a post evacuation resettlement phase and we are already working through those plans with other partners about how that can be achieved. It won't be easy, but these are situations that have been faced on many other occasions where people have been seeking our humanitarian support through our formal programme. And so already plans are underway to how we will then move into the next phase. Right now, we're seeking to get people out of Kabul and then we will move post that mission to the next phase, which would see us resettle additional people not just this year, but in the many years ahead. We've got time for one more.
Journalist: We know the vaccine, just back to vaccine rollout, we know that the rollout has been lagging for some of our most vulnerable communities, for NDIS participants, for indigenous communities. Do you think we need to rethink the national plan so that we don't just move to the next phases at 70 per cent and 80 per cent of population wide coverage, but rather when we also have much higher rates for those incredibly vulnerable cohorts?
Prime Minister: I understand the question and I understand the concern that many Australians will have that at 70 per cent and 80 per cent, even at those general average levels, that means 20 and 30 per cent of the population over 16 will still be unvaccinated. And you were right to note that there will be other cohort sections of the population which will have differing rates of vaccination as well. The Doherty analysis takes that into account in the recommendations that it has made. And that is why I have noted on many, many occasions that measures will remain available to protect particularly vulnerable populations with stronger restrictions that may be necessary to protect those particular populations in those cases. So highly targeted actions and things of that nature - that is contemplated in the national plan. The national plan contemplates and understands the need to continue to address the most vulnerable in the community, and it is a dynamic plan to that extent that it understands that there is just not one homogenous population in Australia. What the overall levels of vaccination targets indicate, though, is that when you reach that level of vaccination, like you do with any immunisation, you know, the immunisation against serious infectious diseases doesn't just protect the vaccinated, it actually protects the unvaccinated as well. And that's why you have to lift your vaccination levels to those scales, 70 and 80 per cent. Let's not forget that even at 70 per cent, which is an easing in, to the full 80 per cent measures, that is still a mark higher than most of the other countries, if not all, that have gone into their next phase, be it in the UK or other places. We have actually set the mark generally higher and higher again for the 80 per cent and also acknowledging that in our most vulnerable populations, which is the elderly population, we'll be seeing vaccination rates double doses well in excess of 80 and even 90 per cent. But where there are particular groups such as indigenous communities and groups like that, then the plan absolutely and totally is designed to ensure that specific protections are provided in and around those communities where those challenges present. So the plan actually accommodates exactly the thing that you're raising, and I'm very pleased it does, because that has been a consistent concern of my Government and the National Cabinet more broadly. But Greg, did you want to add?
Journalist: [inaudible] provide one or two examples of what these highly targeted precautions might be? What are we talking about in practical terms?
The Hon. Greg Hunt MP, Minister for Health and Aged Care: If I may. Two things in particular. The most vulnerable population, as we've seen around the world is those in residential aged care. The residential aged care first dose outcomes at this stage are 88.4 per cent and 84 per cent for second dose. Those are extraordinary levels of protection. And so we'll continue to maintain an absolute focus on those elderly. And that's now backed up with an 86 per cent plus first dose for the over 70 population. That is the single most vulnerable set of people, those in residential aged care and those who are over 70. In terms of indigenous Australia, what we've seen is an extraordinary acceleration. We stood here with Ken Wyatt only a week and a half ago and he pointed out that there had been very significant hesitancy, but what we are seeing now is is a complete change of mindset across Indigenous Australia and Ken and so many others have worked to to change that. That's being backed up with the uptake of vaccination. And so what I am confident of is that we are seeing and will continue to see a very significant acceleration of vaccination. In New South Wales, for example, 44 ACCHS, 574 primary care sites in, across Australia, what we see is 159 Aboriginal medical services and over 2,000 primary care sites, all of which are working to support the indigenous population. They're coming forward. And then another example is, which has been put forward by the West Australian Government, is the mining companies who will vaccinate both their own workers on site, but also provide additional support for indigenous communities who may not have taken up opportunities so far. So this is a very comprehensive plan. Important question, but the most vulnerable are protected at the highest level, Indigenous Australia. I'm really pleased to say that the uptake is accelerating.
Prime Minister: I'll just finish on this. I want to say thank you to the 335,000 Australians who turned up yesterday as we continue on this march of hope to 70 per cent and 80 per cent of our population over the age of 16 vaccinated. And I want to convey a very special thank you on behalf of all Australians for those brave souls who are there in Kabul right now evacuating people who need us more than at any other time in their lives. Thank you for your service. Thank you.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
23 August 2021
Prime Minister: Thank you, everyone. I'm joined by the Foreign Minister and the Minister for Health again today. We had another successful set of operations last night with four flights. I'll ask the Minister of Foreign Affairs to give you an update on that in a little time from now. Also today in the Parliament, we'll be moving a motion and speaking to it, recognising, of course, the service of Australian men and women who have sacrificed much to serve over the 20 years of our engagement in Afghanistan and also to recognise who continue to serve there right now in the midst of a very dangerous situation as we continue our operations to evacuate both Australians and Afghan nationals for visa holders in Australia and working with our our many partners around the region.
I want to make a number of comments first about our national plan to ensure that we can live with this virus. The national plan we have developed and agreed is our pathway to living with this virus. That is our goal, to live with this virus, not to live in fear of it. It is a plan based on the best possible scientific, medical and economic advice, I would argue, available to any government in the world. We have the best people working on these issues, and it's based on the best evidence that is available to our Government. It is a plan that has been developed very carefully. And I want to stress over many, many months. We began this process earlier this year. We've been through two iterations of the Doherty modelling to produce the national plan targets that were agreed a month or so ago. And indeed, as you will recall, the national plan was first agreed without those targets attached to it, understanding what the steps would need to be. And then with the science guiding our decisions about what those targets should be.
We've been cautious during the pandemic. And that has saved lives and it has saved livelihoods. There's no doubt about that. 30,000 lives saved, a million people back in work as we have combated this virus in all of its strains over this more than 18 months now. But once you get to 70 per cent of your country that is eligible for the vaccine and 80 per cent, the plan sets out that we have to move forward. We cannot hold back. Our task between that day and now is to ensure that we ready ourselves for that next phase. It means that we must continue to vaccinate at the record pace as we are now doing that. We must ensure that our public health systems are ready for the increase in the number of cases that will occur. We must be clear about the rules, the common sense rules that continue to apply post 70 per cent and post 80 per cent, which is factored in to the work that is being done. That has been the basis of our plan. Common sense rules. And we must adjust our mindset. Cases will not be the issue once we get above 70 per cent. Dealing with serious illness, hospitalisation, ICU capabilities, our ability to respond in those circumstances, that will be our goal. And we will live with this virus as we live with other infectious diseases. That's what the national plan is all about, was always about. That's how we designed it and that's how it needs to be implemented. Because the national plan is our deal with all Australians. It is the understanding that we have with Australians making their sacrifices now, and who have made them over such a long time, that that sacrifice will get them to the next step, because if not at 70 per cent and 80 per cent, then when? Then when? We must make that move and we must prepare to make that move and we must prepare the country to make that move. The lockdowns now being endured are taking an extremely heavy toll. Both on the mental and physical health of Australians and on the economic success of Australia. It is taking a heavy toll, and so they must only continue for as long as they are absolutely necessary and not a day more.
It is always darkest before the dawn, and I think these lockdowns are demonstration of that, but the dawn is not far away and we are working towards that dawn and we are hastening towards the dawn. We should not delay it. We should prepare for it. We should not fear it. We should embrace it. And we should move forward together. There will be those who will seek to undermine the national plan. There will be those who will seek to undermine confidence in it. I think their motives are clear. But there are also those who may fear it. And have concerns about what it means when you get to Phase B and what that means in terms of increases in cases. Our goal must be to help people overcome those fears and not give in to them. Because this cannot go on forever, this is not a sustainable way to live in this country, without those freedoms that we all cherish. We understand, all sensible Australians understand, that there has had to be restrictions. There has had to be a curtailment of what we can do during the course of a global pandemic. The virus doesn't respect ideologies. It doesn't respect any of these things. It's just a virus and we have to deal with it. Australians get that. But equally, they also know there has to be a plan out. There is a plan out, and we need to move forward with that plan.
These lockdowns, once we reach our goal, we know on the scientific, medical and economic advice, do more harm than good. And so it's important that we move as quickly as we can to that next phase. And there is strong progress towards that plan. The Health Minister will outline more of this in a moment. 1.8 million vaccines in just the last seven days on a per capita basis. That's on par with the best ever week in the United States and better than the best ever week in the United Kingdom. Australia is hitting those records. In particular, 17.15 million doses have now been administered around the country, and I want to stress that 75 per cent of over 50s have now had their first dose, 85 per cent of over 70s have now had their first dose. Now, this is very important because when we reach 70 per cent, and I had this conversation with the Chief Medical Officer this morning, when we reach 70 per cent, those most vulnerable in the older age groups will have an even higher level of vaccination. And so our concern, of course, in those phases is for the unvaccinated. And that's why we encourage everybody to get vaccinated, but we will know when we hit that 70 per cent and the 80 per cent mark, we will see an even higher level of vaccination rates amongst the most elderly who are the most vulnerable to fatality as a result of COVID-19. So we have the plan. We are making great progress to achieve the goals of that plan. And that's what I think gives Australians great hope to endure through what will still be a difficult time in the months ahead. We need to stay focused. We need to get ready and we need to move ahead.
Now, just briefly, before I pass over to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, last night there were four further flights. One is still in the air, returning to AMAB now. Over 450 people we've been able to evacuate overnight. That brings to over a thousand people together with the United Kingdom, we've been able to evacuate over the course of these operations. And I want to note that that includes not only Australians, but includes a large number of Afghan locally engaged employees and humanitarian visa holders that we've been able to get out of the country. In addition to that, there are many women and children that we've been able to get out of Afghanistan in what has been some of the most extreme conditions our people have ever operated on, operated in, if not worse. And I want to thank them for the work they're doing on the ground. Incredibly difficult work under extraordinary stress. Decisions they're having to make, the care they're having to provide has been truly extraordinary in the best Australian tradition. We have been able over the course of the last few days, and I can't go into too much detail about this, but working with other countries and continuing to do that to expand the ways we're being able to process people to get more people into the airport and onto planes, we will continue to do that in partnership with our with our allies who are working there and ensure that we can get greater uplift in the days we still have remaining as part of these operations. But with that, I'll pass you over to Minister for Foreign Affairs and then the Minister for Health and Aged Care.
Senator the Hon. Marise Payne, Minister for Foreign Affairs: Thanks, PM, and thanks for that acknowledgement of the teams on the ground from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, from Home Affairs, the Australian Border Force and the ADF. As indeed as we've seen from reporting, as we know from our people on the ground, this is a situation that remains extremely volatile and very dangerous. Our top priority continues to be ensuring that safe departure of Australian citizens and visa holders and also working with our friends and partners to support one another's evacuation operations. The most significant challenge continues to be access to Hamid Karzai International Airport. The north gate has been closed for many hours, although we have been able to continue to get people into the airport, our officials on the ground are literally in constant discussions with the US, with NATO representatives about the best ways to move people into the airport. And as the Prime Minister has said previously, the National Security Committee of Cabinet is meeting every day on these matters.
Our continued focus is on bringing out every Australian and Australian visa holder that we possibly can and supporting those vulnerable Afghanis as well to to move if we possibly can. There is, as you will have now seen from public reporting, a discussion going on about the prospect of the United States extending its withdrawal deadline. We are part of those discussions. And if they are to be extended, we are absolutely ready to support a continuing operation at Hamid Karzai International Airport. In the last 24 hours, we have evacuated over 450 people from Kabul on those four ADF flights, including Australian and New Zealand citizens, UK evacuees, Afghan locally engaged employees and visa holders. And since the 18th of August, that total is over 1,000 people again, including Australia and New Zealand nationals, those visa holders and foreign nationals.
The key to this is the cooperation we are strongly engaged in across every element of the activities, evacuating not just Australians and Afghan visa holders for Australia, but people on behalf of the United Kingdom, the United States and New Zealand. One of our ADF flights on the 21st of August carried 210 people uplifted on behalf of the United Kingdom. More flights are planned over the coming days, subject to operational conditions. A chartered plane transporting 175 evacuees made up of Australians, Australian visa holders and passengers evacuated on behalf of New Zealand arrived this morning in Melbourne. That takes our total number of passengers returned to Australia who have been through the Al Minhad process to 271. I want to acknowledge and thank the many colleagues, senators and members right across the Parliament who are advocating for and supporting so many vulnerable people who are attempting to get to the airport in Kabul and inside the airport. The Defence, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Home Affairs and Defence teams are all working to support this effort and to evacuate as many as possible. We have, significant information are being shared amongst parliamentarians, with the departments, with my office, and that is helpful to us and very helpful to the teams on the ground. It is certainly an absolutely punishing environment and complex environment for those trying to get to Hamid Karzai International Airport and to get into the airport. And for those helping them. I think it's fair to say, Prime Minister, that we are thinking of them all.
The Hon. Greg Hunt MP, Minister for Health and Aged Care: Thank very much, Prime Minister and Marise. Every vaccination protects one Australian, but every vaccination protects all Australians. And what we have seen is that yesterday was a record Sunday vaccination day. It was a record weekend. As the Prime Minister said, it was a record week. And each one of those vaccinations protects an individual. But each one of those vaccinations is something that helps protect all Australians. Yesterday, 139,500 Australians were vaccinated, the first time that more than 100,000 people have been vaccinated on a Sunday. But by a long way, on the weekend, 335,500 vaccinations. Over the week, 1,800,011 Australians were vaccinated, which is more than the population of South Australia. And I want to thank everybody for coming forward. These numbers, as the Prime Minister has said, are comparable with some of the highest weekly numbers we've seen around the world. In particular, this was the first time our GPs have done more than a million doses in conjunction with pharmacists over a week. So our primary care outlets, more than a million doses. Our first doses are at 52.8 per cent, our second doses 30.3 per cent, and very significantly over 50s, more than 75 per cent over 60s, more than 80 per cent, over 70s more than 85 per cent. And all of those numbers are progressively increasing. Just to note that there's over 8,200 Commonwealth points of presence, including 5,288 GPs who are vaccinating, 137 Commonwealth Vax clinics, 182 Aboriginal community controlled health organisation sites, and now over 2,500 pharmacies that are out in the field and vaccinating. Each one of those is a Commonwealth AstraZeneca hub. And so just as we look forward this week, there's more than 2.2 million vaccines that have been distributed for use by Australians right now. And over the coming week, we'll be distributing over 2.4 million vaccines for the week beyond. So what that says is that the supply is strong, the distribution is strong, and the uptake is phenomenal. So thank you to every Australian. But please remember the basics. If you are in a lockdown area, stay at home. If you need to be tested, please be tested. And if you're eligible for vaccination, don't hesitate.
Journalist: [Inaudible] Andrew Barr said that he thought Josh Frydenberg was bluffing when he said the Commonwealth would pull assistance for states and territories that lockdown down when vaccination rates reached 70 to 80 per cent. He said that effectively said that your government would not have the political courage to do that in an election year. So can we hear from you, if states and territories do lock down when those thresholds are met, will they have to do it without Commonwealth financial support?
Prime Minister: Well, you’re putting to me a hypothetical situation, with respect. Why wouldn't people want to open up the country when we hit 70 and 80 per cent? That’s my, that’s my point. We’ve agreed a national plan at 70 and 80 per cent based on the best possible medical advice, best possible scientific advice, and best possible economic advice. We have been told very clearly that lockdowns, once you move past that level, come at more cost than gain. And so, it does puzzle me, it puzzles me why anyone would want to go against a plan that has been so carefully prepared based on that advice. So, I think the greater concern in that environment would be that lockdowns would be being applied. That is the greater risk to people in that scenario.
Journalist: Prime Minister, it’s a fair enough question. We’re already seeing Western Australia suggest that they’re prepared to continue with COVID zero. We’ve seen Queensland, as your Minister Karen
Andrews has said this morning, crab walking away from the deal. Are you prepared to show the fortitude and turn off the money tap if they don't open up the door, borders?
Prime Minister: We’re very committed to the national plan and I tell you what, I think Australians are too.
Journalist: Will you turn off the money tap?
Prime Minister: I think seven and to eight out of 10 Australians who’ve taken a decision to go forward, get vaccinated, endure these lockdowns, do what’s been asked of them, I tell you they’ll be expecting that plan to be put in place. And, I think the voices of Australians on this will be very critical. So, let's just see what happens.
Journalist: Prime Minister, you said last week you were shocked at the suggestion someone deployed to Afghanistan could be at all involved in the Brereton inquiry, but there are reports today that someone who was involved in that inquiry has been deployed to Afghanistan. What is your response to that? Is that.
Prime Minister: I won’t make any comment on that.
Journalist: You said that there were people who would seek to undermine the national plan. Are you referring to states like Queensland and WA which have been stepping around, and will you expect them to open up the borders to New South Wales once we hit those 70 and 80 per cent vaccination rates?
Prime Minister: Well, I wasn't specifically referring to anybody. I’m just saying, you know, I’ve been around this place for a long time and when governments put forward plans to get things done there are always those who will seek to undermine it for their own purposes. That happens in this place every day. I suspect it will happen later on in Question Time today. But, my point is simply this, there are a number of things we have to overcome as we go forward with the plan. Of course, there will be those who will undermine it for political purposes, and there’s no great surprise about that and Australians will judge them accordingly. But, I think there are, I mentioned one particularly, and that there are those who might fear what would happen after 70 per cent, and I understand that. I understand people will be concerned that cases may rise, and what will that mean. And, that leads to the next issue, and that is there’ll be those, well, will our public health systems be able to deal with that. Again, a very legitimate issue. So, that's my point. To realise the plan at 70 per cent and 80 per cent, the task is not to walk away, the task is not to delay, the task is not to fear, the task is to embrace, prepare, plan, ensure that we are in a position to do that. Now, we’ve got time to achieve that and already we’re seeing our public health system stand up very strongly, and I would envisage that in the time we have between now and when we reach those targets that there will be the opportunity to reinforce those plans, for states and territories to know that they will be able to deal with this, because we have to deal with it. Otherwise, we stay in the cave forever. And, that's not a sustainable solution. And, so, at some point, and we have nominated what that point is, we must go to the next level. Chris.
Journalist: [Inaudible] hospital system. Last year when we were locking down the whole point was to fortify the hospital system, to make sure we had the ICU beds, the ventilators, the consumables. So, perhaps through you to the Health Minister as well, is all that in place? Do we have, cause you’ve noted that case numbers will increase, obviously the pressure will increase, is the hospital system ready?
Prime Minister: Yeah, we review this almost on a daily basis, and we certainly review it as part of the formal process through the National Cabinet every Friday, and the Secretary of the Department of Health goes through that exercise and looks at all the various capacities, right across the states and territories, their current levels of utilisation. There is a document called the ‘Common operating picture’ which looks at many of the pressures that go into this system, and that is regularly reviewed, and that has been happening for a very long time. Because, you’re right, they were the first issues that were identified 18 months ago and we have never taken our gaze off that because, at the end of the day, that is what most supports Australians and provides that backstop. So, you know, workforce issues, plans of supporting in the contingency, circumstances of cases, I don't mean COVID cases, I mean situations where states may need further help or assistance or whatever, that needs to be worked through, in the same way that we work national disasters and things like that nature, and the states work together to bring the resources to where they need to go. That’s the work. That work enables us to live with the virus. Avoiding the day when we hit those rates and I want to stress, I’ve put no faith in a calendar. There’s no freedom day here. That’s not what my plan is. I mean, a day is not going to change it. Seventy per cent’s going to change it. Eighty per cent’s going to change it. That’s the day you get to. That’s what actually drives the decision about when you can go to the next step. Now, I’m all for freedom, and the passage to that is based on clearing those gates of 70 per cent and 80 per cent. What day we will hit that? As soon as we possibly can. But, Greg, did you want to add to that?
The Hon. Greg Hunt MP, Minister for Health and Aged Care: Yeah, so just in terms of the hospital system, last year the states and territories, in conjunction with the Commonwealth, I think did an extraordinary job in building that surge capacity for 7,500 ventilated beds. At the moment, on the advice that I have before me, it’s 36 people in ventilation. That figure will be updated during the morning as the state figures come in. But, what we have done is create both a sustainable base and a surge capacity, and that surge capacity which was put in place last year, these were some of the earliest discussions we had around the NSC in February of 2020 and building that, acquiring the ventilation, working with ResMed, working with international partners means that we have a strong, robust system.
Prime Minister: Clare.
Journalist: Prime Minister, 13 of 17 special forces soldiers have been quietly told that their show-cause notice has been withdrawn. Why wasn't this, in relation to the Brereton inquiry, why wasn't this publicly announced by Government or the Department of Defence given how high-profile the approach was when they were initially accused?
Prime Minister: Well, the points that you make I think are very relevant, and it just goes to show that there are people making assumptions about these issues and shouldn't be making those assumptions, and there is a proper process we've set up to deal with these matters and that will be, that will be followed. What I do know is there are brave Australians in Kabul right now bringing people to freedom. That's what they're doing, and they have my total respect and I'm not going to put up with aspersions being cast against their character, and I don't think other Australians will too. I think they’ll take a very dim view of that approach.
Journalist: Can I clarify something, sorry, just in relation to Afghanistan. We have reports now from a family that say their family member actually was killed working for Australia as an interpreter. They were taken out by the US, they couldn't get on an Australian plane. They’re now in Berlin and they’ve actually been told they may be resettled in Uganda. Is that acceptable to you, and what options would a family like that have for resettlement, and how many other families may be in a similar situation?
Prime Minister: Well, Marise, the Foreign Minister, might want to comment on this as well. We’re evacuating Brits, we’re evacuating New Zealanders, we’ve offered to evacuate nationals and including Afghan visa holders from other countries as well, to get them out. And, so, we’re all working together to get people out. That’s the priority right now, to get people out of Afghanistan. Now, where an individual may have a claim to enter into under Australia's humanitarian program or a locally-engaged employee program, they will be much better able to do that from another place. Now, where they could advance that nomination, they could advance that application. And so, we’ll deal with that on a case-by-case basis. But the key thing is, for any refugee and any person who is seeking to flee persecution, is you get them out of the place of persecution. That's what the, that's what the UNHCR Convention actually provides for, to get people out of a place where they may face persecution. And, that's what's happening right now, not just by Australians who are there serving the interests of, of those who need to get out. But, that's what the British are doing. That's what the Americans are doing. That's what the Germans are doing. That's what the French are doing. That's what so many countries are doing, and we're doing it together. And, so, we will continue to work on where people may ultimately be resettled. And, that is a discussion that I had with Prime Minister Johnson last week, that there will be those who are known and a settlement path can be, can be identified, and there'll be many, particularly as we're noting how we're being very careful about who gets on our planes and we're going through as many proper checks as we possibly can in that environment, but Five Eyes community will need to be, you know, involved in this. One of the issues we discussed last week is not repeating, I think, some of the mistakes of what occurred many years ago after the the surge, irregular movement and indeed illegal movement of people across Europe. And, of course, we've faced that here in Australia. So, we're all conscious of that and doing with that as humanely and as effectively as we can. Marise, did you want to add anything to that?
Senator the Hon. Marise Payne, Minister for Foreign Affairs: Prime Minister, every single country which is operating in Afghanistan right now is trying to remove as many people as they possibly can to the safest place they possibly can. The networks that we have through Home Affairs, through the normal immigration networks, whether it's Five Eyes or into the European Union and other partners, are networks that we will use, following the processes of evacuation, to ensure that we're able to support those who are seeking to come into, seeking to come to Australia.
Journalist: At 80 per cent, there'll still be millions of Australians who aren't vaccinated. Is your message to those who choose not to be vaccinated that they're on their own? But, what about the children who haven't had the opportunity to be vaccinated. Aren't they then being exposed to the risk of catching COVID? What are the long-term health effects on them? And, what about the other people who have medical reasons not to be vaccinated? How do you protect those people?
Prime Minister: Well, let me start with the latter group. They are in the same category as many Australians who can't be vaccinated against many infectious diseases. And, Greg may want to add to that. So, achieving a high level of vaccination across the population is their best protection. That's what actually protects them, and that's why that's important that we, as Greg says, it's not just you you're protecting by getting vaccinated, but it’s certainly others in your own family, in your own community, but particularly the most vulnerable, who, as you rightly say, for medical reasons, may not be able to have vaccinations. And, that's true for every single vaccination. In relation to children, youth, the, we will expect to see a more detailed plan by the end of this week, between General Frewen and the states, about mobilising that vaccination of 12 to 15-year-olds. Now, we'll have plenty of vaccines to do that job, and and we will get about that task, and that is very important to do, along with the broader task of vaccinating to 70 and 80 per cent of the population aged over 16. So, that will be done, and that will be done swiftly. Last week we discussed it. Everybody of the same view, start it as soon as you can and certainly get it done as soon as you can as well. And, so, whether that means school based vaccination programs, family based vaccinations, all of these things are being worked through right now so we can roll that out. And, I see that happening concurrently with the, with the surge towards 70 and 80 per cent.
The last point I'd make, though, is that there is no country in the world, the Chief Medical Officer advised me this morning, who right now is vaccinating children under the age of 12. No one's doing that. And, there are a range of issues that are being worked through, there are a range of trials that we understand that are being undertaken. There is no vaccine that is, has been approved for administering to those under that age group. And, so, I'm sure that Australian parents, me included, I have a 12 year old daughter, who would be wanting to know that all of those boxes are ticked and carefully assessed before we move, and if we move into that phase. But, that will be driven completely by the medical advice on those issues. But, I want to assure all parents, I can assure you that as well as getting 70 and 80 per cent of the population vaccinated for those aged over 16, we are equally, equally ensuring that we address those aged 12 to 15. But, I remind you again of the advice of the Chief Medical Officer the best protection for your children is for you to get vaccinated, your household to get vaccinated, the people that your children come in contact with to get vaccinated. So, I would encourage Australians to do that. Greg, did you want to add anything to that?
The Hon. Greg Hunt MP, Minister for Health and Aged Care: Yeah, so look, just briefly in terms of youth, the bookings open next Monday, so a week from today for the 16 to 39 year olds. Secondly, in terms of 12 to 15 year olds, we already have those who are immunocompromised or with underlying medical conditions. I can announce today, after consultation with General Frewen and in particular Brendan Murphy and and Linda Reynolds this morning, Minister Reynolds, that we will be opening up as of Wednesday for children 12 to 15 with, who are on the NDIS, who have not been qualified as an otherwise underlying medical condition. I think that's an important protection. Linda Reynolds was passionate about this and we're moving to do that. That covers 40,000 children. And, then finally, in terms of the balance of children, 12 to 15, that is with ATAGI. We're expecting advice by the end of the week. We are quietly hopeful that that will be a double green light after the TGA, and then we're ready to, to move on on that advice in the timeframe they recommend.
Journalist: If you choose not to be vaccinated, they’re on their own, right?
Prime Minister: Well, this is why with any vaccination you achieve as high levels as you possibly can, because even those who don't choose to get the vaccine are protected to a degree by the fact that the broader population is, is more generally vaccinated. But, my my plea to them is to protect yourself, protect your family, protect your fellow Australians and please get vaccinated. It’s not a mandatory vaccination policy in this country, except for in very specific circumstances. But, for those who choose not to do that, well, they are putting themselves, based on our medical advice, at personal health risk. And, and so we're providing that opportunity for every Australian to be able to get that vaccine. Whether they choose to do that and thereby take on the greater risks of not being vaccinated, then that is also a choice they're making. Kath.
Journalist: Can I just clarify, in terms of the 70 per cent, are you still happy reopening at 70 per cent if if, if cases at that point are significant enough to make contact tracing less effective? Because the Doherty Report says that if cases are high enough to make contact tracing ineffective, that at 70 per cent prolonged lockdowns may still be necessary. So, what's your position on that?
Prime Minister: Well, the plan talks about are highly targeted and unlikely for lockdowns post 70 per cent, and 80 per cent it goes further than that. And, the advice that we've had from Professor McVernon over the course of the weekend that the starting point does not influence the overall conclusions of the model. There is further sensitivity work that's being done around that. But, the point that we've also been making is that's why we're seeking to constrain as much as possible the number of cases while we're still in a phase where we are now. Phase A is still a suppression phase. There is no conflict between me saying to you that lockdowns, you know, once we hit 70 and 80 per cent, do more harm than good. And, the point right now when we're at our current level, where they remain, are regrettably necessary part of how we're seeking to manage our COVID response. There's no conflict between those two things. That is based on what is occurring and the health situation at those two different points in time. But, the advice that we have to this point is that, of course, we can go ahead with that, because if not at that point, was it at 70.16? Obviously, the issue once you reach those marks is how you manage it beyond that point, and you build your capacity to live with the virus. And, the clear point I'm making to Australians today is that is where we're going. That is where we all want to go. There will be risk attached to it. But, there is also risk by remaining stuck where we are. We have to break this cycle. The national plan is the way to cut through and for us to emerge from that. This groundhog day has to end, and it will end when we start getting to 70 per cent and 80 per cent. Thank you all very much.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
20 August 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, I’m joined by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Health and Aged Care. Those watching who have just been watching the New South Wales Premier will know that there are further restrictions that are being placed in New South Wales, as they seek to make the lockdown work. It’s very important the lockdown works, very important the lockdown works. Of course, there are additional vaccines that have been rolling in this week out of the special allotment we were able to make out of those more than a million doses that we were able to get from Europe. But, that doesn’t take away from the necessity of the lockdown working. And so those measures will add further to that. And I know that in situations when you’re being told of further difficult news that, that can make you feel somewhat disempowered. These events can become quite overwhelming, and I want to encourage people, whether they’re in New South Wales, Victoria, here in the ACT who are affected by these lockdowns, that mental health support is there and is available, and we have surged our resources into those organisations, be it Lifeline, Kids Helpline, and the many other services to ensure that they are there to assist you. The telehealth support that is provided through your GPs for mental health assistance, that’s all there. We’ve had this in place for quite a period of time throughout this pandemic. Ensuring there are important mental health services available to Australians during this pandemic has been a very high priority for my Government, and I appreciate how that’s been added to by states and territories to ensure that people living right across Australia can get that important mental health support that they need and so that is there for you.
But, when you do feel like these events are beyond your control, there are always things that you can do. And, in this case what you can do is of course, you can stay at home. Of course, you can get tested. Of course, that you can go and get vaccinated, and another outstanding day of vaccinations, 120,000 specifically in New South Wales, but over 300,000 again right across the country. Three times the MCG again in just one day. And that is encouraging. Every single one of those vaccinations taking us a step closer to where we want to be. But the other thing you can do is you just get on the phone and you talk to other people, you give them encouragement, you stay connected. Socially, social isolation doesn’t mean there needs to be a lack of connection between people. That’s a physical thing, physical distancing, but we’ve got to maintain the social connection and that’s very important. So, I want to encourage people to do that. Ring your mum, ring your sister, ring your cousin, ring, ring your mates. Stay in contact with each other through the course of these lockdowns.
Delta may have changed the game, but it hasn’t changed the character of Australians, and our resolve to fight and beat this. Delta is a big opponent when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic that we’ve been fighting now for 18 months. But Australians I know are up to that and I’m seeing that every single day as they are going out there, getting vaccinated, doing what they need to do to push through.
But, I want to update you on the serious situation that continues in Afghanistan. I'll make a few other comments on the COVID pandemic, and the Health Minister will add to that as well. Overnight, our airlift operation continued. We continued to strengthen our position on the ground in Kabul. Sixty evacuees were transferred from Kabul to AMAB last night, comprising both Australians and Afghan visa holders. That means that over 160 now in total, 162 have now been evacuated through the various flights that we've been able to run, and the support of the UK Government as well. Ninety-four persons were transferred from AMAB to Perth overnight, where they have now entered quarantine. Further flights are, of course, planned in the days ahead. They will be, of course, subject to weather and slots, and the time on the apron, about 30 minutes. So, it's a very quick operation, got to move very, very fast and the situation on the ground is difficult. And we will continue to work with other nations, other partners in ensuring the airlift of Australians, Afghan nationals who we are seeking to support, and indeed other foreign officials who are seeking to be evacuated out of Kabul.
The situation in Kabul does remain chaotic. We are engaged in constant messaging and contacts wherever we possibly can with those we are seeking to evacuate. Operations of Australian Defence Force or others who were there, beyond the airport, are not possible. They are not able to be undertaken in any way by the Australian Defence Forces. To do so would put them at great risk, with no commensurate benefit. And these are options we obviously consider, and we have considered those matters about how that can be done. We are working closely with the US and the UK forces who are providing that overarching security around the airport, and we're working to make that process of entering into the airport as orderly as you possibly can in a chaotic situation like this. But it is very, very difficult. Our biggest challenge is for people to be able to get to that airport.
We have, there is a large numbers now, we're advised, who are starting to come into Kabul. There are multiple checkpoints that are in place. The Taliban leadership is now moving into the city. On, in the region, at AMAB, we have two C-17s, two C-130s now, one KC-30, the, a refueller, which has already been engaged in operations supporting our partners in the region. And, we have a Defence, regular Defence contracted repatriation flight, which will bring people from AMAB back to Australia.
I've been working with the states and territories, and we'll discuss this this afternoon at National Cabinet, but I'm very pleased that all states and territories are seeking to support this effort, whichever way they can, either in providing directly those quarantine facilities, and all of those who are running them are doing just that. Had some contact with the New South Wales Premier this morning about those issues. And, of course they are, of course they are. Despite the considerable difficulties being faced in New South Wales, all states and territories are stepping up and to provide support to this initiative.
Last night, I spoke to His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Zayed of Abu Dhabi, and I thanked him, thanked him very much for the tremendous support and cooperation that we're getting within the Emirates, for our operations there at AMAB. We have a tremendous relationship with them, and the Crown Prince and I had the opportunity not only to discuss the practicality of those issues last night and express my thanks, but also to discuss the broader situation in Afghanistan and within the region.
I also spoke last night to Prime Minister Johnson about these issues and shared our understanding of the situation on the ground. I thanked him also for the support of the UK the night before last in uplifting those Australians and Afghan visa holders who are coming to Australia through their flight. And, obviously we will return that favour wherever that's asked of. We haven't been asked to do that to this point in time. Many flights are going in and out. People are being able to get people onto those flights. But it is very difficult for people to get through those points, getting into the airport, and we discussed those situations and many others, and I'm happy to answer any questions on those when we come to the question section of this press conference. We also discussed and the fact that we both understand, and there is an understanding of this amongst European leaders as well, the need to address the risk of irregular, illegal movement of people through borders as a result of this crisis, and that the lessons of Syria are understood and, and the situation there is managed effectively. Now, I already made a number of comments about how we're managing those issues here in Australia, with very clear messages to people smugglers. And equally these are matters that are understood in Europe and in the United Kingdom, and they're managing those issues. I had the opportunity to talk last night about our humanitarian program and what we're doing in Australia. As I said, we certainly believe we'll be able to work through around 3,000 this year. But that's a, that's a floor, not a ceiling, and I think we potentially can do more than that. It was good news to the Prime Minister who was unaware that Australia had been running these operations for many years and that some 8,500 Afghans had already come to Australia, in excess of what we'd certainly seen out of the UK in recent times. And so, we are already ahead on that score. And and as a result, we were able to share our learnings about how we undertake that process and ensure the security of that process. And, he was very interested in those issues, and and we will continue to exchange information on those points and ensure that, and not just through the UNHCR, which the Foreign Minister will speak of in a minute, but also through the Five Eyes countries, that we're working together. We're all taking more people, not just immediately to evacuate them from the situation in Afghanistan, but also over a longer period of time, and how we can process individuals who are in these situations and how they can be moved, and how they can eventually be taken to the various countries that are going to receive them and they can begin a new life in those countries.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs spoke last night to the UK Foreign Secretary as well, and the High Commissioner for Refugees at the UNHCR. Australia will be making an initial commitment. The appeal is yet to be established, but we’re just foreshadowing that we’ll be making a commitment of some $5 million to that effort. Other, a number of other countries have made a commensurate commitments, and we will continue to monitor that and the Foreign Minister will update you on the conversation that she had with the High Commissioner last night.
On matters of COVID, 16.5 million doses now in total. 303,304 on a day, 1.7 million in a week, 386,000 of those Polish doses going into arms right now. Those vax facts of 303,000 a day, that's two days over 300,000, that is really hitting the marks that we need to hit for us to achieve the objectives of our national plan. Our national plan is a deal with Australians. It's a deal with Australians. We've said you've, you've persevering the lockdowns. You're taking the instructions. You're making the sacrifices. You're getting tested. You're isolating. You're getting vaccinated. And the national plan is a deal with Australians, which says when we achieve those marks of 70 per cent and 80 per cent, there'll be changes. And I'm committed to that plan. And premiers and chief ministers have signed up to that plan, but they haven't signed up with me. They've signed up with the Australian people. And it's very important that we continue to work that plan in its practical elements as we move into Phase B, once we hit 70 per cent of which we're making very, very strong progress towards.
In particular, I'll just run down, ACT first dose, 57.5 per cent, New South Wales, 56.4 per cent, Tassie, 55.1, Northern Territory, 50.5, VIC’s at 49.9, just about to tick over that 50 per cent mark. South Australia at 48.3, Queensland at 45.2 and Western Australia at 44.6. Overall Australia is 51.02 per cent vaccinated on the first dose, and we're at 28.9 per cent second dose vaccinated around the country.
This afternoon National Cabinet will be meeting, as usual on Friday. I don't propose to be holding a further press conference on that later today. Today, we are basically just having a status report across a whole range of issues. So, not anticipating there being any resolutions today. None are planned for today. It is an update, and to continue work on a number of items that are before us, in particular, working on those exemptions for vaccinated persons, that work continues. But there'll be no resolution of that today. And, but, we have made a lot of progress on the digital support that is available and to be done through state systems to give effect to that. The youth vaccination program, which I know has been a regular issue raised, the Health Minister will speak more to that. We, the, the interim ATAGI advice on vaccination of 12 to 15-year-olds is imminent. We anticipate that that will be finalised over the course of the next week. At the same time, we’ll be talking through, in parallel the programs that will need to be in place at a state and Commonwealth level to support the vaccination of 12 to 15 year-olds. So, we'll have a good discussion about that this afternoon. And the freight code issues have been resolved. So they're the principal matters that will be discussed this afternoon. In the usual way, a summary of, a record of the meeting will be issued later today. But, they’re the main issues that are being discussed, and I don't think there'll be a need to draw you all back here in the late afternoon to go over those matters. And with that, I'll pass you over to the Foreign Minister.
SENATOR THE HON. MARISE PAYNE, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Thanks very much, PM, and as the Prime Minister said, a second ADF flight from Kabul carrying 60 passengers arrived at our Al Minhad Air Base. That was made up of Australians, Afghan visa holders and families, being a third overall flight, after the UK flight that carried the 76 Australians and visa holders. We are also pleased that the first flight to bring passengers to Australia has landed in Perth, and again bringing Australians, Afghan visa holders and family members, including women and children. The nations who are working out of Hamid Karzai International Airport are working very hard to cooperate on some of the most challenging issues, and that cooperation is is vital. There are people in their thousands, as you've seen, crowding around the entrances to the airport. And there have been, unfortunately, injuries as well. And, we have had to address some of those amongst our passenger cohorts too.
It is dangerous. In the last day there have been incidents, there have been warnings of potential incidents. It is very complex and it is very uncertain. We have increased the numbers in our teams on the ground in terms of both the Australian Defence Force, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Home Affairs, and we will continue to do that as required. We are working with the United States led process and with the UK and others on that staging area, as I mentioned yesterday, to facilitate those movements into and through the airport, and continue to discuss that with colleagues.
As the Prime Minister said, I spoke with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab last night in, in London. We are very, very focused on that piece of work that we are able to do together on evacuations, on the arrangements at Hamid Karzai International Airport, on access points and on travel and transit issues to to, to HKIA itself, which continue to be particularly hard to to deal with. That situation is becoming very, very dangerous for, for many. And, we're well aware of that as we are making contact with Australians and visa holders in multiple ways who are intending to and available to travel.
In my conversation with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi last night, we also discussed the issues that the UNHCR is dealing with in Afghanistan. The UNHCR is still in Afghanistan in multiple places and able to continue its work. And, I want to commend those officials of the UNHCR for what they are doing on the ground in extraordinarily difficult circumstances. The High Commissioner, of course, in our conversation recognised both the issues of evacuation and of displacement, both internally displaced people in Afghanistan and those displaced into neighbouring countries. We will work closely with the UNHCR, we’ll work closely with other donors to identify and to respond to what are going to be very pressing, are already, and will continue to be pressing humanitarian needs. And, that strong focus will need to come from, from all of the usual humanitarian donors.
Our bilateral program will focus increasingly on humanitarian outcomes, including in response to the drought, that internal displacement, COVID-19, economic stability, which instability, which will be fiercely exacerbated by recent events. And, we do that work through existing humanitarian partners. That includes UN agencies like the OCHA Managed Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund, the World Food Programme to respond to food security pressures, our support to women and girls, including through the UNFPA, and as the Prime Minister mentioned, the UNHCR efforts to manage internal and external refugee movements. And, so, we have flagged our support, as the Prime Minister’s indicated, for the prospective UNHCR supplementary appeal. When that is formally launched, we will proceed with that contribution. We have over many years invested through the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund that has supported essential services, delivery for health, for education, agricultural and community development through trusted partners. We will work with partners to review those contributions and how they are best administered into the future, particularly including the world multilateral financial institutions, to ensure that the support is reaching the people it needs to reach and is delivered by people that we trust and agencies and organisations that we trust. Thanks, Prime Minister.
THE HON. GREG HUNT MP, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE: Thanks very much, Prime Minister and Marise. In the last 28 days, in four weeks, 5.6 million Australians have been vaccinated. That's the population of Melbourne and Canberra in four weeks. What we're seeing is Australians play their part in the deal. They are stepping forward to be vaccinated in record numbers, and they've helped us move the burden and the weight of the vaccination programme from the fourth quarter to the third quarter. And that's about protection for Australians. But it also brings us closer to those critical benchmarks which the Doherty Institute set out on which the National Cabinet agreed with the Australian public. So that's, I think, immensely heartening. Yesterday, a second consecutive day of over 300,000, as the PM said, and in the last two days, that's the equivalent of Newcastle and Bendigo being vaccinated in two days. So Australians are stepping forward.
Today, we'll pass six million Australians with second doses who are fully vaccinated. And significantly, we're at 84.6 per cent of Australians over the age of 70 have had at least one vaccination, 84.6 per cent of our most vulnerable people have come forward and they're continuing to come forward every day. So that's extremely important. But there's another important point of hope. The TGA has today approved the therapeutic treatment, Sitrovomab. Sitrovomab is a monoclonal antibody. It means it mimics the body's immune system. It is now being considered by the clinical evidence taskforce and it is likely to help about eight to 13 per cent of patients. So it's not a result for everybody, but it's particularly likely to help those who are at risk of progressing to very serious illness. And that's available. That's something that will be able to help patients around Australia. It's being made available. It's expected that from about a week from now that we'll be in a position to ensure that it's used by patients at the instigation of the medical crews. And it's the first, but not the last of the treatments that are likely to have a significant impact on improving prospects.
So, lockdowns, you know, deeply, deeply challenging, but incredibly important. Vaccinations, borders, testing, tracing and treatments, all of these things say this is a moment in history. It's not forever. It's a moment in history. And as the PM said, we have to fight our way through it. We've done an amazing job and we're continuing to do that. And we see that with those vaccination numbers, but more hope and more support. The other thing on that is we are very aware of the mental health challenges. We know that so many people are still doing it very tough in in lockdown or because of other circumstances. And so, you know, dealing with Christine Morgan today, her message was very simple, you're not alone. Reach out if you need help or reach out to somebody you think may need help. It could be a friend. It could be a family member, could be a neighbour. But the telephone is how we bridge the distance. And these are the most important of human things to do. Head to health.gov.au or beyondblue or Lifeline or Headspace. These are all different options.
Finally, just in terms of New South Wales, the ADF is on the ground, they're doing the compliance work, a team of up to 50, the first of the vaccination teams is in place. AUSMAT is in place as of today, the first of the teams. And just to give you a sense, over the coming days, the ADF will be in Dubbo West, Bourke, Warren, Parkes, Narromine, Trangie, Nyngan, Coola, Mudgee, Forbes, Lightning Ridge, and then going on to Bathurst and into Orange, among others. So the help is there, whether you're in one part of the country or any part of the country right now.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, John Howard [inaudible] and his assessment of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, he says that it's been too swift, that a force should have stayed behind to preserve stability. Do you think that Joe Biden got the withdrawal strategy wrong? Have you spoken to the US President? And secondly, if I may, on the 12 to 15 vaccination rollout, once that happens, how much longer will it take to get to the 70 or 80 percent threshold?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, on the first matter, I'm just focused on what we need to do. Now, the President and I have not yet discussed these matters, but there's been close engagement with Secretary Blinken and many others across our administrations to be resolving and working on the issues that are on the ground. We are very appreciative of the fact that both the US and the UK forces are there securing that airport to enable us to undertake the operations we're engaged in. There will be plenty of opportunity for others to make comments about whether this should be done or that should be done, or commentaries whether it's on the United States or others. I don't intend to join that because we're working with a partner and an ally at a very sensitive time to do a very difficult job to bring people to safety. That's my sole focus. I respect the views, of course, of John Howard and many others, and they will make their contributions. And they would also, I have no doubt, understand where my focus needs to be. And that is working with our great ally and friend, the United States, our great ally and friend. There is no more important security, relationship and partnership with Australia than our relationship with the United States. And so we will work through this with them and we will work together with them into the future on securing not only Australia's national security interests in our part of the world and more broadly, but continuing to work together as the United States has always sought to do for a world that favours freedom. Now, the second question, Joe?
JOURNALIST: The 12 to 15 year old vaccinations, once that actually comes through, how much longer will it take to get to those key thresholds?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the recommendation from the Doherty Institute did not include and actually specifically did not include 12 to 15s and did not consider it necessary to be included in those overall vaccination rates to trigger when you can move to the next phases. So when we continue to report figures, it'll be based on the population 16 and above. That's consistent with the advice that they've given and consistent with all the numbers that we've had. The 70 per cent was based on that 16 and above, based on that medical advice. Now, of course, we will move into those other age groups. But I want to stress something the Chief Medical Officer reminded us of all again this morning and that I reminded everyone of last night and yesterday. The best way right now for you to protect your children from contracting COVID-19 is to ensure that you are vaccinated, that you are vaccinated. And that opportunity is right here, right now. That is the medical advice that we've been given both by the Chief Medical Officer and indeed by the scientific advice that has been provided to us by Professor McVernon. But we are working on those plans for how a vaccination programme rollout for 12 to 15s, we still do not have the definitive medical advice from ATAGI on that yet. The interim advice is imminent and that will help with that planning. But I don't anticipate that to be finalised for about another week or so, I'd say Greg, that's what we understand. If it's sooner than that, well and good. But the planning of how it needs to be done for what I'd say is a youth vaccination programme across the country is one that both General Frewen and his counterparts at the state and territory level have been working on now for some time, and we need to run that in parallel, of course, with the national vaccination programme, of which it will form a part, and the key priorities that we have in that programme will remain key priorities.
JOURNALIST: Those thresholds, do you expect all states and territories to ease restrictions at 70 and 80 per cent regardless of what their case numbers are at that point?
PRIME MINISTER: I expect the national deal made with Australians by all leaders of this country that we've said to Australians, you do your part, we'll do ours.
JOURNALIST: On Afghanistan, you said that the most difficult process is actually getting the evacuees to the airport, from all accounts that we're hearing from Afghanistan is that that is the most dangerous part. In terms of working with our allies, is there any way we could work with the Taliban to ensure a safe passage and also to Minister Payne as well, I'd like to hear from you on this, is there any possibility of a military escort to get to the airport?
PRIME MINISTER: The second issue, no, that is not a matter that is considered viable, and that is the direct advice that I have from our defence forces. And that is also what has been practised by other defence forces that are present to the best of our information that we're receiving. You'd appreciate and I'd add this layer of caution too, I mean, you'll all be hearing this and that about what's coming out of Afghanistan, and many of you have covered many of these issues in the past know that there are many reports that are unconfirmed and unreliable that come out of an environment like that. And you'll hear all sorts of rumours and things like this. I'd counsel against them. And you're all very familiar with that in treating reports that come unconfirmed out of the field with giving it only the weight that obviously should be given to it. And so our information, advice is that is not a viable option. And that's obviously concerning and distressing. The United States continues to engage directly with the Taliban about the arrangements that are in place over the course of this month, and that is enabling flights to go in and out of the airport. But we're dealing with the Taliban. So I'm not making any assumptions and I'm moving as quickly and as safely as we possibly can to get as many people out as fast as we can. But, Marise.
SENATOR THE HON. MARISE PAYNE, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: I think, PM, that covers the questions that have been asked.
JOURNALIST: People, millions in lockdown through August, having written a month off, hearing mixed messages about what they may or may not be able to do if they get vaccinated, believing it and doing the right thing. Now, looking at the end of the tunnel and seeing more tunnel through September. What sort of hope can you give those people about October? What is October going to look like in Australia?
PRIME MINISTER: It's going to look like a lot more people vaccinated than are now. I mean, what actual figures we achieve? Well, the results reported to you today shows that we're making great progress towards that and that only, I think, doubles down on the urgency for states and territories and ourselves to set out what those exemptions will be. And I want to be very clear about this. These will be exemptions, not additional rights. Because if you're vaccinated, I'm sorry to labour this point, but it's true. If you're vaccinated, you are less likely to get the virus, transmit the virus, get a serious illness, take up a bed in hospital, a respirator, respirator, and the worst of cases become a fatality. So by getting vaccinated, you are less of a public health risk than someone who is not vaccinated. And so it only stands to reason, to common sense, that in a situation where we've reached threshold levels of vaccination at 70 per cent and 80 per cent, as the science shows us, we can safely move into a period where if you are vaccinated, then you can be exempted from various restrictions that may still more broadly remain in place. Now, the Doherty advice has been pretty clear. I mean, in living with COVID, that means there will always be some level of baseline, cautious practises that we'll have to observe for some time. For how long, we'll see. But the rest of the world isn't fully vaccinated, and I don't anticipate that for some time as well. So we'll always have to be careful.
But when we get to those marks, I think, Mark, you're absolutely right, it's only reasonable that people have been doing the right thing, responding to the call, persevering. And you know, my heart goes out, particularly to the small business owners who've had the most punishing experience through all of this, the high school students doing their HSC even now, very tough stuff. And so they're doing that. And so over the course of this next week, I hope we'll make a lot more progress on that front. The Premier of New South Wales and I were just messaging each other this morning about that progress. The Victorian Premier, together with the Tasmanian Premier and the Northern Territory Chief Minister, together with the Commonwealth, are working up what that list is. And the other important part is you have the digital tools available to make that work in the most seamless and easy way for people. I mean, right now across the country, people are very familiar with the QR code registration for going into venues and things like this. And the system we're seeking to build would just simply use that system. And so people would have to do nothing different. It's also important in the future that people who are unvaccinated going into particular places, that we know that they've been there, because if something were to occur in a place like that, they are the most vulnerable in those situations. And so, the contact tracing, testing and isolating that will still be a part of our future, and particularly in the post 70 per cent world before we hit 80 per cent. But in that world, those who are unvaccinated still remain highly vulnerable. And so if they've been somewhere where there has been a case or several cases, we need to know so we can get to them quickly because they are greatly at risk. So the tools we're seeking to use are there for people's protection and to recognise the common sense position that if you're vaccinated, you are less of a public health risk to yourself, to your family, to those you work with, to those you're on the train with or on the tram or the ferry or wherever you are, you are less of a risk. And therefore, in those circumstance, it's only fair. It's only fair.
JOURNALIST: This morning, the Treasurer said states who choose to lock down after we reach the 80 per cent milestones cannot expect the same federal financial support. Are you really willing to punish the people in states where the premiers choose to go into those lockdowns?
PRIME MINISTER: I expect the states and territories to live up to the plan they've agreed to. That's what I expect them to do, I expect them to live up to the plan that they've agreed to.
JOURNALIST: So you've got an economy at the moment which has got one negative quarter of one contraction in one quarter. If state premiers, if premiers break the deal, are they basically bringing upon Australia the risk of a recession?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there's no doubt, and this was the Treasury advice that came through which informed their decision to support the plan, that once you get to 80 per cent in particular and 70 per cent as well, but particularly at that other level, that it is against the country's and indeed the states and territories economic interests to impose further lockdowns. It's against their interests. It actually becomes a more costly way of achieving a similar health outcome and that the balance of risk, both on health and economic grounds, is away from that old way of doing things. Now, of course, we're in phase A, we're dealing with a Delta variant, which is rampant, and we've seen, you know, they'll be watching very closely the situation not just in New South Wales but Victoria as well, that the Delta variant has these impacts. This is the conversation I was having with Boris Johnson last night. I mean, but we have to get to the point, you know, where we stop focusing on the cases. And we start focusing on the health impact of the virus itself, which is hospitalisation, serious illness, things like this, and that's what the transition from Phase A to Phase B is all about. Now, when we agreed that I think was back in June, we didn't have numbers on it at that point. We didn't have the 70 and 80 per cent numbers. So we carefully considered that Phase A to Phase B was about; in Phase A, it's about case numbers, you do need to suppress them, and under Delta, you know, it's hard to get it where you'd ideally like it to be. That's just an obvious fact. And I think that's all that people have been saying. But when you get to phase B, well, that's when you're focusing more on the the health consequences of cases rather than the cases themselves. And that's what we first agreed. Then we applied with the science, the vaccination rates to support that. And so that's the plan. That's the deal.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just on Afghanistan, a number of the Afghans who worked alongside Australian Defence Force personnel over the course of our involvement in the 20 year war they were in the Helmand province, is your advice, they were in the Helmand province of Afghanistan and may still be there. Is your advice, security advice, now that if they're still in those areas and not in Kabul, they won't be able to get out of the country under Australian assistance? And Foreign Minister, if I can ask you, last night, the Taliban spokesperson used Afghanistan's Independence Day to say that he wanted the Taliban to be recognised at a diplomatic level. Can you trust the Taliban?
PRIME MINISTER: Marise, do you want to start with that one?
SENATOR THE HON. MARISE PAYNE, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Oh, sure, I don’t mind. I answered that question earlier this week. With a request for trust comes an expectation of earning it.
PRIME MINISTER: We know their form. I'll make decisions, the government will make decisions based on their form. And in my discussions with leaders and others, I think there's a fairly similar view, very similar view about judging people on their form and being able to see through anything at this point. But right now, the issue is about getting people out. I said earlier in the week that there are many things we would like to be able to do, but the situation on the ground is as it is. But as I mentioned, 430 people we were able to get out from right across Afghanistan, as you know, 1,800 over the course of the last seven, eight years from right across the country, including the places you're talking about. But the planes are only going in and out of Kabul, not going in and out of anywhere else. And that's why we have seen in the course of this week, I mentioned in my opening remarks that we're seeing more and more people coming into Kabul and there are many checkpoints along that route. So that obviously has its hazards.
JOURNALIST: [inaudible] leave people behind?
PRIME MINISTER: That's not what I said. We're going to make every effort to get everybody out that we possibly can in the very difficult circumstances we're facing. And prior to this series of events emerging in the past week, that's also exactly what we were doing, and we've been doing it for years and we've been doing it faithfully, both in respecting and being grateful to the service that they provided to us. And also, out of great respect for the people that they served with.
JOURNALIST: Can you confirm that the SAS soldiers who were named in the Brereton Report as committing alleged war crimes have now been pardoned, that they can keep their jobs, and that one of those soldiers is actually in Kabul helping with the evacuations? Do they deserve an apology?
PRIME MINISTER: I'm not going to make any comment on those matters. I'm just going to reaffirm, again, my faith in the Australians who are in Afghanistan right now. Thank you very much.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
19 August 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon everyone. I’m joined by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Health. I want to give an update on the operations of the airlift out of Afghanistan and also to report on a number of matters in relation to COVID pandemic management.
The situation in Afghanistan remains extremely dangerous and extremely complex. I particularly want to thank our partners, and especially the United States and United Kingdom. I particularly also want to thank His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, all of whom are such essential partners for the operations we’re currently engaged in. Of course, the Crown Prince, in terms of our operations at Al Minhad. I’ll be speaking to him later this evening. And, in particular, the UK, who I’ll outline in just a second the arrangements we have had with them in the last 24 hours which enabled us to get additional people out of Kabul last night. But, of course, the US and UK, through their military presence on the ground, continues to provide the security around the airfield that is enabling these operations to continue, and we expect to be able to continue them now throughout the course of this week and into next week. But, we are moving urgently, safely, because we’re taking nothing for granted. The weather is closing in and that’s going to present some challenges over the next few days, but, equally, the situation can always turn, and so we’re moving as quickly as we possibly can. I’ll be also speaking to Prime Minister Johnson on these matters this evening.
Last night, 40 ADF personnel were deployed into Kabul, in addition to those already there, to support our efforts with additional security. A provisions drop was also included that, that was through the UK air asset, that would also brought in the Australian ADF, to provide relief to those on the ground, including those we’re providing assistance to. On that same flight back out of Kabul that night, 76 people were evacuated, including Australian citizens and Afghan visa holders. They have been transferred to our base in Al Minhad. We have scheduled today a first flight to leave Al Minhad and come to Australia to Perth. It has not left yet, but we anticipate that it should leave in the course of the next few hours and it’ll find its way to Australia, and I want to thank the arrangements we have with the WA Government to provide for those quarantine facilities over and above the cap. People are also receiving medical treatment in Dubai. As you can imagine, people who we’re taking out of Kabul, we’re taking out of a very dangerous set of circumstances and we’re making sure that any injuries they have are being attended to and, but you can also imagine there’s quite a bit of trauma and, and quite a, they’re in a highly anxious state, and I want to thank all of the people we have on the ground there in Al Minhad, who are, who are receiving them and preparing them and getting them ready for their onward flight to Australia.
We have three additional aircraft now that have been relocated. We also have, which includes the KC-30, the air to air refueller, which has already been involved in operations supporting the airlift for other allies and partners. A cruiser also in place for those three additional aircraft and that, their access to the Kabul airstrip at HKIA will be very dependent on slot management as well as the weather. Now, I need to stress that the apron that you have there cannot take too many planes at any one time, and so slots are being allotted for to get on to ground and to unload and upload and get out. And, there are many countries who are involved in these operations, and so the windows are very narrow and we have to take the slots when we’re there and move when we’re able to do that, and I want to thank the ADF for the way that they’re moving swiftly to achieve that outcome.
Now, on the other matter, of course, on COVID, today Australia has hit some important goals. 16 million vaccines now distributed, administered right across the country, over 16 million. That’s 215 every minute is now being distributed. 309,000 in just one day. 215 each and every minute. These are extraordinary marks that the national vaccination program is now achieving. One in two eligible Australians have now had their first dose. One in two. There are more people who are eligible who’ve had their vaccine than have not had their vaccine in Australia today. That is a major turning point, that is a major beachhead that is being gained in the national vaccination program to see this realised.
Just going through some of the state figures that relate to that. I want to note that the ACT is leading the country overall and is ahead of the national average on the first doses, with 56.4 per cent of the population with one dose, and 32 per cent with two doses. Tassie, while leading on the two dose score, is also doing very well, with 54 per cent with one vaccination. The Northern Territory is going strong, with almost one in every two Territorians with one dose. Victorian is right on the cusp with having more Victorians vaccinated than not - 49.3 per cent in Victoria. In South Australia, more than 17,000 were vaccinated yesterday, closing in on that 50 per cent mark. Queensland and Western Australia still have some ground to make up on the national average, and we want to continue to encourage them through their national vaccination program and the efforts that are being undertaken. In New South Wales, the daily rates in New South Wales, which I want to stress are predominantly being done through the GPs and the pharmacies, almost at a rate, Greg, of two to one. That’s where the doses are being administered. The state vaccine hubs, they’re doing a great job. But, the lion's share of what’s being done in New New South Wales is actually being done through the GPs and pharmacies, and that’s very important. And, overall in New South Wales, two in every five jabs yesterday were delivered in New South Wales, and that’s more than 132,000. And, we are seeing those queues of young people, those vaccines, of Pfizer vaccines we were able to get from Poland, they’re there now. And, they’re rolling out across those state hubs. There’s 117,000 arriving at Qudos Bank Arena, 98,000 at the South Western Sydney Vaccination Centre, 54,000 at Sydney Olympic Park, 28,000 to RPA, and hundreds of thousands more in coming days. And, so, we’ve seen those scenes today of younger people turning up for those and that’s very welcome news, and we thank people for responding to that call, and I'll be able to reassure the Polish Prime Minister that that assistance has been taken up very, very readily. And, so, thank you to everybody who’s been doing that.
I also want to note that the National Security Committee is meeting every day and dealing with both of these issues, as we have for some time now. We agreed today, and the Cabinet also met today, to affirm that we will be moving to opening up 16 to 39-year-olds for the balance of the program. We intend for that to commence on the 30th of August. Now, I want to stress, do not make a booking yet. We will advise when bookings can be made. It’s not today, not today. We will advise of when that time will come over the course of the next week. But, just advising you, it has been a question that has been put to me for some time, as when we would bring that 16 to 39s forward. Well, the question is usually about 20 to 39s, but we’ve decided to go all the way through for 16 to 39s. That’s some 8.6 million Australians that are in that group - 1.2 million between the ages of 16 and 18, I understand, and between 19 and 39, yeah, there’s about 7.4 million, sorry, for that next group, up to the 20s. So, 8.6 million extra getting access to the program at the end of August.
With that, oh sorry there’s one other point I wanted to stress, and Greg will probably want to talk a bit more about this. We're taking very seriously the issue of immunisation on these issues - vaccination of our children. I’m anticipating that ATAGI advice, certainly in an interim level, to be available very soon. And, then, we’ve been already working, through General Frewen and his team and the states, to see how we would implement a vaccination program for children, that is those aged 12 to 15. And, we’ll have further things to say about that once we’ve received that, at least that interim ATAGI advice, then we’ll, they’ll give us their full advice and we’ll take, be taking further steps there. But, I just want to assure, particularly parents, you know, vaccinating children is something we take really seriously and we do it very carefully. And, so, we’re just making sure that we're getting the right advice and then we can put the right plans in place and move on those vaccinations in the safest and most effective way possible. But, with that, I’ll hand you over to the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
SENATOR THE HON. MARISE PAYNE, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Thanks very much, Prime Minister. And, as the Prime Minister has said, the situation in Afghanistan certainly remains very fluid and very complex and challenging in terms of the work that we are doing with partners. I want to thank the officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, from the Department of Defence and the ADF, and the Department of Home Affairs and the Australian Border Force for their ongoing efforts. We are working very hard together to support the operations of the Australian activities.
I also want to join with the Prime Minister in acknowledging and thanking the United Kingdom for their assistance overnight. There is a lot of work being done where countries can help each other to make sure that we are able to do that.
We absolutely know there are continuing significant issues ongoing with access to Hamid Karzai International Airport, and we have seen the reports of those. Overnight, officials from partner countries have met and are working hard together on the ground, particularly led by the United States, to address this, and DFAT Secretary Kathryn Campbell participated in that meeting. Ensuring the security of the airport is our priority, and I particularly thank the United States for their effort in that regard. We’re also working with other countries now to share lists of potential passengers and to coordinate our information and rescue efforts, as we’re able to. That is important because of the multiplicity of entry points, the multiplicity of locations across the airport, where potential passengers are being dealt with.
We’re working with our counterparts to ensure that we have a staging area, a designated space at Hamid Karzai International Airport for our Australian citizens and visa holders, and as the Prime Minister said, also transporting supplies to support that. There are some who are, who will be waiting for periods of time - not long periods of time, it’s not possible to do that - but we want to make sure that we can make them as comfortable as possible.
We are continuing to contact those Australians and visa holders and to support them, where we are able to, to get through those checkpoints and into the airport. That is very much a work, a piece of work that we must be doing with partners, particularly the United States, in terms of the security aspects of that, of those movements.
We have been concerned by reports that the anti-Taliban protests in some cities have been met by force, and including the fact there have been deaths amongst peaceful demonstrators in Jalalabad, and Taliban troops reported to have used gunfire and violence to attempt to control crowds around the airport. So, suffice to say that this is still, as I said, a very complex and very challenging environment in which to work, and our officials are doing an extraordinary job in their support to Australians and their coordination with other partners.
The other thing, Prime Minister, I wanted to update on briefly is to confirm the DFAT facilitated flight arrived from Denpasar to Darwin last night with 186 passengers on board. Today our fifth facilitated flight from Johannesburg also landed in Darwin with 172 passengers. We have seven more facilitated flights scheduled in August from London, from New Delhi and from Istanbul, and 16 DFAT flights are scheduled to arrive in the Northern Territory in the next month from India, from Turkey, from the United Kingdom, South Africa, Germany and other locations. Thus far, during the pandemic, we’ve facilitated 164 flights on which over 24,500 Australians have returned.
So, to just summarise very briefly in relation to the Afghanistan position, our ongoing activities are underway 24/7 - 24/7 here in Canberra and 24/7 in the Middle East and in Kabul. I want to thank again all those officials. It is a very challenging task but we are making good progress working with partners and staying in touch with our Australian citizens and with our visa holders.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks. Greg.
THE HON. GREG HUNT MP, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE: Thanks PM, thanks Marise. Over the last 24 hours, 309,010 Australians stepped forward to be vaccinated. Every one of those is a dose of hope. Every one of those means that more individual Australians are protected, but more Australians collectively are protected. To think of it this way, it’s almost exactly the population of Wollongong. To put it in context, on a per capita basis, it’s the equivalent of four million doses being delivered in a day in the United States. A figure, I think, that was, according to the CDC, achieved on only five occasions. And, so, these rates are now at some of the highest levels that we had hoped, but we’re doing them instead of in October, in August. So, I want to thank everybody involved in the program. What that means is we’ve now, as the PM said, been able to pass 16 million doses or 16.2 million doses have now been administered. And, perhaps most importantly, more than half of the eligible Australians have stepped
forward to be vaccinated, and we can see that every day Australians are coming forward in enormous numbers. So, 50.2 per cent of Australians, or 10.3 million Australians, have had their first dose amongst the eligible population.
One other critical thing is it’s being sustained. And, so, over a 10-day period now, we’ve had more than 2.4 million doses delivered. That’s almost the population of Brisbane in 10 days. These analogies just give a sense to the Australian people of how many of their fellow citizens are coming forward. So, it’s a club you want to be part of. That’s, I think, the key message.
In order to assist that, the second shipment of European Pfizer, very generously sponsored by the Polish Government, has now been batch tested, cleared, approved by the TGA and is being distributed. And, that will also help more people, and that’s what’s helped with the ability, as the Prime Minister’s announced, to move as of August the 30th, to open for the 16 to 39-year-olds.
Now, in terms of the response with regards to New South Wales, it’s been agreed that New South Wales and the Commonwealth will set up a joint operation centre for western and far western New South Wales, based out of Dubbo. We thank them for agreeing to that. In particular, that will lead now to the ADF, the first ADF team is on the ground. There will be 50 ADF who are involved in compliance and welfare checking. That process has already started and those teams are building up. The first of the five teams for medical assistance has arrived, been trained and will be deployed tomorrow. And, these five teams of up to 14 each will assist with vaccination, testing and, if required, clinical assistance. And, the first of the AUSMAT teams is due to commence operations tomorrow, and there will be five teams in all.
So, these things are very important. There are 118 Commonwealth clinics through GPs, pharmacies, Aboriginal community controlled health organisations, and Commonwealth vaccination clinics across western and far western New South Wales. And, we’re currently going through 29 Royal Flying Doctor Service visits to different communities from the 12th of August to the 31st of August in western and far western New South Wales. So, important numbers that actually represent individuals who are being protected.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, can I ask about ...
PRIME MINISTER: Just before I take questions, one other point I should have mentioned. Just before coming to this press conference I joined Minister Hawke and Assistant Minister Wood and Paris Aristotle
in a hook up with Afghan community leaders, talking through the issues which we raised yesterday, the additional, well, the 3,000 places that we’re making available this year in the program for Afghan nationals to become, come to Australia as part of the humanitarian program. We see that as a floor, not as a ceiling, and so we believe we can achieve more than three. And, if the overall program has to be expanded to accommodate additional, then it will be. But, we are following the same process that we did previously on the Syrian and Iraqi intake by working through community groups to identify individuals, those with contacts and linkages to Australia, family members, things of that nature, so we’re working closely with those community groups to that end. I recall that we went through that program last time, we we did 3,000 in the first year of that larger intake that ended up happening, and, so, you know, the fact that we’ve committed to those 3,000 this year is commensurate with that level. And, our humanitarian program runs every single year, and I foresee us continuing to, the Afghan cohort in our humanitarian program having a very strong presence in years to come, and we’ll work through with that. But, I want to thank those Afghan leaders for coming together so quickly today, and for Minister Hawke gathering together in that way, and Paris Aristotle, as always, on the job day one. Thank you very much, Paris … Sorry, Sarah, sorry.
JOURNALIST: Just on childhood vaccination, could I just, there's been a lot of concern expressed by Kerry Chant about transmission in that particular sector. 150 child care centres closed nationally as a result of COVID. Could I just ask, what is the plan for vaccinating children younger than 16? How does that process work? Will that happen before adults get boosters next year? And, the second part of that, I guess, is vaccine mandates in the sector. Is that something that you would support given the rate of transmission that we're seeing, for child care workers, yes?
PRIME MINISTER: [Inaudible] First of all, as I said before, we are, the advice from ATAGI for vaccination of children ages 12 to 15 is is imminent, certainly as an interim form of advice. Our Cabinet today considered this and reaffirmed our priority of ensuring that we'll be able to move to vaccinate children, where we believe it's safe to do so, and that's why we're waiting on that advice. Presently, vaccines for those aged 12 to 15 are those with other health conditions, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, those in very remote communities. And, so, before we move to a more mass scale vaccination of children aged 12 to 15, we’ll take that ATAGI advice. Already, General Frewen has been working with the states and territories on their plans for how that can be implemented. I am keen to see that occur this year. I think it's important that it happens this year. We need to keep pace with the national vaccination program, certainly. And, as Professor McVernon’s advice to us was also so clear - one of the best ways to protect your children is to get vaccinated yourself. That was one of the clear pieces of advice coming out of the Doherty modelling, that one of the most effective ways of stopping the spread of COVID-19 to children is for parents themselves to be vaccinated. And, that's why it was her advice that we should move particularly into those 20 to 39-year-old age groups, and particularly the 30 to 39 age group, to ensure that we were capturing those as a target of our immunisation vaccination program. So, that plan will be coming, will be forthcoming very soon. We know how important it is, but it has to be conditioned on the medical advice that is still coming on those issues. We've been looking very closely at the US situation and what the experience there has been. The UK and Australia are currently in the same position in terms of how we're managing those vaccinations. And, I'm sure, no doubt, it's something that I'll discuss with Prime Minister Johnson this evening. But, Greg …
JOURNALIST: And, on vaccine mandates?
PRIME MINISTER: On vaccine mandates, well, we would follow the advice of the AHPPC on that. They’re the ones who, when we put these questions to them, they consider them. They've only recommended mandatory vaccinations in two areas, and that is for aged care workers and for those working in quarantine. They have not recommended, the medical advice has not been to recommend or mandate vaccinations in other sectors on public health grounds.
THE HON. GREG HUNT MP, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE: So, look, just very briefly, firstly, vaccination has already been opened for children 12 to 15 who have an underlying medical condition, Indigenous children and children in remote areas. So, that's approximately 220,000 kids. Secondly, ATAGI has been meeting this week to consider the international evidence. We already have TGA approval, and if they provide that advice - and we're expecting that advice over the course of the next week, if not earlier - but if they provide that advice, firstly, we have the vaccines to cover children. Secondly, we have a plan. The plan is pretty simple, it really involves two parts. In the same way that whether you're 12 or 22 or 52 or 72, you can go to your doctor, you can go to your pharmacy, you can go to your, you can go to the state or Commonwealth clinic, all of those will be available for children. And, in addition, if states are able to do this, then we expect that many of the states and territories will offer school-based programs as well.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, thank you. Can you tell us what the national public health strategy is at the moment? Because, Gladys Berejiklian said this morning that COVID zero is no longer realistic. That's not what Daniel Andrews and Andrew Barr and Mark McGowan are saying. So, have we moved past a national approach, or can you articulate what it is? And, also, in relation to Doherty, which you’re, you’re mentioning frequently, other state leaders are mentioning frequently, that 70 per cent reopening threshold. Is that actually a realistic scenario to put before people? Because, my understanding of that Doherty work is that they didn't envisage hundreds of active infections at the time we hit 70 per cent. So, the question is ...
PRIME MINISTER: [Inaudible] of infections at the time, and they're, and they’re constantly updating their advice to us. But, there is no change to the 70 per cent threshold that has been set for the national plan, or indeed the 80 per cent threshold. And, as has been remarked upon by many commentators, and I have and Greg has as well, it's not 70 per cent and nothing else is going on. I mean, you still have to be managing the COVID in the community at 70 per cent, and indeed at 80 per cent. It just means that you don't, particularly at 80 per cent, have to have lockdowns to do that. There are other ways of managing things at that level, which means that you don't have to have those lockdowns, because they're in terrible, they're terribly impactful on the community, people's mental health, and obviously on the economy.
We welcome those unemployment figures today. But, you know, we're looking to next month and next month's figures, and obviously that will reflect more of the lockdown's that we've seen. But, what I am pleased about is that the COVID Disaster Payments - which are now at over $3 billion has been paid out to some 1.5 million Australians - that they're proving to be very effective, very, very effective. And so they will continue to support people through the lockdowns.
Now, when it comes to the issue of COVID zero, I think often people are referring to different things in either how they're hearing it, or how even perhaps it's been spoken of. COVID zero, i.e., there is no COVID in Australia, i.e. there's no COVID in quarantine, there's no cases in isolation. There's just zero COVID in Australia. That has never been Australia's goal, ever. And, I don't believe, and I'm assuming that's not what premiers are referring to when they say COVID zero. What we're seeking to achieve is cases minimised as far as possible, preferably to zero, that are infectious in the community. That's what we'd like to achieve, and we have to act in accordance with that. Now, I think the Premier is being very realistic about what the the opportunity to do that now in New South Wales is, given the status of the serious Delta outbreak that we're seeing there, and whether that can be achieved in Victoria with the cases we're seeing now and the extension of lockdown, well, time will tell. But, the import of the suppression strategy is you must keep suppressing, you must keep suppressing. The lockdown in Sydney has to work for it to be lifted. It has to work. Suppression cannot be dispensed with for vaccination, when you have the vaccination levels we have now. And, so, that has always been the case. There's no change to it. That is hopefully a very clear and cogent explanation of what it is - suppress and vaccinate, drive the cases as low as you possibly can that are infectious in the community, because that, the stronger we go into Phase B at 70 per cent, the better off the whole country is. Yeah?
JOURNALIST: The 3,000 humanitarian positions, is there any, apart from people that have family here, is there any other way you'd be looking to prioritise people within that, particularly educated women who are fearful of their degree alone being a reason for the Taliban targeting them? And, is there any capacity to bring anywhere near that 3,000 out at the moment on this mission? Or, are we talking over a longer period of time offering those humanitarian visas?
PRIME MINISTER: I’m going to work backwards from, on your questions. No, it is over a longer period of time. Right now, we're getting out Australian citizens and residents. We're getting out those who have been visaed as part of this program. And we're in that process. And, we know where they, well, we know who they are, where they all are is a, is a challenge in that this current environment, and whether they're able to be in a position to get themselves to Kabul, that is a challenge with what is occurring across Afghanistan. The humanitarian program runs over years. I mean, I was just noting it today, I mean, all countries have been engaged in bringing Afghan nationals out of Afghanistan now for many years. And, Australia's record is a very, very strong one, a very strong one. I mean, if you look at just over the last five years, in Australia we've brought out over 5,500. Now, the UK brought out about 3,200 in a similar period. The United States have brought out more, but they're a much larger country. And, so, all countries have been working to do this, and we will all continue to keep doing this.
Now, yes, we will work all of those contacts within Australia, which I would expect will identify many of the sensitive cases with women and girls that you're identifying. But, in addition to that, and the Foreign Minister and our Ambassador in Geneva has been reaching out to the UNHCR and will be engaging with their processes as well, to identify people who would be suitable for our program. We do have a specific tranche of our humanitarian program that focuses on vulnerable women and girls, always have. In fact, when I was Minister we increased the quota in that area, and it has stayed high all throughout our program. It has been the most significant and and highest priority, I would argue, amongst our humanitarian program, and always receives keen interest from those who are administering it. Marise.
SENATOR THE HON. MARISE PAYNE, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Thanks very much, Prime Minister. And, further to the Prime Minister's comments about the United Nations High Commission on Refugees, I’ll be speaking to the Secretary-General Filippo Grandi either this evening or in the coming day about the work that the High Commission is doing. And, this certainly is an issue which we have been considering. A number of of groups, organisations have provided details and raised their concerns in relation to women and girls that they understand to be particularly vulnerable. And, we are collating all of that information. So we have that.
I know that there's been a number of questions about how an Afghan in a current circumstance can apply for for such a visa. And, obviously, there are the normal processes which apply, whether it's through a website or a telephone. That is not possible for many at the moment. And, many whose names are being advanced to us are being advanced by supporters. It is possible to have that name recorded and put into a, into the process, into the system by a nominator or a sponsor, by a close family member, by a parliamentarian, by a member of a diplomatic mission, a member of a consular post, from an international organisation, and then more formally, perhaps through registered migration agents, through legal practitioners. So, we absolutely understand the impracticality, if you like, of saying please apply online or please make a call. That is not the only way in which those names can be raised or advanced to us. And, we have been speaking with many who have raised names with us.
PRIME MINISTER: Phil.
JOURNALIST: Just a follow-up from Katharine's question about COVID zero. You've said before, you know, the lower New South Wales can have its case numbers, the better. What, do you have in mind a realistic number, given they can't seem to get them down - they can just seem to slow the increase - when that New South Wales can be at on a daily basis before we move to phase two of Doherty? So, I mean, can they do it at 600 a day? Can they do it at 300 a day?
PRIME MINISTER: The number needs to be as low as possible. I mean, the practical import of what we're saying is, what should we be doing about it? And, what we should be doing about it is suppressing it. And, so, use whatever phrase, COVID language you wish - the actions that need to be taken is to ensure that we are suppressing. Now, the way you suppress it is you stop, you stop it moving about. And, that's why the restrictions, as hard as they are and as difficult as they are and as costly as they are, they're sadly necessary. The purpose of the policy in this phase is to suppress and to drive those numbers down as far as we possibly can. Now, in some states, they they can get them down to those numbers and have zero infections in the community. Some states are in that situation, others or not. What I do know is this, is once Delta gets in, very hard to achieve. But, that doesn't mean you stop trying. That doesn't mean you give up. It doesn't mean you don't keep doing it. It doesn't mean you don't keep pushing through. It means you keep going and you go as hard as you can to keep it suppressed as long as you can, until we're in that position where we're hitting those higher targets. And, I have to make this the last one, Andrew,
JOURNALIST: Senator Payne, just on the, we've seen those horrific scenes outside of Kabul Airport where people are trying to get through the gates and so on. We've got 600 Australians and Afghan support staff trying to get in, plus families. How are you getting them in through communication and making and guarding their their entry to the airport? And, just on your announcement about vaccines, Prime Minister, is the risk about expanding the use of Pfizer to 16 to 39-year-olds is that you end up seeing a lot of people cancelling their AstraZeneca appointments in the next few weeks?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, let me start with that and then Marise can finish the other one. The best vaccine you can get is the one that is available right now. If you're in Sydney, get vaccinated today, right now, go out there and do it right now. That is my clear, my clear advice. And, that's what we want Australians to do. And, 309,000 of them did it yesterday, and they're lining up out there right now. And, we're getting more and more and more doses out there. So, my advice to people is to keep going. Australia is really getting on top of this, on the vaccination program. Today, a big turner corned, corned, sorry, a big corner turned, I should say. It's been a long day. It's been a long week. A big corner turned, because one in two Australians who are eligible to have that vaccine have had it. You know, we've been working hard to get to that point, and it hasn't been without great difficulty and a lot of obstacles. But, there we are today, Australia, all of us there together, and we've got to keep going that extra distance. Marise.
SENATOR THE HON. MARISE PAYNE, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Thanks, PM. Andrew, that goes to what I said in my earlier remarks about the continuing significant issues with access to Hamid Karzai International Airport. So, that is why there has been quite a significant meeting overnight with, led by the United States, with officials from partner countries, who are sharing that challenge so that we can work hard together on the ground, particularly led by the United States, to address that. Australia is not outside the airport, at all. So, Australia is inside Hamid Karzai International Airport, and any issues around security outside the airport we are working with partners on those, and particularly led by the US.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you everyone, thank you.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
18 August 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon, everybody. Some more difficult news today in New South Wales, and I will be returning to that very shortly. But, I want to continue to encourage all Australians that we're going to beat this. We're going to get on top of it. We're never going to give up in our battle against COVID in this country. We have had so many successes, compared to so many other countries around the world, by persevering and pushing through together. I will return to that in a second with an update on some of those issues. But, I just wanted to say, after hearing that news in New South Wales today, I know that, once again, your hearts would have sunk for a moment, and perhaps longer, but let's lift them up again because we are going to get through this and we are going to beat this.
Can I also acknowledge today, today is Vietnam Veterans' Day. Some 60,000 Australians served in the Vietnam War, including over 15,000 national servicemen. 521 Australians lost their lives in that conflict, and over 3,000 were wounded. This is also the 55th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan, Australia's most costly battle in Vietnam. On that day, in 1966, 17 Australians were killed in action and 25 more were wounded. But, we all know that those who fell there, and were wounded there physically, the wounds that came and were endured over a lifetime for so many, when they returned to Australia, were also incredibly devastating. And, I want to acknowledge those wounds inflicted on many of our Vietnam veterans, including by some of their fellow Australians, when they came home. That was not the way to do that, and it should never be the way that we receive Australians back after they've served in our name wearing our uniform under our flag. Families also paid a heavy price from that conflict as veterans returned home. Families were broken. People were broken. Lives destroyed. It is a very, very sad chapter, but as we know, in the events that we've been talking about in recent days, we will be challenged in similar ways as a nation as we deal with the very disturbing situation in Afghanistan, which I’ll turn to in a short moment.
I also want to acknowledge the ongoing contribution of Vietnam veterans to our broader community, and I particularly want to thank them for the way, as veterans, they've aided the cause of so many other veterans, particularly those veterans of more recent conflicts, providing that mentorship and that stewardship and that support, and today, of all days, I know veterans will have that sense of solidarity about what they've experienced, regardless of what the conflict was. And, on a day like today, I know those Vietnam vets can be of great support to our veterans from Afghanistan.
Last evening, Australia's operation to commence evacuating Australians and visa holders, Afghan nationals, and others from Kabul commenced. We were able to get our first flight in last night and enabling us to transfer also in key personnel from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Home Affairs and Defence to facilitate the evacuation of citizens, residents and visa holders, Afghan nationals, from Kabul. This was the first of what will be many flights, subject to clearance and weather, and we do note that over the back end of this week there is some not too favourable weather forecast.
The operation involves everything from establishing that contact with those who are in Afghanistan, particularly closer to Kabul, to ensure that they can be in a position to be at the airport in order to be evacuated on the flights as they come into Kabul. To process their embarkation, and to get on to those flights. This is not a simple process. It's very difficult for any Australian to imagine the sense of chaos and uncertainty that is existing right across this country, the breakdown in formal communications, the ability to reach people, and we are doing this directly ourselves. Groups like the IOM are no longer able to assist us with that task, and so we are doing that directly. And, we're doing it working with the local Afghan communities here in Australia, in order to assist us in making all those contacts, and the Foreign Affairs Minister can speak further to that. The transfers are done to our base in the Emirates, where capacity has already been established, with medical support available, to both receive and provide that medical support, and to process their further onward transfer to Australia. And, in addition to that, we've made arrangements with state governments around the country, over and above existing caps, for those who have been transferred back to Australia to be quarantined in appropriate facilities to support their quarantine.
Last night, that first C1-30 went in, bringing in those Australians who are facilitating things on the ground. I have to stress how important that is - to get people on a flight and get people on the ground to process this. This will be done in as orderly a fashion as is possible in these circumstances. We need to be very clear who’s getting on our planes, who’s going to our base, and who’s going to come and live here in Australia. We have to be very, very clear about that, and we are taking all the sensible precautions, but moving urgently to address the very real need in these very stressing conditions.
There were, that plane touched down at our base in the Emirates at 10.40am Canberra time today. There were 26 people who were on board that flight. That included Australian citizens, Afghan nationals with visas, and one foreign official who was working with an international agency. I remind people that we are working with other agencies, working with other governments, like-minded and others, to address their needs as well as our own, and we're seeking to maximise the use of all the flights from all the countries that are going in and out of Kabul. One additional C1-30 and two C-17s are being prepositioned to join that existing C-130 to support those regular flights out of Kabul in the days ahead and for as long as we can continue to operate those flights to get people out.
We intend for those numbers to increase on future flights. But, as is the experience of other countries who have been engaged in this process, these initial flights are challenged by having officials on the ground to go through that proper process. I can confirm the security situation at the airport has improved, and more broadly across Kabul, and that is supported particularly by the presence of US and UK troops on the ground being able to take control of the airport. It still, though, remains an incredibly challenging environment in which to operate. And, I want to thank all of those who are involved in these operations, those flying the planes in dangerous territory, those who are going onto the ground, those who we sent in last night in the dark to be there, be overnight. We were able to get others in through a partner flight last night as well, to increase the number we could have there, to be able to be supporting those operations on the ground, to get people onto these planes. They are doing Australia a great service. It reminds me of those Foreign Affairs officials, Marise, who got in a car and drove to Wuhan at the start of this crisis. One the daughter of a former Prime Minister, I note, who went and did that job. Our Foreign Affairs officials, our Home Affairs officials, our Defence people, indeed, I've seen it so many times now. Their professionalism, their dedication to service, their commitment to this country is extraordinary, and they have moved swiftly and courageously. And, I want to thank them for what they're doing for their fellow Australians and our cause right now.
Now, the issue of resettlement has come up in previous days, and it is a matter that the Government has been considering now for, for some time. What I can confirm is this though - and I have a very clear message on this - we will only be resettling people through our official humanitarian program going through official channels. We will not be offering a pathway to permanent residency or citizenship. We will not be allowing people to enter Australia illegally, even at this time. Our policy has not changed. We will be supporting Afghans who have legitimate claims through our official and legitimate processes. We will not be providing that pathway to those who would seek to come any other way. That is a very important message. The Government's policy has not changed, will not change. But, I can confirm that since we came to Government some 8,500 Afghans have been resettled in Australia. We have been continuing to process through our official humanitarian program, working through the legitimate channels, some 8,500 Afghans into Australia, ranging from about 1,300 a year, up to about 1,900 a year, and we are going to continue to do that. We will be ensuring this year that we believe we’ll be able to provide around 3,000 visas. Now, that's more than double what we've been doing, and in some cases triple what we've been doing, in the current year. And, we do believe we'll be able to do more than that. You would have heard other countries talk about figures of 5,000. I note that some are talking about figures of 20,000. But, can I tell you, there are no clear plans about that. Australia is not going into that territory. What we're focused on is right here and right now, and we believe working with the local community here, we are reaching out to the UNHCR, and the Foreign Minister will probably make mention of that. We are working through the channels that were so successful in bringing people out in other hazardous situations in the past. I've spoken to Paris Aristotle today who worked closely with us on those arrangements. He'll be working closely with the Minister for Immigration, Minister Hawke, to ensure that we are working with those communities to ensure that we can be able to establish the bona fides of individual applicants.
I already mentioned to you yesterday that the files of those who proved not to be locally engaged employees had already been transferred to be assessed under that refugee and humanitarian program. That is already occurring. So, Australia, at the very least, through our official channels, will be processing, we believe, at least 3,000 in the current financial year, and we believe more can be accommodated potentially within our existing arrangements. COVID has meant that the process of running our refugee and humanitarian program, like all of our visa programs, have been running at lower levels, and so we can accommodate these additional numbers, but within the existing processes.
I also confirm that those who are IMA’s, those who have not come to Australia the right way and are on temporary visas in Australia, they will not be offered permanent residence in Australia. That will not change. I want to be very clear about that. I want to send a very clear message to people smugglers in the region that nothing's changed. I will not give you a product to sell and take advantage of people's misery. My Government won't do it. We never have and we never will.
Let me turn now to the issue of the COVID-19 pandemic, and then I'll ask the Foreign Minister to make some remarks on the matters I've already raised. It was difficult news today in New South Wales, but we won't let it beat us. And, there's good reasons why, because Australians are making such strong progress on what we need to do about it. We will reach one in two Australians who have had their first dose, we believe probably tomorrow. In fact, we may even be there today because of the lag in the reporting of the numbers. One in two Australians have had their first dose. That's what we're achieving. 40 per cent over the age of 50 have been fully vaccinated. 273,000 additional doses just yesterday. That's 273,000 rays of light coming in from the end of that tunnel that I talked about yesterday. We are going down that tunnel and every vaccination shines light for Australians to see. And, I want to thank those 273,000 Australians yesterday, to create those rays of light, those rays of hope.
Tasmania, just like Ariarne Titmus, leading the leaderboard when it comes to vaccination. One third double dose vaccinated in Tasmania. Well down Tassie. Almost 200 doses, as I said yesterday, in this country happening every single minute. That's what's being achieved. 1.6 million vaccinations in just a week now, 1.6 million. And, just so, for those of us, all of us who've been going through what has been a difficult last two months, this is what you've achieved in just two months. We've gone from 4.5 per cent double dose vaccinations two months ago to 27.5 per cent. We've gone from 5.1 per cent to our 50s to 40 per cent, and we've gone for over 70s from 7.5 per cent two months ago to over 50 per cent, 54 per cent today. That's what you're achieving, Australia. I know it's tough to go through each and every day and hear that news, but be encouraged that what you're doing every day, staying at home, staying in place out there in western New South Wales, doing all of those things, is making a big difference. Getting vaccinated, getting tested. That is taking us closer and closer to 70 per cent and 80 per cent every single day. So, thank you, Australia, keep going.
In relation to western New South Wales, happy to take questions on that later. But, can I send a big thank you to Riverbank Frank. What a legend. How good’s Riverbank Frank - out there sending those messages that we were talking about yesterday, showing that leadership he has displayed across his life as an elder in that community. Thank you very much, Riverbank Frank. ADF are now out there supporting those efforts, been very close cooperation between the New South Wales Government and the Commonwealth Government in working through those issues. Of course, the focus of so much of the effort is on Sydney, and particularly in western Sydney and south western Sydney. But, there is a real challenge out there in western New South Wales and people are working very, very closely together to address what is a, you know, a very difficult situation. But, I'll pass you over to the Foreign Minister.
SENATOR THE HON. MARISE PAYNE, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Thanks very much, PM. And, as the Prime Minister said, we're very pleased that the first Australian airlift from Afghanistan successfully landed this morning, having left Kabul International Airport at about 7.20am our time today, and there will be more flights in coming days. We're working closely with our international partners to make arrangements for those flights.
I particularly want to thank the ADF and the officers from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Home Affairs for that successful work in what is a very complex and challenging environment at Hamid Karzai International Airport, and in Kabul more broadly, and particularly in cooperation with the United States and with other partners. We also acknowledge those partners who have secured the airport under difficult circumstances, enabling those flights to go in and out. It is very difficult and continues to be very difficult for people to get to the airport and to access the airport. The Australian team on the ground is working with our allies at the airport on the process for subsequent flights. Our consular team at DFAT is in regular contact with Australians and New Zealanders who are registered with us to provide advice as it becomes available. We are, and we will continue, to help our neighbours in the region with their citizens as and when we can in terms of their need to depart.
This, of course, was the first flight in, in what is, as I said, a complex and fluid situation. We have been contacting as many Australians and visa holders as we can and supporting their efforts as we are able to to get through the checkpoints and to get to the airport, and then into the airport. That work will continue and is our focus and our priority in terms of the coming days. We have to and we are staying in very close contact with all of our partners to enable this. We have said before, and I would reiterate, that we do seek and urge the Taliban, all parties, to allow and assist with safe passage out of the country for those who are seeking to leave.
In terms of the refugee and resettlement matters to which the Prime Minister referred, we will work and are working with our counterparts, with the UNHCR, with other agencies, in the coming days and weeks on what is a very challenging international problem. The meeting of the UN Security Council yesterday, chaired by India, also discussed these issues at some length, and the Secretary-General made very clear the humanitarian focus and priority of many around that table. We will continue to engage in those discussions and to work with them as we determine the assessments that the Prime Minister has referred to. Thanks, PM.
PRIME MINISTER: Phil.
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible] separate topics. First with relation to, regard to New South Wales, are you as confident today as you were a couple of weeks ago when you were in the Lodge, that the economy should avoid a recession, a double dip recession? And, on an unrelated matter, can I ask for your reflections on the decision by BHP to hive off its oil and gas concerns to Woodside? Do you see a broader message there on the environment, on climate change?
PRIME MINISTER: Sure. On the first one, the advice that we've received not only from Treasury, but also the Reserve Bank, that the comments the Governor and others have made, the expectation is as follows. We get the country to those levels of vaccination. We open up the country. The economy comes back strongly. And so the sooner we achieve that, the sooner that's realised. And that should address the very issue that you've raised. That's why it's so important that we maintain this pace on vaccinations. I said yesterday, Australia, in a 7 day period per capita, that is stronger than what the UK had achieved. So the vaccination programme is hitting those very high level marks now. And that continues then, whether it's myself or the Treasury Secretary, the Treasurer, of course, the Governor of the Reserve Bank, others who are examining these issues, they know that once you are able to release these restrictions, then we see the economy come back very, very, very strongly. And that would be my expectation, because that's what we've seen before. Now, the timing of these things, that's a separate issue. But at this pace, then, you know, I do remain optimistic. I do remain confident in the Australian economy because there is no issue with the Australian economy. There is an issue of the impact of COVID-19 and the restrictions that are holding that economy back. But as soon as we're able to release those, that's why the national plan, that's why getting the 70 per cent and 80 per cent and following through with a national plan and the confidence that national plan gives, I think, to businesses to look ahead and plan. And the discussions I've had with our major banks reflect this. They're revealing to us that they're working closely with their customers and they're seeing the same thing, that businesses are looking after their balance sheets as best as they can and putting themselves in a position. So the big difference between this time this year and say when we go back to May, April of last year is there was so much uncertainty. As I said at the time, we were looking into a COVID abyss with complete uncertainty as to what that would mean and how things would play out. Now, there's certainly still uncertainties, but people know that once you get the restrictions out of the way, the customers come back, the businesses come back, and businesses from what their bankers are telling me, are understanding that and are planning for that outlook.
On the other matter, I mean, I welcome the announcement. I welcome the combination of those two great, those two great entities, to provide a real focus in this sector. And as I was saying to Richard Goyder last night, I think this provides another point of example, whether it's in that sector, in the petroleum sector or whether it's in our mining sector or in our agricultural sector about the transformations that Australian companies are achieving as they go down their path of being profitable on energising Australian industry and at the same time reducing emissions. These companies, I think, will be showing the world how this is all achieved. And I know that's a core part of their mission. Yeah, I'm just going to move across.
JOURNALIST: A matter of detail, the broader issue, how many people do you think the Australian forces are going to be able to bring out of Afghanistan and how long is that likely to take? Secondly, the Taliban are giving certain assurances. Can they be trusted? And can you see your Government or a future Australian Government ever recognising a Taliban Government in Afghanistan?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, in answer to your first question, we will bring out as many people as we can as quickly and safely as we can. And that's what we're doing. And I will be updating you, along with the Foreign Minister, on the progress of that mission that is currently underway, as I have done today, and will update you on that once, you know, each of these flights have been completed. And we'll give you that, we'll give you that information. But our goal is as many as we can, as safely and as quickly as we can. On the other matter Mark, remind me?
JOURNALIST: The Taliban, certain assurances, can you trust them, are these people you can work with? Will you ever recognise the Government?
PRIME MINISTER: I'll add to my answer. I'm making no assumptions, absolutely no assumptions about any commitments that are being given to others. I'm working on the basis of getting people out as quickly as I can and as safely as I can. I will welcome a better environment, but I'm not counting on one in terms of my planning and our sense of urgency in the activities we're engaged in right now and making sure we do those as swiftly as we can. As for the broader diplomatic situation in the future. Well, I know their form and I'm acting on the basis of their form. Marise.
SENATOR THE HON. MARISE PAYNE, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Prime Minister, we are obviously engaged with like-minded partners on these issues. No government has been formed, remains to be seen what, what form and membership that government has. And I would also say a request for trust is usually met by an expectation that trust is earned.
JOURNALIST: Just without seeing the numbers, do you have a clear idea of where the people are that you are trying to get out and where they are, I'm assuming that most of them are in Kabul? How difficult is it to get across Kabul at the moment? And do you have assurances that they'll have safe passage to the airport? And I'm assuming that outside of Kabul, it's going to be almost impossible to get anyone from there to that airport?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'll ask the Foreign Minister to respond to that. We can't, it's impossible to over assume any certainty here, I should say it is a very uncertain environment. It's an incredibly uncertain environment, and it changes every day right across the country. We do know that there's been movement of peoples from across Afghanistan into Kabul. We do have an understanding of those we are seeking to contact and we are seeking to do just that. But it is not easy. That's why I'm pleased that we have been moving on this now for many, many, many months. As I said, you don't get 430 people out of Afghanistan and process them, get them through health and security checks. Do all of those things, confirming their identity. I think we have to also explain to Australians that we're dealing with people who worked for us not last week, but they may have worked for us four years ago or five years ago. And we knew where they were then. And we may not have heard from them for a very long time. And we don't know what they've been doing in that intervening period in what has been a very unstable situation. So it isn't just a matter of people coming along and presenting, you know, a payslip from the Australian Government saying, I used to work for you. I wish it were that simple. It is not that simple. It is incredibly complicated. And that's why we've been so meticulous in working carefully through that process that those we bring to Australia, we know who they are, we know what they've done, and we want to be there to support them. And we brought family members with them as well. And we're working through this in a very painstaking way. That's why I said to you yesterday, there will be, it's a very difficult thing to give an absolute guarantee, and particularly as you work out across the whole country. But, Marise?
SENATOR THE HON. MARISE PAYNE, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Thanks, PM. Kabul, as I have said, is obviously a very complex and fluid environment with a whole range of security issues, including the establishment of multiple checkpoints around the city, which are broadly Taliban controlled, the engagement of the Afghan National Army around the perimeter of the airport as well. So we are working closely with the US, particularly the UK, others, Germans included, to try to improve or address those security challenges, as it were, those checkpoints particularly, and then the security in terms of access to the airport. And there needs to be a balance, obviously. And we expect that balance will be achieved between the security of the airport perimeter and the ability to enter the airport to depart. But yesterday there were multiple kilometre long traffic queues outside the airport. At one point, people were having to be lifted over gates into the airport. It is extremely challenging. So we will continue to, to use the officials that we have on the ground who are well linked in with particularly the US and the UK to address those. In terms of numbers and on where they are. The majority of the people with whom we are in contact and who have sought our support are in Kabul, but not all of them. So for Australians and for visa holders, the majority are there. The difficulties of moving around Afghanistan have only been increasing in recent weeks as we have, as we have all seen, and we will continue to engage with, with those people. We also have an increasing number of Australians who have registered in with DFAT in Afghanistan from relatively low numbers just a fortnight ago to much higher numbers. And we're managing those cohorts as well of Australians and their families.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Qantas has now introduced mandatory jabs for workers. Would you encourage other companies to do the same?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, they're decisions for those companies, but I commend Qantas for the way they went about it. They surveyed their members, their staff. Found almost, I think 90 per cent of their own staff had either been vaccinated or intended to be vaccinated. They talked to them. They worked it through. They have a reasonable position to be able to make this request. And they've gone about it, I think, in a very engaged way. And they've come up, I think with a fair and and well intentioned direction. So I wish them well with that. But I think they've shown, I think, the right model about how you go about this. And I welcome the fact because many of those employees are, you know, live in the Shire, in my electorate, and I know across my own community that people out there are getting vaccinated and understand the importance of that. And so I welcome the fact that so many Qantas employees understand the importance of it without even having to be asked. And I think that's what we're seeing. See there are certain circumstances where this may be necessary and the companies will move in those areas. But what I do know is I have great faith in Australians that they know what they need to do and, you know, they are doing it. And by tomorrow, one in two Australians would have actually gone out and got their first jab. All we had to do was ask them to do it. I have great faith and trust in them. I have great confidence in them doing the right thing. Michelle.
JOURNALIST: Two brief questions. The question of vaccinating young people, children, is now becoming urgent. Do you have any update on when the ATAGI advice is coming? And secondly, have you now had to abandon your hope of being in the United States for the ANZUS celebration in September?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we had no official plans on that latter matter.
JOURNALIST: Hopes?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we can have hopes and I think that's reasonable. But COVID tends to have other ideas about these things. And there are many international meetings and engagements that aren't possible to be done this year and we all understand that. But we will find, we will find our own way of dealing with those issues and we'll continue to work through, you know, the international commitments that we have and work those through, I mean, Quad meetings, things like this, there are aspirations for those as well. But we'll see how those play out.
Now, you are right to say that the issue of the vaccination of children is, of course, an important issue. The TGA has provisionally approved the use of Pfizer for Australians aged between 12 and 15 years and on ATAGI's advice, the advice we have already received from ATAGI, this has now been opened for those with underlying medical conditions, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and those living in remote communities. Now, ATAGI along with their UK counterparts is now considering the expansion of this to all 12 to 15 year olds. If ATAGI provides that advice, planning is already well underway. This is a matter that we've dealt with regularly, both at National Cabinet in terms of the state based systems for potential school based vaccination programmes, and the work is already underway on how that could be done and planned together with the Commonwealth and the state and territory administrations. And, and we, it's not too far away, is my understanding. But equally, we're talking about the vaccination of our kids. And I want to be very sure about the medical advice we're getting about that. To Senator Gallagher, I can understand she's terribly upset about the fact that one of her own children has been affected with COVID. Any parent I can understand that would be absolutely heartbreaking, and I wish Evie and the family all the best for a speedy recovery. I'm going to do three, one, two, three.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the situation in Kabul indicates that anyone that is not in that city is going to be unlikely to be evacuated. Is it these people that you were talking about yesterday when you said we may not get everyone that we would like to bring to Australia? And if that's the case, how can we say we did all we could, given we've known as far back as November when the US indicated it was withdrawing from Afghanistan, that we had people in these regions that may need our assistance.
PRIME MINISTER: What I'd simply say, that's exactly what we were doing. We have been aware of this and that's why we were progressing. That's why since January, 470 were able to get through. As I said, it's not a simple process. It takes months and months and months to go through that proper process of identifying individuals, the security issues that need to be considered in terms of people who are coming from such an area of the world and they're coming to Australia and with their families. And so Australians would expect me and the government to take all the necessary steps as we process those claims. And we have and we've done it very promptly. 430, having then been visaed, not just visaed, but then brought to Australia. So this is not a simple exercise that can be done in a couple of weeks. This is an exercise that takes months and months because people are in all parts of the country. They have had all sorts of experiences. They've moved around. They may have come in contact with other influences within the region and we need to be aware of those things. There are of course, medical issues, which were complicated, particularly by COVID, in terms of getting the support for people to have those medical assessments and checks. I mean, there's tuberculosis in Afghanistan and so we have to be conscious of those issues. So we have been moving with great haste for some time now to bring Australians and Afghans out of Afghanistan. And we have achieved a great deal in the full knowledge that we would have to do that swiftly, given the deterioration in the environment that we were seeing. Remember, it was the Australian Government that closed down its mission in May. That decision was criticised. We decided to do that because we knew and we got our own people out. In recent days and weeks, other foreign missions have been trying to evacuate their own diplomatic staff. We'd already done that in May. We'd already got our ADF out. We'd already moved. And 430 Afghan nationals also out before any of these events even occurred. So I would say the Government has been responding, has been on the front foot, just as we have been over these many years. 1,800 Afghans and their families already living here in Australia and some 8,500 brought here, living here under our humanitarian programme. And that says a lot about the way we have acted towards Afghanistan.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister overnight said there are only seven people able to get on the German flight out of Kabul because of the Taliban presence at the airport. We've managed to get twenty six people out. Can I ask of Australia's intended evacuees, how many now are actually at the terminal? Can you give us an idea of that? Is it only a small number of them, is it more than we think, can you give us an idea of the numbers? How are we going to get them in?
PRIME MINISTER: I'm not going to go into operational details, because I don't think that's wise. We're working closely with all of those who are seeking to get to these evacuation flights. Now that we've got people on the ground that we've been able to get in over the last 24 hours, that's great. They're going to assist us with that. DFAT is working through their channels every day. The Foreign Minister might want to comment on this, but providing those sorts of, providing those sorts of details, I'm not going to put anybody at risk about where they are, we know who we are seeking to get out [inaudible]. And that's why we're moving with the utmost haste to do that. Marise did you want to. Sorry I was going to Andrew.
JOURNALIST: Thank you. Just on firstly, what cooperation have you managed to extract from the states? Because when it comes to quarantining the returnees, because I understand, my understanding is Queensland and Tasmania are not offering to help. Maybe you could clarify that. And secondly, just following up Mr Riley's question, I understand that an approach by Australia in the past has been that while we might recognise the state, as we have done previously with Afghanistan, Fiji, Cambodia, I think there might be one other nation, we don't, we might not necessarily recognise the legitimacy of the government. What are the pre-conditions for us to recognise a Taliban government and does that include the treatment of women?
PRIME MINISTER: Do you want to start on that one, Marise?
SENATOR THE HON. MARISE PAYNE, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Thank you. That was very formal, but Mark's question was, was certainly I think one I responded to before. I'm not going to speculate about those matters. They will be the subject of international discussions, as they have already been in terms of the engagement at the U.N. Security Council. We will continue to talk with partners. And I think the Prime Minister's made our views fairly clear.
PRIME MINISTER: And on the other matter, no, Queensland, are supporting and participating. And this is a matter we'll discuss again on Friday at National Cabinet to confirm a number of those arrangements. Of course, in Tasmania, they don't run international flights normally from other parts of the world, and their facilities are different to what's available in other states and territories, but that it, wouldn't be because of any reluctance to want to assist and I have no doubt the Tasmanian Government will provide whatever help they can to assist in this effort. There's been a spontaneous and ready response from all the states and territories, and I'm grateful for that, as indeed through the National Resilience Facility at Howard Springs as well, which will be playing a role in these repatriations. We were taking people out of Kabul, taking them through our base in the Emirates where we are, where we are expanding that capability to be able to have people there, as we work through their medical checks as well and their welfare and seeing they're okay. And then for onward transfer to Australia, that's the channel. There are not people sort of going there for any other purpose then onward travel to Australia. That is the way that our operations are working. And we'll have further discussions about that on Saturday, sorry on Friday, but we already have ample, ample capacity to deal with the flights that we have arranged.
JOURNALIST: So first Darwin and then dispersed?
PRIME MINISTER: I haven't said where they are flying to. I've said where the capacity will be and that all states and territories are providing whatever support they can.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, I just want to get a sense of how significant the security situation was on the ground, sorry, how significant the security risk was on the ground at the airport. We're hearing reports that a former ADF interpreter was actually shot in the leg by the Taliban during the operation. Is there any truth to that? Do you know if there was any kind of skirmish around the Australian efforts?
PRIME MINISTER: I'm not going to comment on reports of that nature. What I'll simply say is this. Kabul is a dangerous place and we've got Australians operating in a very dangerous environment to get their fellow Australians and those who've helped our cause over a long period of time and to bring them to safety in Australia. And they're all heroes. Thank you.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
17 August 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon. I’m joined by the Minister for Health and the Chief Medical Officer. I’m also joined by the Minister for Indigenous Australians, and I’ll be making some remarks on the COVID situation very shortly.
But, before I also do that, can I make a couple of remarks regarding the situation in Afghanistan. The situation in Afghanistan is extremely disturbing, very concerning I know to all Australians, and none more so than our veterans community right across the country, and in a moment I want to make some very specific remarks to our veterans. What I can assure you is that the National Security Committee of the Cabinet has been meeting every day, we met again this morning for several hours, as we continue to finalise the operational plans that are already being swung into place, not just here, but of course in the Middle East and overseas, and in preparations for what we are hoping to do over the course of this week. As I said earlier, on Sunday, I don't propose to go into any of the details of those plans at this point. But, I do intend, at the appropriate moment, to stand before you again and update you on the progress of those operations.
I want to thank all of those who have been working tirelessly to ensure that we can put these plans safely in place, to make sure that we can follow through, not just on the care that we provide to citizens in these situations, but, of course, the many Afghan nationals who will be making Australia their home. Already, 430 Afghan nationals who’ve worked with Australia are already here in Australia with their families, and they've come here since April. Over the course of these many years, some 1,800, 1,800 have come to Australia and are living here amongst us, and we're thankful for their support to us. And, we are very pleased that they are making their home now here in Australia. There will be more that will be added to this number. There will be more that will be added to this number, not just through the locally engaged program that we have been running with a great sense of urgency, particularly this year. But, in addition, through our humanitarian program more broadly, which has the capacity to ensure that we can also take people through those channels in a, in a very torrid situation like we have in Afghanistan at the moment.
It is, it is changing by the day, and we have to be also very mindful of those who are part of these operations for Australia. We need to be mindful of the environment they're entering. What we have seen, and of course in the last 24 hours, is in the city of Kabul itself, while there may have been some stability - it's all relative when you're talking about a place like Kabul at the moment - some stability, the situation at the airport still remains a very difficult and challenging environment. But, our Defence Forces, as well as DFAT, our Home Affairs officials and others, our Health officials, are working closely together, not just for what needs to be done in the Middle East, but what will need to be done back here in Australia. And, I also want to thank states and territories with whom we've been engaging to ensure that when we're able to have people returning to Australia, that we have the quarantine facilities and the places ready to go for that to be supported. I've been in touch with some Premiers about that, but in most cases I haven't had to be. The arrangements are already there. This is a national effort. This is a call right across the country to support these operations, and I want to thank everybody for the important work they've been doing.
Can I, though, say a few quite specific words to our veterans community, who I know will be feeling these events incredibly, incredibly sensitively. To the men and women of our ADF and Australia's veterans, I know today is a day of sadness and reflection for our Afghanistan veterans. It's a time of deep and uncomfortable questioning. And, that is only right. We shouldn't hide from it. The scenes from Kabul have been absolutely heartbreaking. It's a sobering day for everyone, and particularly those who have given so much over the past 20 years, and most notably those 41 who were lost. I know the overriding concern of the veterans I've spoken to has been for us to protect those who worked alongside us in Afghanistan, that worked alongside you. 1,800 have already been brought to Australia, 430 just since April of this year, and more will come. I want you to know that we will continue to do everything we can for those who have stood with us, as we have to this day. But, I want to talk openly to veterans that despite our best efforts, I know that support won't reach all that it should. On the ground, events have overtaken many efforts. We wish it were different. Today, we remember the tens of thousands of Australians and their families made extraordinary sacrifices for our mission in Afghanistan. Those who went didn't get to decide where they went, or the cause that they were asked to serve. They went because they'd signed on to serve their country. They'd signed on to be the professionals, soldiers, passionate about their country, to serve under their flag and in the name of Australia. Sacrifices that will always be honoured and always remembered. It was a mission that was about stopping a murderous ideology being exported around the world. For two decades, that ideology has been contained, as have the mass casualty attacks of those times. A generation of Taliban leadership was wiped out because of that violence. And, time will tell if the lesson of that history has been learnt.
I know some veterans of the conflict are questioning these efforts. I understand that. I truly do. My answer though, is, the uniform you wear, and have worn, has always been about keeping Australia and Australians safe, serving under our flag, serving our values. There is no more decent and good purpose than being willing to serve the country that you love. It doesn't mean history's currents always run our way. I wish it did, but sadly it doesn't. But, it doesn't matter which battle, which conflict in where our uniform has been worn, we honour all who step up in our name. We honour the men and women, who in Andrew Hastie's words, ‘Run to the sound of the guns, because that is what we ask of them.’ To them, I say, you can be as proud as I am of you today as at any other time you put that uniform on, and the very first time you pulled that uniform on. You have served our country, and in so many cases continue to. And, I'm going to ask you to do one more thing for us and ourselves and yourself, and that is to please talk with people each and every day, in the weeks and months ahead. To your comrades, to your fellow veterans, to your friends, to your families and to your counsellors. There are services that are available, with people there who understand the circumstances of veterans and their families, including Open Arms, on 1800 011 046. Talk to someone, take up those services. It'll help you see through the fog of these very, very difficult times. The confusion, the uncertainty, the anger, it will make a difference, because all Australians want you to know, not just your Prime Minister, that you are not alone.
Tomorrow is Vietnam Veterans’ Day, and I want our Vietnam veterans, who had their own difficulties in their times, as well as all of our veterans through all of our conflicts also, as you, I know you do, reach out to your fellow Afghanistan veterans. And, to all Australians I say, if you know a veteran, tell them, as I take every opportunity to do, to thank them for their service. Let them know that we're all grateful, let them know that we're all proud, and we always will be.
On to other matters, I want to say thank you to Australia, as we continue to battle the most difficult phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. I want to thank every single person who is pushing through. We are not going to give up. We are not going to give in. I know, as each day as you are there, particularly those who are at home, and you hear the news each day and you hear the numbers and you, and you hear the challenges. I understand that that can be very disheartening, that it can get you down. Let's not give up, that's not our nature. Let's not give in to that, let's continue to look forward. Sometimes you can only see the tunnel and not the light. But, I want to tell you, the light is there, and every single day you're helping us achieve that. Whether you’re staying at home where you need to, or you're getting vaccinated, you're getting on the phone and ringing your friend and encouraging them over the course of the day, or whatever you're doing to help Australia get through this, you are creating that light at the end of this tunnel. And, it's very important we focus on that, Australia. It's very easy to become overcome by the criticisms and the negativity and the, and the numbers. But, we must push through, and we shall. And, there's good reason to believe that, because even though our challenges are great - and I've asked the Health Minister and CMO and Minister for Indigenous Australians to join us today to talk about a particular challenge we're having in western New South Wales - we will overcome it.
We've just had another near record day of over 270,000 doses delivered in a single day. It's almost 200 doses every single minute. Just think about that. In the brief time I've been speaking here, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of doses, going through, getting us one step closer, with every single dose. In the past seven days here in Australia, as a share of our population, it beats any seven day period in the United Kingdom over their entire vaccination program. That's what you are achieving right now, Australia. That's what you're achieving, and taking us forward to the next phase, as we look forward to those 70 per cent and 80 per cent vaccination rates being achieved. And, the quiet achievers of this are the 8,000 and more GPs and pharmacists, the silent success that they're engaged in every single day. They are doing the overwhelming majority of the vaccine doses across the country. You'll see the images, no doubt, as you can, of the big clinics where people are coming in, but even more, quietly walking into suburban main street GPs, rural towns around the country, people going in quietly getting their jab from their GP and their pharmacists, and getting this job done for Australia.
Right now, around the country, every state and territory has gone above 25 per cent double dose, except Western Australia, and we look forward to them achieving that in the time ahead. This week, one in two Australians will have received their first dose of that vaccine. And, that's getting us closer and closer to that 70 per cent and 80 per cent every single day. So, I want to encourage Australians. I know that the news can sometimes get you down, but don't let it. We're never going to give in to this thing. We're never going to give up in fighting it. We will overcome the challenges. We will continue to stand with you.
$3 billion has already been made available, $3 billion just most recently, to the 1.3 million Australians who have access to that COVID Disaster Payment. We are standing with you today, just as we were last year, just as we brought back Australia from that COVID-19 recession, and the terrible first and second waves, and we came back then and we are going to come back again after this, as we vaccinate the rest of the nation. Greg.
THE HON. GREG HUNT MP, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE: Thanks very much to the PM, to Ken, to Paul Kelly, the Chief Medical Officer. So, firstly, to echo the Prime Minister, thank you to all of the Australians who are stepping forward to arm themselves, to be vaccinated, to protect themselves, their friends, their families, their communities. This is happening, as the PM says, in record numbers. Yesterday, 279,465 Australians were vaccinated. We believe that's the highest number, not just during the COVID vaccination program, but at any point in Australia's history for vaccinations in a single day. That's now over 15.6 million vaccines that have been delivered in total. And, importantly, we've passed the milestone of over 10 million eligible Australians that have had their first dose. And, that's the number that’s immensely important because it overwhelmingly leads to people having their second dose. And, that's very heartening. And, so, to see that is a cause of thanks, but it's also a point to continue to urge Australians to come forward.
But, this week, we know that there are over two million vaccines in the field, and then there's the additional million from Europe. And, I can give a brief update on that. The TGA has batch tested the first of the arrivals and approved it, and that's been released, and that's going to be distributed over the coming hours and days. And, I think that will provide additional hope and help and support for people right around Australia, but particularly in New South Wales, particularly in Sydney, particularly in western and south western Sydney. In addition to to that, the second of those flights from Europe is over Australia and due to land this afternoon with the additional 450,000 doses, Prime Minister. So, that's all, I think, real cause for hope.
Now, in terms of other elements, with regards to the response to the outbreak in western New South Wales - and Ken and Professor Kelly will give additional detail - the Commonwealth is working very closely with New South Wales. I particularly want to thank New South Wales Health. There's a joint operations team led by Health at Commonwealth with the support of Emergency Management Australia, and led by New South Wales Health. As a consequence of that, we will be dispatching five ADF vaccination teams. They will comprise up to 14 members. The first of those teams will arrive in western New South Wales tomorrow, and others will arrive over the coming days. These teams will be made of up to 14 members, as I've mentioned, which will include medics, nurses, logisticians, a clinical lead, and they'll be hubbed out of Dubbo and they will work across the area. They'll support vaccination, but where swabbing or other activities are required, they're highly mobile, highly flexible, highly trained.
In addition to that, the first AUSMAT team is expected to be dispatched within 48 hours. Professor Len Notaras, the head of the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre, is pulling those teams together from around the country. And, the first of those teams will be dispatched in the next 48 hours, and that will be up to five teams over the course of the coming week. They will carry out a similar role, but in particular provide clinical support. So, if there are any hospitals, any areas where the health services are in some way, shape or form impaired by furloughed workers or stressed, they're ready to step up. These are some of the absolute heroes and most extraordinary people in the Australian medical system, and they've helped us throughout the course of the last 18 months, and they'll continue to help us.
The Royal Flying Doctor Service is providing additional services right across Walgett, Dubbo, Bourke. They're providing vaccine support in small communities. Supplies have included an additional 9,480 vaccines, but if more is required, more will be provided. Testing equipment is in place. Additional point of care testing across Walgett and Bourke, across general practice respiratory clinics right through the course of western New South Wales. And, then, finally, there's masks which have been made available, in conjunction with New South Wales - 10,000 masks have been provided in these areas. If more is needed, more will be provided. But, I do want to thank the Indigenous community. They have been extraordinary. There are challenges, but they've shown an immense amount of spirit, but nobody's better placed to talk about that than Ken.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, Ken.
THE HON. KEN WYATT AM MP, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: Thank you very much, Greg, thank you, PM. Can I say I'm really pleased with the vaccination rates - at 30 per cent, that's 169,000 Indigenous Australians who’ve had their first vaccine, another 15 per cent have had both their doses, 69,000. But, what is coming out and becoming very evident is our communities know the challenges, and already leadership is stepping up and we're seeing straight talking happening, what it means. They're cutting through what they're seeing through media, and they're saying stay at home, wash your hands. Whilst we have cultural considerations, they're making sure that they distance. And, whilst the numbers are increasing, they remain optimistic that they will arrest it. And, I was impressed with some of the local messages that are coming out from elders and leaders at the community level. You would have seen Riverbank Frank or Frank Doolan do a superb message about why it's important that you look after each other, why it's important that you take care and lean in and give the support.
But, the community controlled health sector, in working with all of the coordinating structures that we’ve put in place, are making inroads into protecting people, giving key messages, but making sure that the vaccines are available, and the Commonwealth, the state and the community are working hand in hand. Pat Turner and I both committed to working very closely together to make sure that we protect people. In the Northern Territory, the Land Councils have put into place the permit system and nobody is allowed into those communities. Our leadership has been very strong at every level where there is a concern, and they've not waited for governments to tell them. They have, of their own initiative, said that we want to protect our elders. The young ones also are joining in by saying we need to keep our knowledge keepers. So, the strength of our community in all of these initiatives has been tremendous. It'll continue to be there, even though we may face challenges in some areas, they will make sure that we have the level of impact to reduce the spread of COVID within our communities. But, they've risen to the challenge and they are doing a superb job. And, can I congratulate Pat Turner and Lieutenant General Frewen and Paul for the letter that they've sent to every GP in this country asking that they give their attention to the needs of Indigenous Australians who require to be vaccinated so that we protect them and protect them into the future, so that they can live long lives, and we continue with our culture and our history and our place in Australian society.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you. Paul.
PROFESSOR PAUL KELLY, COMMONWEALTH CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: Thank you, PM and ministers. So, I'd just like to join the other speakers today talking about a message of hope. There is hope and that hope comes from the collaboration that Minister Wyatt has just talked about. I've learnt over many years from Aboriginal Australians and the Aboriginal community controlled sector about that importance of listening to each other, of that trust that can build through collaboration. And I've seen that right throughout the pandemic in relation to our work with Indigenous Australia and most importantly, in the last couple of days. There's no question about who's in charge of what, who's responsible for what. Everyone is getting together and helping that emerging situation in western New South Wales, which is very, very concerning. And so there is hope there. And the two ministers and the PM have already talked to that about how that's working. That collaborative spirit has been a key component all the way through, not only throughout the medical profession, in the public health profession, in the Australian Health Protection Committee that I chair that has met every single day for the last three months to talk through these things, to see how we can work together. My great appreciation to them.
But the key part of the hope is the vaccination programme. I know we've talked about that many times before. There are many other things we need to do, but vaccine can be part of the solution, and mask wearing. I just remembered I'm still wearing my mask. I'll take that off. I've become used to it.
So I just want to just very, very briefly mention the data from from New South Wales. We had a look just in the last 24 hours about the vaccination status of the current outbreak in New South Wales. So this is based on information we have for not all of the cases, but from almost 6,000 of them. So we have information for 74 per cent of the cases, which is just under 6,000. So where it's known, only one per cent of cases were fully vaccinated, that is 99 per cent of the cases we've seen have not been vaccinated. Vaccination is the key. That's our hope. Three per cent were partially vaccinated and four per cent were diagnosed within three weeks of receiving a single vaccination. The key message here is go and get vaccinated, particularly if you're in the older age group, as Minister Wyatt has mentioned. But everyone. Vaccination is available right now in many places very close to you. As importantly, no fully vaccinated cases have required admission to ICU. So that severe end of the spectrum, we've talked about the protection that vaccination gives against severe illness. Not a single person that has been admitted to ICU has been vaccinated and there's only been one death. Unfortunately, that gentleman aged 91 years was fully vaccinated. I believe it might be two now, but there's very few of the cases that have been diagnosed, have been fully vaccinated and died. And so it is a protection. It is hope. It's our way out of this crisis. And so please do not hesitate and go and get vaccinated. Make that appointment today.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, on Sunday, you said, as a matter of principle, Australia will always fight for freedom. With the Taliban in control of Kabul, at least one of them boasting about being a former inhabitant of Guantanamo Bay. How do you tell a young girl in Afghanistan today, maybe a girl as young as your daughters, that this is what freedom looks like?
PRIME MINISTER: Australians have been there for 20 years. And for 20 years we've been able to seek to protect a generation. Australia doesn't act alone in these efforts. And the sad truth is that with the decisions that have been taken, that is not something that Australia can continue to do. Australia has exerted every effort to help the people of Afghanistan over these last 20 years. We have lost 41 of our own in that great cause. And I can say that Australia has done it all within its power, all within her power to provide safety for the people of Afghanistan. And what we see now is heartbreaking.
JOURNALIST: You've admitted that support won't reach all that it should. You said you wish it were different. Could the situation not have been different? We've had former soldiers warning for weeks now that military evacuation was needed. Why weren't those calls heeded to back then when we were getting those warnings?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, 430 people have been resettled and they're in Australia right now. Now, that process did not happen overnight. That's just since April. There are many months involved in both going through the appropriate processes of identifying people, looking at what they've been able to do with us, going through medical checks, doing all of those necessary things that Australians would expect of their government to do in any such programme. 1,800 have gone through that process over the course of our government. Living here in Australia now.
Our embassy was closed in May of this year. I remember some were critical of the government for doing that. We were getting people out from May, from May. So I would say that our government has been moving steadily now over quite a period of time to bring as many people out as we possibly can. And the job is not yet done. The job is not yet done. Now, in any circumstance, it's impossible to give 100 per cent guarantees. That's all I was referring to.
JOURNALIST: Can I ask a question on visas and in particular, temporary visas. Marise Payne was very careful on radio this morning to say no Afghan visa holder will be asked to return to Afghanistan, at this stage. Alex Hawke has also just issued a statement to say no Afghan visa holder currently in Australia will be asked to return to Afghanistan while the security situation remains so dire. It's very clear the situation in Afghanistan isn't going to improve. So why don't we allow those on temporary visas in Australia to apply for permanent residency and finally become Australian?
PRIME MINISTER: We have no plans to be returning people back to those places where there's such terrible, where there is such terrible unrest and they'll be able to remain here under those circumstances, under the visas they're currently on.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, your predecessor, or one of your predecessors, there's been a very few, Tony Abbott in 2015 issued 12,000 [inaudible] for Syrian refugees. Will you do the same, given that one of the elements of the last pandemic budget was that you actually reduced the humanitarian intake by 5,000 from 18,750 to 13,750? You've got plenty of space to offer a special intake for the people that Australia have a particular responsibility for.
PRIME MINISTER: One of the things we have been doing now for some time is there are those who have been able to come out under the locally engaged employees programme. As I said, 1,800 people and their families have already come out, some 430 just since April of this year. And the pace of that programme has been running at a very high level. The only other time it ran as high as that, I remember it well. I was Immigration Minister at the time. It was back in 2013 and well over 500 visas were issued while I was Immigration Minister, getting Afghan interpreters and others who are working with our forces to Australia to safety. So we've done it before and we are doing it again. What we are- and then there are others who haven't been involved with Australia's operations like that. And what we have done is ensure that we can basically hand over case files that have been looked at in that context and they are being processed through the humanitarian programme.
We do have a very strong humanitarian programme. Indeed, only Canada’s on a per capita basis is higher than Australia's. And the rates that we have had, I think Australia can look very favourably on. I mean, our communities have people right across the country who have come out under our humanitarian programme. Indeed, they were celebrated as champions at the most recent Olympics. People have come through that. People have come through that programme. And so what I'm suggesting is we are considering all of these issues, all of these issues.
But I'll tell you what I'm focused on right now. Right now, I'm focussed on the very desperate situation that exists in Kabul right now and making sure that the operations that we are mounting are successful, that those Australians who are involved in those operations are doing it in a way which is both protective of their safety, but also getting the mission done. And so the government is very focused on that right now. That is the operational priority right at this moment. That is why the National Security Committee I'm chairing every single day as we oversight these operations and make sure that job gets done. There are many other issues. Andrew, you're right, that need to be then considered as we go forward. And they indeed will be. But right now we're looking to make sure those operations are a success.
Chris. We don't have time for a lot of questions today, but I'm happy to take a couple of more.
JOURNALIST: What optimism do you have that you'll be able to get any planes in and get anyone out?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, you know me, I'm always optimistic. I'm probably one of the most optimistic people, you know, Chris, but I am also doing is ensuring that we're doing this very carefully on the basis of the most current information we have from the field. And that's why we're reviewing these matters so regularly. And, but I do remain optimistic about those operations. That's why we continue to authorise and proceed with our plans to ensure we can get done what we hope to get done in the days ahead.
JOURNALIST: You were saying you were aware of this deteriorating situation in Afghanistan since May, we closed the embassy at that time. So why did it take up until now, mid-August, to send these 250 personnel? And can you rule out that any of them that have been sent have, are in any way connected to the Brereton Inquiry?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I firstly respond by saying that the suggestion, I find a bit extraordinary in the circumstances. These are 250 Australians answering the call of their government to go and help Australians in need. And you're questioning their integrity? I, I find that quite surprising. They're going there to help their fellow Australians and to help Afghan citizens who will be coming to live here in Australia. They're going to do their service in our uniform and in our name. I respect it. And I would ask others to respect it also and not to cast slurs against their integrity.
The second point I'd make is this. They have been asked to go there under this operation to support the mission we're currently engaged in. And that mission involves a situation on the ground in Kabul which is very distressing, very fluid. And of course, should we need Australians to be going in to support the efforts of our mission over, in the days ahead, then, of course, we have that option available to us by people being prepositioned. But I thank them for their service. Thank you to those 250 that have left from Townsville. I want to thank their families as they farewelled them off to that service. And I can assure you, I honour each and every single one of you.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you've mentioned that the importance of the 70 and 80 per cent targets under Doherty, how important is it going to be for the states to ensure no regions actually fall short of that 70 or 80 per cent, because you could see areas much higher. You could end up with a state with one level, but vastly different rates across different regions?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, I think that's a fair assessment, and that's why the disaggregated data we're increasingly releasing for that purpose so we can know where to greater focus our efforts and states and territories know where they can greater focus their efforts. Even when you go across the country. I mean, right now, if I go around the country and look what everybody is achieving, I mean, Tasmania continues to be leading the way. And good on those in Tasmania together with the ACT and the Northern Territory. New South Wales is also moving into that category now, well over 50 per cent now who have had their first dose. So it is important that the national vaccination programme works right across the country. And as we move into those 70 and 80 per cent phases, I was very clear, as was I think the Chief Medical Officer at the time, that where communities in particular remain vulnerable because of lower vaccination rates, then we will have to be more careful in those places and we will need to know those sensitivities. But for the broad majority of the population, then the broader vaccination rates will be more prevailing, I think, in those circumstances. And even when we look across metropolitan areas and this is why we've been able to push over half a million doses into Sydney in particular, to deal with those 20 to 39 age groups, I've got to say, I'm very, I am encouraged by the fact that when I stood up at the end of June and encouraged those under 60s to really consider going out and get that getting that AstraZeneca vaccine, you know, more than half a million people aged under 60 have now done that. Thank you. Thank you for doing that. Thank you for having the conversations with your GPs. Thank you for having the conversations with your families. Thank you for taking those decisions. I really appreciate it. We've time for one more. Clare.
JOURNALIST: Thank you. The New South Wales Government has released data today showing that the vaccination rate in Dubbo and large parts of western New South Wales only between 10 and 19 percent fully vaccinated. How is it possible that these regions with such a high concentration of priority recipients are so far behind and has this put them in a worse place to now battle these outbreaks of virus? I'd like to hear Minister Wyatt as well.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'll let the Chief Medical Officer respond to that one. It is challenging in different populations to have higher rates of vaccination. Some communities are more challenging, their remoteness and many other issues play into that, and of course, we want those vaccination rates to be as high as they possibly can. And the Minister has already commented on all the things we're doing to try and achieve that and the support we're getting from communities. And we just continue to seek to encourage those communities to work with us in those efforts. But it is concerning to us what's happening in western New South Wales. Of course it is. Of course it is. And that's why the additional resources and efforts and doses and masks and AUSMAT teams and all of this are being provided to ensure that we can address that situation. We do see it as a serious situation and we're moving quickly to work with the New South Wales Government to address it. Paul.
PROFESSOR PAUL KELLY, COMMONWEALTH CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: Minister Hunt mentioned many of the things that have been now done to address that issue rather than looking backwards. Let's look forward. Let's look at what's happened in the last few days. Extraordinary efforts, literally thousands of vaccinations happening in places as far flung as Walgett and Bourke and Brewarrina and many other places in western New South Wales. And this is a huge collaborative effort between the Royal Flying Doctor Service, the local Aboriginal Medical Services, New South Wales Health, the Commonwealth, and from tomorrow, the ADF resources and from later in the week, the AUSMAT resources. But Minister Wyatt may talk to the community element.
JOURNALIST: Why shouldn't those people have been eligible since March, have had more of an opportunity proactively to get the vaccine?
THE HON. KEN WYATT AM MP, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: Part of it is choice. Some people have made choices because they have become fearful of adverse effects, but they are now focusing on getting vaccinated. That's why the vaccine rates, the vaccination rates have increased substantially. And we're seeing this right across the country. Wallum community, 80 per cent are now vaccinated. Palm Island, the figures are extremely high, 1,770. Torres Strait Islander regional area. People are now believing that it is time for them to take the proactive action. And the elders and the leaders are ensuring that the straight messages, straight talking is now part of what communities are hearing.
JOURNALIST: Shouldn't you have been more proactive before, because we knew these people were so vulnerable, they were at the front of the queue. Surely the messages should have been got out strongly before.
THE HON. KEN WYATT AM MP, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: Michelle, the messages were going out through Aboriginal media. They were about the importance of becoming vaccinated. They were important, about keeping families safe and mob safe and communities safe. But in some places they thought that they would be fairly distant from what was happening in capital cities. There is now a realisation that this virus can travel anywhere because of the movement of people. Most communities don't have the volume coming through, so there is that sense of secureness within their remote communities. This is now changed and it's a game changer. And that's why we're seeing the stepping up. And let me say that the Aboriginal community controlled health services, working in coordination with all of the other layers of support that are going in, are now availing themselves of vaccines and they are availing themselves of other services, such as mental health services and whatever else is needed to protect them and their families.
PRIME MINISTER: Just on Parliament before I leave, I mean, no decision has been taken other than that Parliament would normally proceed next Monday. And we continue to work through those issues with the Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Health Officer here. A quorum of members of Parliament actually remain here in Canberra. They've been here during the lockdown. So there won't be an issue in terms of there being enough members to be able to sit in the Parliament next week if that's indeed what we progress with. And so we'll continue to work through those issues. And when we've made a decision, we will advise accordingly. Thank you, everyone.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
15 August 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, everyone. I'm joined by the Foreign Minister, the Health Minister and General Frewen, head of Operation COVID Shield.
Before I come to the announcement today, I want to make a few remarks on Afghanistan. National Security Committee of Cabinet met yesterday to discuss a number of matters, this being the most serious of those matters. The situation in Afghanistan remains highly volatile and dangerous. We have been in close consultations with our allies and security partners, as we always have been, since operations in Afghanistan began in 2001. We are working closely with our partners to ensure a coordinated response, but we will not be discussing any operational plans at this point in order to maintain the security of those operations and of course, to protect those who are most vulnerable, who are the subject of those operations. I remind everyone that Australia removed its presence from, in the 28th of May. Some 400 locally engaged employees and their families have already been resettled in Australia since around April this year. This has been a program which we've been moving on very urgently, very quickly. It is a very complex exercise and we have been continuing to keep our pace on those processes, both of accrediting, assessing, issuing visas and bringing people to safety here in Australia. But our thoughts and prayers indeed are with the people of Afghanistan. There has been much sacrificed in the cause that we have laboured so long for. Many lives lost, 41 Australians.
Over the last 20 years, Australia has been a steadfast contributor to the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan. Australia joined the United States, NATO and the international community in Afghanistan in 2001 to help find Osama bin Laden and those responsible for the attacks on September 11, 2001, which will soon have their 20th anniversary, and to eliminate al Qaeda's capacity to stage more attacks against the West from Afghanistan. And that was achieved. Since then, Australia's efforts, alongside those of the international community, have been designed to lift the capacity and welfare of the Afghan people. Freedom is always worth fighting for.
I want to turn now to some good news. And the news today is that Australia's vaccination rollout is continuing to ramp up. Over 15 million vaccines have now been administered and one in four Australians are fully vaccinated. In just one day we saw more than 270,000 Australians get their jab, that being a record. And we are now achieving one and a half million doses each week, one and a half million doses every week, more than the population of the city of Adelaide as the Health Minister regularly reminds us. And that means we're on track next week to hit an important target. And that is that one in two eligible Australians would have had their first dose next week.
And I want to thank Australians for turning up. I want to thank Australians for enduring. I want to thank Australians for pushing through. I want to thank those Australians who are complying with those public health orders and the restrictions that are put in place, not just right across New South Wales as was announced yesterday by the New South Wales government. And I want to note that the Commonwealth Government also considered that matter yesterday. The decision taken by the New South Wales Government is consistent with the advice that I have received and the Health Minister has received and indeed the National Security Committee of Cabinet has received about the need for a broader and stronger lockdown in New South Wales to get on top of the virus. And those discussions, of course, have been held with the New South Wales Government.
But there is hope. Indeed there's more than a million doses of hope on its way. Earlier today, a plane left Dubai, having left Warsaw last night. We have been in discussions with the Polish government now for several weeks, and we have secured an additional just over one million doses of Pfizer and they'll start landing in Australia from tonight. These doses are on top of the 40 million Pfizer doses that Australia has already contracted to be delivered and of course will be ramping up again significantly in the fourth quarter of this year. These one million doses of hope, which will give people right across the country, particularly in New South Wales, where they are fighting this Delta strain in the most significant battle we have had in this country during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic up until now. These doses are all from the Pfizer plant in Belgium, where all of our other Pfizer doses are coming from. And I particularly want to thank Prime Minister Morawiecki, who I've had numerous discussions with over these last few weeks and been in regular contact. I want to thank him personally and his government for their support of Australia's COVID-19 response during this very challenging time. A key factor in being able to secure these doses from our Polish friends has been that we have had a significant outbreak in our largest city. That was the primary element of the discussion that I held with the Prime Minister some weeks ago. And that discussion followed, proving up the reality of us being able to potentially secure these doses and engage in that discussion with them. And I particularly want to thank the great work done by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, our embassy there in Poland in being able to identify this opportunity and enabling us to move very swiftly. The Health Minister and Foreign Minister will speak more to that, of course, and the Health Minister will speak more to the process with the TGA. These doses are TGA approved, but the Health Minister can take you through more of those details. I want to assure Australians that I will continue, and my government will continue to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that where there are opportunities such as these, we will secure them. I note that also being able to secure this transfer required us to engage directly, as I have with the head of Pfizer, to ensure that they are authorised to make this transfer. And I thank Pfizer and Albert Bourla for his support in enabling this to move through as promptly as possible.
Now, the one million doses, I've discussed this with the New South Wales Premier yesterday, will be targeted to Australians aged 20 to 39 years of age who are identified in the Doherty modelling as the peak transmitters for COVID-19. 530,000 of these doses will be prioritised for express delivery to the 12 Sydney Local Government Areas where the COVID-19 outbreak continues to grow. This allocation of the doses is based directly on the advice that I have received from the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Kelly. His advice is based on that Doherty modelling and other work that they have done about how the transmissibility of the virus in those most affected areas can be addressed through these additional doses. This will give everyone aged 20 to 39 in the 12 LGAs the opportunity to be vaccinated. The doses will be administered through the New South Wales Government system and as I said, they're arriving late tonight. They'll go through that process of delivery over the course of the next week. Further doses will turn up over the course of this week and the balance of the doses will be provided to the remaining states and territories on a per capita basis, not including New South Wales, of course, because they will have received those first 530,000 doses. The first touch down, as I said, is in Australia tonight. And in just days we will start going, these jabs will start going into the arms of Australians over the course of this week. And this will greatly assist particularly the effort in New South Wales to assist them as they go into this harder lockdown. And those lockdown measures must be adhered to.
I have a simple plea to the people right across New South Wales. And I know particularly in rural areas where people are wondering, well, there haven't been any cases in the area, so why do they have to lock down in rural and regional New South Wales. We're seeing that already, where the virus has been able to spread, particularly to some of our most sensitive communities, Indigeonous Australian communities, places like Walgett and so on. And we have to prevent that. We have to try and prevent that as much as possible. And so my plea to my fellow Australians, particularly my fellow Sydneysiders, stay at home. Stay at home. Only leave when you absolutely have to. There's no need to be out for hours and hours and hours a day. I know the rules provide for it, but please don't do it. Stay home. The more we do that, the more likely we're going to get through this. We've been seeing those case numbers rise in Sydney, in New South Wales each day, and that is terribly concerning. So together we've got to get those numbers coming down. And there are two things we can do. I need you to stay at home and you needed more vaccines from us. The more vaccines are on their way. They'll be there this week. And so I need Sydneysiders to stay home so we can beat this thing. That's the only way we're going to get on top of it. Those two things combined, working together, suppress and vaccinate. But to Minister Payne, thank you for your great efforts in assisting with securing this and all the great work done by our DFAT officials. They do a tremendous job, as you and I know, because we see them at it every single day. And I'll ask you to make a few comments. And then, of course, Minister Hunt and General Frewen.
SENATOR THE HON. MARISE PAYNE, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Thanks very much, Prime Minister. And I want to join the Prime Minister in welcoming Poland's decision to provide a million Pfizer vaccines to Australia and add my personal thanks to Foreign Minister Rau and to the Polish people for their support. To Poland's Ambassador here in Australia, Michał Kołodziejski, and of course, to Australia's Ambassador in Warsaw, Lloyd Brodrick. This is an arrangement which demonstrates, as the Prime Minister said, how our diplomatic capability is able to deliver in ways that continue to protect Australians. And it has been the efforts of Australia's Ambassador in Warsaw and his team, they've been tenacious in identifying and pursuing this opportunity and seeing it through to its successful outcome, including the Ambassador himself, seeing the delivery off at Warsaw Airport last night on its way to Australia. It is another element of the central role that DFAT plays in supporting Australia's response to and recovery from COVID-19, in addition to our repatriation of Australians overseas, the delivery of essential consular services and information and advice to Australians overseas.
Just as Poland has supported Australia in this context, we are also continuing to help our regional partners. And as you know, Australia will share 20 million doses with our neighbouring countries across the Pacific and in Timor Leste and South East Asia. We have already delivered over 1.6 million doses to the Pacific and Timor Leste, including 860,000 to Fiji and 577,000 to Timor-Leste. And to Papua New Guinea, to the Solomon Islands, to Samoa, to Tonga, to Tuvalu and to Vanuatu. We will also provide 2.5 million vaccines to Indonesia, 1.5 million to Vietnam. And in terms of Indonesia's most recent challenges, we've recently seen the delivery of 1,000 ventilators and 700 oxygen concentrators in assistance to our partners in Indonesia in their COVID-19 response. So, Prime Minister, we celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations with Poland next year. This is a mark of the warmth of the relationship between Australia and Poland. And again, let me thank all of the officials and particularly Foreign Minister Rau, my counterpart, for his assistance in ensuring that this could take place.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you. Greg.
THE HON. GREG HUNT MP, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE: Thanks very much to the Prime Minister, Marise, General Frewen. These additional doses are points of light and points of hope, as the Prime Minister has said. They come on top of 1.4 million doses which were made available around the country last week. And during the course of the current week, two million doses have been distributed for availability. So these are in addition to the two million doses which will be available to Australians over the course of the coming week in the ordinary course of events. And so thank you General Frewen for working on that process. I particularly want to acknowledge the Health Department, both Brendan Murphy and Professor John Skerritt have invested enormous resources in this process. The ordinary TGA processes have been followed. We're in a fortunate position, same doses, same source, same origin, coming from the Pfizer plant in Belgium. The preliminary work has already been done by the TGA. Final batch testing will be done on arrival in the ordinary course of events. So these are very familiar processes and doses are being treated in the same way. But we're very thankful that the TGA has already been able to do all of the preliminary work.
In terms of the allocations, the advice of the Chief Medical Officer has been followed in full. And so Professor Kelly has looked at the possibility of this and indicated, as the Prime Minister said, that the highest priority and indeed the basis on which we were able to secure these doses was to address the outbreak in our largest city, with the focus on young people in the 12 affected LGAs. And this will allow for rapid upscaling in that area to a population which will benefit significantly from the doses.
The final two things I want to mention, we are announcing today a rapid antigen testing process, a significant trial with up to 50 aged care facilities in Sydney that will prove the concept and allow for further expansion. And then just to follow up from the Prime Minister's points about what's occurring with the vaccination program – Australians are doing an amazing job. 15 million doses have been administered now. And what we've seen is 1.5 million, as the PM says, in the last seven days. That's actually now Adelaide and Darwin together. And in the last 10 days, 2.2 million doses or the equivalent of Perth and Ballarat together. What's really occurring here? Much of the burden of the fourth quarter is being brought forward to the third quarter. We are vaccinating more people than we had planned and anticipated was possible at this time. And that's just a tribute to both the supply, the logistics, but above all else the Australian people, those that are coming forward and those that are doing the vaccinations. So to every Australian, thank you for coming forward, but please keep coming forward. And as the PM said, stay at home. If you're in a lockdown area, be tested if you have symptoms and keep coming forward to be vaccinated because every vaccination can save your life and protect the life of somebody else.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks Greg. General.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL JJ FREWEN, COORDINATOR GENERAL OF OPERATION COVID SHIELD: Thank you, Prime Minister, and thank you, ministers. This additional million doses is very welcome news and will be an important fillip to the national vaccine rollout. These doses will be important in two ways. Firstly, they will help provide an immediate effect to the health situation in New South Wales. And secondly, they will help accelerate the programme more broadly across the nation. We've been working with authorities in New South Wales. They are ready to receive these doses and they will be surging through mass vaccination clinics and other hubs in south west Sydney in order to help bring the situation under control there. I'll also be working with authorities across the other states and territories as to precisely when they will receive their doses and how we will bring those into action in those jurisdictions.
PRIME MINISTER: OK, I'm happy to take questions
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, did the Taliban win the war in Afghanistan?
PRIME MINISTER: My concerns are for the people of Afghanistan. Australians have spilt blood and treasure in seeking to protect the lives of Afghanis, and this is a very troubling time. The world is a complex place and there is no more complex place than Afghanistan. Australia and our partners and our allies have done so much to seek to secure their peace, but this remains a very troubled part of the world, not just recently, but over generations and generations. We went there with our primary purpose, as I indicated before, and that was to hunt down Osama bin Laden and to prevent Al-Qaeda being able to use it as a base and mount their attacks. And that was achieved. But the challenge of the peace and freedom of the people of Afghanistan sadly remain an unresolved issue. And we hope for the best for them. But the situation is very, very dire. And our focus now is to ensure that we can continue to support those who have aided us. We are ensuring, as I said already, that over 400 people have already been brought to Australia as we've been working on this quite rapidly in recent months, as the situation has continued to deteriorate and we will continue to redouble our efforts in that regard, working with our partners.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, is it accurate, is it accurate that you urged the New South Wales Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, to lock down the entire state earlier last week, that this was discussed by national security cabinet, the security cabinet, and that this was in some way the advice of Paul Kelly? And why didn't she take your advice? And were you disappointed that when she did lock down that yesterday she didn't even front publicly to tell voters that that's what she was doing?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I can confirm the decision of the New South Wales Government to have a state wide lockdown is consistent with the advice that I had received from the Chief Medical Officer that the government has considered and and had been discussed with the New South Wales government.
JOURNALIST: But why didn't she act on that earlier? I mean, the suggestion is that what ...
PRIME MINISTER: I've confirmed what our position was and how we've relayed it and I'm pleased that the decision has been taken. And I think it's really important now that we just focus on making it work. Sorry, can you not talk over each other, OK?
JOURNALIST: [inaudible] having such a significant announcement being made by Facebook and Twitter that I can't imagine a lot of people sitting around waiting to follow John Barilaro or someone?
PRIME MINISTER: I'm pleased the decision has been taken. I'll leave the manner in which it's communicated to others.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just back on Afghanistan. Can you at least confirm that Australia will be despatching planes this week, given that Kabul might fall within days? And I'd love to ask Marise Payne, what of those who criticise the retreat for being a moral blunder now that we have sought to protect women and young children, young girls in particular, and they now under Taliban rule, might now be treated no better than cattle?
PRIME MINISTER: Let me deal with the first question. No, I don't think it is advisable for me to go into operational arrangements that are being put in place for the security of those we're seeking to help. And me openly discussing those arrangements wouldn't help them. And so I don't propose to do that. What I can assure you is, is this task has the utmost urgency and priority of the government and, of course, has been considered at the highest levels of the government yesterday. And we're in very constant engagement with our allies and partners as part of that broader effort.
SENATOR THE HON. MARISE PAYNE, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Thanks, Prime Minister, and as the Prime Minister has said, our concerns are very deep for the people of Afghanistan. This is a deeply disturbing situation. The security situation is clearly worsening. And Australia, like many of our security partners and allies, has invested an enormous amount in Afghanistan in support of the people of Afghanistan over many, many years now. And that includes a strong investment in the position of women and girls across that country. An investment, which has seen greater participation in schools, which has seen more women able to teach, which has seen other changes in lives, which we here, frankly, would simply take for granted. So it is very concerning to contemplate the circumstances which face those women and girls now. We have strongly urged consistently, clearly and emphatically that the Taliban should participate constructively in the peace talks. The peace talks are ongoing, that there should be a ceasefire and supported the Afghan Government and its efforts to pursue those matters. So while we acknowledge the challenges that the Prime Minister has set out, that has been our clear and consistent position. And we continue to reiterate that.
JOURNALIST: They've ignored these entreaties for peace. They have taken vast tracts of the of Afghanistan. You're facing a total humanitarian catastrophe. Is Australia, the US and its allies obliged to go back in and protect those women and young children?
SENATOR THE HON. MARISE PAYNE, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: These are matters which obviously in terms of the humanitarian challenge that the current events in Afghanistan present will continue to be discussed amongst Australia and all of our partners. I know the Afghan Government has called for the Taliban's actions to be subject to the attention of the United Nations. And we would, we would support that. Obviously, it is a very, very difficult situation, and between Australia and our international partners, humanitarian organisations and non-government organisations, these are matters which we are dealing with every day.
JOURNALIST: You've been adamant that not vaccines, but a lockdown working is the way out of lockdown. Yet, just before you said that, we need these two things, vaccines and a lockdown. I understand the two interact, but is there now, are you conceding the point where it's more likely that New South Wales will get out of lockdown via vaccination than via the lockdown working?
PRIME MINISTER: No, I think you're drawing a false dichotomy there. I have always been very clear that for the lockdown to work, the lockdown must work, and I've always been very clear that that is assisted by vaccines. So to suggest that it's a choice between the two is not the case. Nor have I, nor the New South Wales Premier indicated that. We know both are important, but most importantly is that the lockdown has to work. It must work. That's why I implore people across Sydney, stay at home, don't go down the beach for hours, don't meet up with others walking in twos apart and catching up anyway, we all know what we're talking about, OK? Don't do it. Please don't do it. Because you know, too much is having to be endured through these lockdowns for them not to work. And the more we work together and work with each other to ensure the lockdown works, the more hope we have. And so it's up to all of us, I think, to make this lockdown work. And so this next difficult step is now in place and it needs to be in place to protect people, particularly the most vulnerable people in our country. And so that's why I would urge. So it has always been a case of the two working together, but principally it has always been our very strong view that in a suppression phase, the suppression has to work. And in addition, vaccines can help that task. And that's why we have not ceased in our efforts to try and get additional vaccines. And now they're here that will support that effort. And so we have an opportunity over these next few weeks to really make this work and to get those vaccine numbers up, particularly amongst those 20 to 39 year olds in those most affected areas who are the transmitters. And many of them have to go to work because they are essential workers in occupations that keep the country moving. And so that's essential. So I think this will greatly assist this. Let's not forget that in addition to these 530,000 additional vaccines now going into New South Wales and over a million across the country, but in New South Wales, around 400,000 additional Pfizer vaccines have already been brought forward. So almost 900,000 vaccines, Pfizer vaccines, on top of a million AstraZeneca vaccines being available in New South Wales has been there to support, to assist, to supplement the success of a lockdown. But we've got to make the lockdown work. It's not, vaccines are not an alternative path to this lockdown. The lockdown and its success is the path to the lockdown working.
THE HON. GREG HUNT MP, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE: I'll just add, I might just add one thing to that, if that's okay. There's a strong, clear, unequivocal support for the hard 14 day statewide lockdown. (sic 7 day Commonwealth hotspot). It's a difficult decision. It affects a lot of people, but it's the right decision. And that's then backed by the very significant increase in vaccinations which were occurring, but which will now be aided by these additional doses.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, what do you say to the families of soldiers who died in Afghanistan who are now questioning the point of the war and if I may, just one more, the one million doses from Poland, what did we offer them in exchange? And has there been any other conversations with any other countries on surplus doses, particularly the US, that would provide a lot of hope to Australians now.
PRIME MINISTER: To the families of those 41 Australians, I say what I've always said. Thank you. Thank you for the sacrifice of your sons. They have fallen under our flag, under our name, wearing our uniform, serving. And we are forever in their debt. They don't get to decide where they go or what mission they're asked to perform. They know that. And yet they sign up and they go anyway. And they knew what they had to do and they went out there and did it. The world more broadly is a more complex environment. And so we can only offer our humble thanks of a grateful nation to them, and that I don't believe any Australian who falls in that service dies in vain, because what we always seek to fight for, which is freedom, is always important in whatever cause, regardless of the outcome. The fact that we as a nation stand for freedom and have been prepared to put Australians on the line for that cause is never in vain. Because if you stop fighting for freedom in that way, as we continue to pursue it all around the world in whatever field we can, diplomatically and otherwise, it is always important. And they have given more than anyone could ever expect of them in that great cause. And that's why they are great national heroes. The other issue, this is a straightforward transaction, a straightforward transaction. We've purchased the additional vaccines and I can't go into the commercial arrangements, I'm sure you understand, but it was a straight transaction and Prime Minister Morawiecki and I had a very positive discussion. A lot of that engagement, I've got to say, between the Polish Prime Minister and I was formed during the course of the OECD discussions I was having with European leaders. It has been an important priority of our government as the Minister for Foreign Affairs knows in particular for us to increase our engagement with European leaders. And that provided a very good opportunity to do that, regardless of the successful outcome of that campaign. It actually put me in contact very regularly with a large number of European leaders. And on the platform of that relationship, this was a much an expedited process because we knew each other and we could get on and we could get it done. And I'm very grateful to him for that. There were many other countries that I know they were talking to and some other countries have they've been able to help. And we're very grateful that they understood our need here in our biggest city to to address that need. And we appreciate it. I'm going here and then I'm coming over.
JOURNALIST: On vaccine passport, can you guarantee that there'll be a nationally consistent approach or is it possible that there would be different approaches, different rules in various states or even [inaudible]?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the government doesn't have a policy of vaccine passports. We don't have one. There isn't a policy of vaccine passports. And so to suggest there is would be false. What the Government simply does is provide a digital certificate of vaccination. That's what we're providing. There are discussions that are being had to try and seek to have some uniformity about how exemptions might apply to vaccinated persons at a state and territory, because that's the only place those exemptions can be provided. States and territories put in place public health restrictions. And if they're to afford exemptions to those restrictions, then they are the ones who have to do that. And what we are doing is ensuring that there is a, a credible and effective and easily usable digital vaccination certificate which can be provided to Australians. Chris.
JOURNALIST: Do you honestly believe the Taliban is going to listen to any of the entreaties of the world? Isn't the best predictor of the future of women and girls in Afghanistan what happened to them in the past?
PRIME MINISTER: What's happening in Afghanistan is heartbreaking, not just for, of course, all those Australians who have served there. And I can only imagine how they're feeling today as they're seeing these events unfold. But I think for all peace loving people around the world, and particularly those who understand and know of the terrible oppression that women and girls face in Afghanistan, and it is a heartbreaking moment and it's a heartbreaking time. And I think we're in no doubt about the character of the Taliban. We're in no doubt about it. And that's why today is such a difficult day. But my efforts and the efforts of my government must now focus on our most immediate challenges, and we must continue to provide the support to those who have supported Australia. And we will continue to do that. That is our priority. We are receiving regular updates on our operations and we'll continue to do that. And where I am in a position to provide any further updates securely, then I will. But until that time, I would ask that people respect the fact that what we're doing is there to protect the safety of people. And if we're unable to provide any further details on that, it's for their safety that we're doing that. Thank you very much, everyone.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
13 August 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon, everyone. I am joined by the Chief Medical Officer Professor Kelly and General Frewen, who heads up Operation COVID Shield. We all know how challenging the situation is that we’re facing across the country today, whether it’s here in the ACT which is in lockdown, or indeed in New South Wales where the challenge continues to be great, in Victoria, but frankly elsewhere around the country where the impacts of these lockdowns also have an impact well beyond the places where they’re occurring, whether that be down in Tasmania or up in North Queensland, or other parts of the country. Where this is occurring is having a ripple effect across the country, and this was a key factor that we discussed today when we were at the National Cabinet.
It’s also important that we often bear in mind, as the Chief Medical Officer reminds us, that Australia is not alone in facing the challenge of the Delta strain. We, as a globe now, around the world are in, many countries, into their fifth and sixth wave of the COVID-19. Here in Australia, we are now in our third wave, after the Victorian wave last year and the New South Wales wave this year. We have prevented, throughout the course of 2021 up until more recently, those waves coming earlier. You’ll recall the challenges we had in terms of the outbreak of the Delta strain in India earlier in the year and we took those precautionary actions there, but Delta is a very determined strain of this virus.
So, we must continue to suppress it, and we must continue to vaccinate. Suppress and vaccinate. That’s what Phase A of the national plan is all about. And, Phase B of that plan, hitting 70 per cent, we need to achieve those rates in order to move to that next stage. And, what’s encouraging is, is the vaccination program is continuing to escalate. It’s continuing to get higher and higher marks every day and I think that gives all Australians great hope about the path ahead. Australians are charting that course. Australians are making that path ahead for our nation out of COVID-19 with every step they take into those vaccination clinics, and as they arm themselves with that vaccination. That is what is clearing the path ahead for all Australians. And, now, one in four eligible Australians - one in four - are now fully vaccinated in this country. It was 11.6 per cent just a month ago. That just demonstrates how quickly this vaccination program is gathering pace all around the country.
In Tasmania and the ACT, we already knew that first dose vaccinations had gone above 50 per cent. But, by now, by now, New South Wales will be more than 50 per cent of their eligible population first dose vaccinated, and other states will soon follow. Yesterday, 270,687 vaccinations in one day. Over 270,000 vaccinations in one day. That is equivalent in per capita terms to the fourth best day they had in the UK ever for their program. So, the vaccination rates now being achieved under Operation COVID Shield, right across the country, is now hitting those world-class marks that is necessary to get Australia where we want to get to. One million doses in just four days. That is an extraordinary effort, Australia. I want to thank all Australians for what you’ve been doing to clear this path for us to go forward, and I want to encourage you to keep doing it. You’re doing a great job Australia, keep going. This is the way that we need to go to get where we need to go.
Now, I just want to show you a few of those charts, and I want to thank General Frewen for these. We are updating - no, if you can go back to the first one, please - you can see there, these are the, we’ll be upgrading again from Monday the information packs that are going out, and you’ll see this every day, very similar to what you’re already seeing. So, you can see we’re just shy of 15 million when it comes to the overall number of doses delivered around Australia; 46.7 per cent on first dose, and you can see it right there, one in four Australians now having been fully dosed for the vaccines. Next one thanks.
And, you can see how it’s really ramped up. This just looks at the last seven days. And, you can see in the last seven days, 1.34 million doses delivered in the past week. And, what I really want to notice here, and I want to thank those particularly in the primary care network, where you can see that those doses, which is the light blue line there, you can see how the light blue line has really escalated in those last few weeks, as we’ve been taking the vaccination program forward. So, thank you GPs, thank you pharmacists, thank you Australians going in and supporting that effort.
I said in Question Time this week, we’ve got pharmacists now running 24 operations, 24-hour operations to be able to be making those vaccinations available to shift workers, and particularly those in the construction industry in New South Wales, which are subject to those new requirements in order to keep working in New South Wales. You can see there the state clinics also increasing, but it really has been the GPs through the primary care network that has been carrying that, those large increases across the country. Next slide thanks.
When you look around the country, and this is what really matters, because for the national plan, for us to move to 70 per cent, the whole country needs to get to that 70 per cent mark, and then each and every state needs to move into that. And, as you can see, Tasmania is really leading the charge. They are now at 52.5 per cent on their first vaccines and they’re at over 30 per cent now in Tasmania in
double dose full vaccinations in that state. New South Wales, on today's figures, 50 per cent on that first dose, which is a great result for New South Wales, and I want to thank everyone, particularly across greater Sydney in those lockdown areas that have been turning out, not just to get tested but to go and get vaccinated. Victoria also has been performing well - they’re just shy of 25 per cent on second dose vaccinations. But, they have been having a very strong performance in their state-based clinics, and particularly when it comes to the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine through those state-based clinics in Victoria. So, right across the country you’re seeing those results. For over 50s, we now
have 70 per cent who have achieved those first doses, and over 80 per cent now for people aged over 70. On double dose vaccinations, more than half of those aged over 70 in Australia, more than half of those aged over 70 have received both doses of the vaccine. Now, that’s particularly most important for our most vulnerable Australians. Thank you. Next, next slide.
This is a chart you'll be familiar with, which shows the age pyramid across New South Wales. This is provided every single day for all states and territories, and you’ll continue to see that. I’ve already talked about the New South Wales results. And, the next slide please.
We will also be providing that information on a, last seven days, and you can see the overall vaccination cube sitting in the top right hand corner. And, again, you can see here in New South Wales, particularly these light blue bars, which are showing the great turn out of GPs and pharmacists in the vaccination program. Thanks very much.
Also, today, there were a number of other issues, of course, that we addressed. It was an opportunity amongst premiers and chief ministers and myself to be able to review the situation in each state and territory, particularly in New South Wales, but also, I’ve got to say, with the most recent decisions that have been made here in the ACT, and I want to thank all those across the ACT for the way they’ve been responding in the last 24 hours, including those working here in this building.
In addition to that, we monitor the ongoing work. Last week we tasked further work from the Doherty Institute across a range of areas. That work is underway now. It’ll be some weeks before we start to see the results of that work, looking at vulnerable populations, looking at the impact of potential school-based outbreaks, things like that, to ensure that we can be adjusting our vaccination programs and where we’re targeting particular efforts in the future. And, that work is, will be informing General Frewen’s activities.
We also got a bit of an update on the work today being done out of Victoria, the Commonwealth, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, which is looking at those exemption arrangements for vaccinated persons in Australia. This is being done on the basis of the public health knowledge that, if you’re vaccinated, then you present less of a public health risk to yourself and to others around you, your work colleagues, your community. And, so, if people present less of a health risk, then it only stands to
reason that you would have different arrangements. Now, we’re continuing to work through that. There are no decisions taken on that yet. As you know, they will take place when we reach those 70 per cent marks, and we’re making great progress towards that, but that work will continue to be done, including the tools that will be necessary to support those arrangements by states and territories.
And, the freight code - we're getting very close to a final agreement there, which will mean that it should be a lot more simple for our transport sector moving across borders and testing arrangements and the like.
Economics supports - because we’re in a suppress and vaccinate phase, and we understand that under the Delta strain, unlike previously, when we have to do those lockdowns - hopefully they’re short, they’re certainly sharp - and they put a lot of stress, particularly on businesses and others and kids unable to go to school - that is fully understood. We all understand how difficult that is. If there was another way to suppress the Delta strain, I can assure you, that’s what we’d be doing. In earlier phases, there was an ability to constrain and suppress the virus without having to resort to those sorts of situations. And, we saw that in New South Wales plenty of times. But, now, under the Delta strain, sadly, that is the most effective way to try and bring it under control as we continue to vaccinate the population and move towards that 70 per cent target in the first instance, and 80 per cent. So, that means that in the meantime we must continue to provide the economic supports - both in direct income support to people who have been affected with lost hours, but also business supports.
Now, let me give you a quick update on the direct income supports. Under the full program, now, some $2.256 billion has been paid by the Commonwealth Government, by the Federal Government, to people who have lost hours because of restrictions that have been put in place as a result of the lockdowns. In New South Wales, that figure is $1.9 billion, and that has been paid to 762,879 people. In Victoria, some $260 million has been paid 250,000, 252,843 people. In Queensland, $98.7 million has been paid to 140,735 people. And, in South Australia, $45 million was paid to 80,669 people. Now, that was put in place to supplement the social security system, welfare system, in Australia. In places where there are lockdowns, people do not have the alternative of being able to go and find other employment and hours in other places. It is necessarily locked down. And, that's why the COVID Disaster Payments are paid in those areas, and they will continue to be when lockdowns come into effect, and people are eligible from that first day and you make your claim after seven days, which more and more people are becoming familiar with.
Business support - there is not an automatic stabiliser business support program that operates in this country. There is for individuals. We've had a social security system for a very, very long time. But, because of these lockdowns, we do need that business support put in place, and we agree that the most effective way to do that is state by state, because they all are coming at this from a different place. They have different challenges that we need to address. The challenge in Tasmania is different to the challenge in Queensland, and, of course, in New South Wales. And, so, what we agreed to do, over a month ago now, well over a month ago, is that the Commonwealth would provide the direct income support payments, the states would pay the business payments. And, what we have been doing now for some time is sharing the cost of those business payments. So, they’re a shared 50/50 costs in New South Wales, in Victoria, in the ACT, which was announced yesterday, Tasmania, which was announced today, and in Tasmania, recognising that these lockdowns in New South Wales and Victoria have further impacts on states other than those in lockdown, on their businesses, on their hospitality business. So, we've been working with Premier Gutwein there and his team to deliver that support, which was announced earlier today. And, while we were meeting today, the Premier Palaszczuk and I and our treasurers were able to complete an agreement for support into Queensland, which is a $600 million one off package. And, in addition, there was arrangements put in place for South Australia, when they were going through lockdowns.
The final point I'll make before I throw to the Chief Medical Officer, who has a presentation to make, is on the issue of businesses and mandatory instructions to employees. I updated you last week on the Solicitor-General's advice. You can go to the Fair Work site and you'll see a very clear explanation of what the legal position on those matters are. But, what we discussed today was that the challenge faced by a business who fears that they may be subject to an action from an employee who may become ill as a result of COVID and may seek to bring an action against that employer on the basis that they did not put a mandatory requirement on that workplace. Now, what this relates to is workplace health and safety laws that exist at a state level, and I was able to advise that the advice I have received is that workplace health and safety regulators in the states can provide a statement of regulation intent that a business that does not mandate is not in breach of workplace health and safety laws. So, a protection can be provided to businesses through that process that may be concerned that by not putting in a mandatory requirement that they might otherwise be liable for any action that might be brought against them. Now, that's an understandable point that business is making.
We don't have a mandatory vaccination program. It's free and it's not mandatory. Businesses are encouraging their employees all around the country to get vaccinated, as they should, as the Government is, as all governments are. But, the issue of mandatory vaccinations have been put in place in a, in a very select group of sectors - the quarantine workers; I can update you today that we've had the public health orders in both South Australia and Western Australia for aged care workers. All other states and territories gave us an update on that, and they're proceeding with their public health orders in relation to aged care workers. That's a very specific group within the community that is dealing with very vulnerable Australians. That's understandable. And, and that's where the public health orders have been applied. In New South Wales right now, the Premier advises that there is that public health order that relates to construction workers in those most affected areas, and that's entirely reasonable and sensible in the circumstances. But, outside of that, we're not running a mandatory vaccination program, and it's also not reasonable that an employer may feel they have to put some sort of mandate in place to protect themselves potentially from some state-based workplace health and safety laws. So, I think that's a very practical way to deal with this issue. And, so, premiers and chief ministers will, of course, consult with their own regulators. But, the issue is with those state-based laws. And, so, that's where the remedy can be provided. And, on that, I'll pass you over to Paul.
PROFESSOR PAUL KELLY, COMMONWEALTH CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: Thank you, Prime Minister. So, I’ve just got a few slides. Might get the first one. Back one. Yes. Thank you. So, just to summarise the situation in Australia at the moment, make a couple of brief comments about what's the same, what's different compared with last year, and also to put it in context with the rest of the world. So, firstly, as of today, with today's figures that were announced by by all jurisdictions and collated at the Commonwealth level, as we do each day at around midday, we can see that we're now up to 38,165 cases since the beginning of last year, and, sadly, 948 deaths. In in this year, we've seen we're closing in on 10,000 cases now for the whole country, and, sadly, 39 deaths. Most of those cases and most of those deaths have been associated with the New South Wales outbreak, which is which is continuing to be a concern, particularly in Sydney, but also in other areas of the state.
What do we know about this outbreak? This is clearly our third wave in Australia. The first wave, you'll remember right back in the beginning of the pandemic, was mostly related to people coming from overseas, so overseas acquired cases and some local cases. Almost exactly at this time last year, we were faced with the terrible situation in Victoria and that that wave, which was mostly locally acquired cases in in Melbourne. And, now we're in this wave, which is, which is not entirely, but mostly in New South Wales. In fact, we have ongoing, we have active outbreaks at the moment in four of our eight jurisdictions. In order of of concern, I would say in Queensland, they they are still seeing some cases related to the, to the outbreak in south east Queensland. But, they are, that is definitely under control. They, most of those cases, in fact almost all of them, are in quarantine for their entire infectious period, and that is not a concern at the moment. Continue to be watched. In Victoria, of course Melbourne is still in a lockdown phase in relation to that latest outbreak in in Victoria. But, again, almost all of the cases that are being diagnosed are already in quarantine before, during their infectious period. So, again, that is coming under control. In the ACT, we have very few cases at the moment. But, but this is the first time in the ACT we've had locally acquired cases for more than a year. And, this is new to the ACT. We're continuing to give support to them, and they're learning, of course, and being given support from all the other jurisdictions that have been in their situation. A complex group of, group of exposure sites, and that will play out in the next few days. I'd just like to give a shout out to all people in the ACT that are experiencing lockdown right now, particularly those thousands of people that are lining up to, to get their tests as, as they've been asked to do so. And, then finally to New South Wales, we continue to see large numbers of cases, increasing numbers of people in hospital, and and some spread through the state, including to to some regional areas. And, this, these are the the main areas that we're assisting New South Wales with at the moment. Just go to the next slide now.
This is looking at hospitalisation, including ICU, of course, in hospitals. The blue line is representing 2020, and the orange line this year. And, so, in 2020, we had those two waves again of cases we saw at the previous graph. This is related to hospitalisations. Quite a large peak in hospitalisations at the beginning of last year, a larger peak in relation to the Victorian wave at almost exactly the same time a year ago. Contrast that to what we've seen throughout the whole of 2021, until very recently, very few people in hospital. And, now that that number in mostly in New South Wales, which is following a very similar trajectory to the situation in Victoria last year. Just go to the next slide, please.
The contrast, and this is a really important point and absolutely goes to the, goes to why we are, we are asking people to get vaccinated. Vaccination is protecting Australians. We saw last year, and people will remember those hospitalisation, the hospitalised people, a lot of them, most of them, in fact, in aged care, coming from aged care settings, residential aged care. Because of the success of the aged care rollout in terms of vaccination, that that terrible death rate that we saw last year is not being replicated this year at the moment in terms of of deaths. That is mostly because our oldest population, including those in aged care, are largely protected by vaccination. So, very important point. Just go to the next slide, please.
This is another way of looking at that same issue. So, just to quickly explain the bars here - the larger bars are related to Victoria last year, the smaller ones this year - the current outbreak in New South Wales - the red colour at the top is the, are deaths, then intensive care is the, is the yellow, and and sorry, there's a smaller - ICU - you might not be able to see there on that, on that bar. The yellow is hospitalised and the blue is cases non, non-severe, non-hospitalised cases. So, of course many more cases last year compared with this year. That hospitalisation rate in relation to all ages on this side and the and the and the less than 60 on this slide. So, on, sorry, just go back. So, in terms of that, it again demonstrates the protective effect of vaccination in that older age group. The people aged aged less than 60, we're still seeing some severe cases, mostly not. But, in terms of last year versus this year, a big difference in terms of that over 60 age group - much slower death rate and lower ICU rate.
I just wanted to spend, the next two slides actually talk to the international situation. Last night, I was privileged to talk to the with our Chief Scientist, Dr Foley. Professor Foley and myself spoke to our counterparts in the UK, and just contrasting and comparing what they're finding in terms of their vaccination rollout and their waves that they've seen in terms of cases, hospitalisations and deaths. In the UK, we know they have a very high rate of vaccination, particularly in the older age groups, but throughout, almost 70 per cent vaccination rate - our target for, to moving to Phase B here in Australia. In their older age groups, over 90 per cent of vaccination coverage in their over 70s. And, that's, of course, what we're also aspiring to. What they found is they've had their fifth wave, wave really in the UK, and that's similar to most of the rest of the world. A few, about a month ago, they started to really increase their, those numbers of cases. But, if you look at the orange line here, in contrast to previous waves, their death rate has remained extremely low. That's similar with hospitalisation. It's similar with ICU. They have seen some pockets where vaccination locally has been lower than the rest of the country, and that's where they have seen hospitals and ICU rates increase. But, that death rate has remained extremely low. This is what we're aiming for here in Australia. Just go to the next slide, please.
Just another example closer to our, in our region. So, this is Singapore. They've had, been very successful most of the time. They had those waves related to their migrant hostels late, in the middle of last year. They've had a subsequent wave recently. Again, very high vaccination rate right throughout their population of over 70 per cent. Death rate has remained very low despite the increase in the case, in the case numbers. So, I'll leave it there, PM.
PRIME MINISTER: General Frewen.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL JJ FREWEN, COORDINATOR GENERAL OF OPERATION COVID SHIELD: Thanks Prime Minister. Look, the numbers in the roll out very encouraging, the real sense of momentum is clear. The Prime Minister's mentioned we're closing on almost 50 per cent of the nation having received their first dose now. And one in four Australians are now fully vaccinated. A million doses delivered in four days, 270,000 doses in a single day yesterday. That's 30,000 more than the previous best Thursday, which was only a week before. Now, this is only possible for two reasons. All of the great work that is being done by GPs, pharmacists, state hubs and clinics, other Commonwealth vaccine clinics, our Aboriginal health services and our commercial vaccine providers as well. And I want to thank them for all of the tremendous work and effort they've put in so far. But note, we've got a long way to go.
It's also about people in Australia being prepared to step forward to get vaccinated. Recent survey indicates to us that 79 per cent of Australians are prepared to get vaccinated and another 14 per cent are still deciding whether they will. So those are also really encouraging numbers. And I want to thank all of those Australians who have already come forward and encourage everybody else who hasn't done so to get a booking in and to and to get that first job done. I also want to thank community leaders, cultural leaders, faith leaders and youth leaders who have also played tremendous roles in encouraging their communities to step forward as well. And I do greatly appreciate their efforts and look forward to continuing to work closely with them.
JOURNALIST: Heading into National Cabinet today, the Queensland Premier was demanding New South Wales provide a containment plan for COVID. Inside National Cabinet today, are you satisfied that she has provided that containment plan? And if I can. Professor Kelly, last week you said there needed to be a circuit breaker in New South Wales. We had a record day of cases today. What more do they need to do from your perspective?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, in relation to National Cabinet today, it was again it was just a very positive and collegiate meeting. I mean, no other way to describe it than that. I mean, these are challenging times and these are very difficult issues. And the New South Wales Premier was able to respond to issues that were raised in the meeting today, and they were raised in a good spirit. And I think they were addressed in a good spirit, particularly on issues that were further north closer to the Queensland border. The Premier of New South Wales was able to draw attention to the isolated number, nature of that particular case, particularly up north. That was that that one male individual who breached the rules. But many of the other outbreaks in other parts of the state were not towards Queensland. But equally, the Premier was able to go through the steps that were being taken in New South Wales to address the outbreak. And that's what these meetings do. They do provide the opportunity for those matters to be directly raised and addressed. But I've got to say, they were raised in a good spirit and in a good faith way. And the Premiers were seeking to work together to best support each other to get through what is a very difficult time. Same situation here in the ACT and indeed in Victoria, where they're not being complacent. Of course, the case numbers down there, are not like we're seeing in New South Wales and certainly not like we were seeing last year. But I don't detect any sense of complacency amongst any of the premiers and chief ministers. We know how rapid the Delta strain can inflict its impact on, on our populations. And so everyone is very attentive to that and quick to move. Paul.
PROFESSOR PAUL KELLY, COMMONWEALTH CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: So there are two main keys to getting control in New South Wales. It is suppression of the virus and all of the things that we saw and we saw from the graph I showed you what happened last year in Victoria. It got to a peak and then it went down. All of those things that were done in Victoria last year are being done in New South Wales this year, and they will work. That requires people to listen and to take heed of what is being said every day by Premier Berejiklian and her public health staff. And all of those things need to be taken into account. The thing we do have this year that we didn't have last year is the vaccination rollout. And in terms of circuit breakers, Premier Berejiklian has mentioned already in her press conferences over the last couple of days as has Dr Chant and her colleagues about their vaccination strategy in south west Sydney, in particular targeted vaccination, vaccinating the Year 12s, vaccinating apprentices and so on. And that's going ahead. Those things will work. People need to have hope and patience.
JOURNALIST: Can I just ask on WA, do you support WA's requirement for travellers from New South Wales to show proof of vaccination now, should other states consider this? And just secondly, Mark McGowan said National Cabinet would today discuss vaccination requirements for interstate truck drivers. Was there an outcome on that?
PRIME MINISTER: We hope to conclude the second matter within a matter of days between both transport ministers, but of course, the premiers and myself. A number of states have already agreed to the upgrades on the freight code, this is just seeking to simplify these testing arrangements. And yes, I do welcome the requirement for vaccination. This is for people who are otherwise getting an exemption to come into Western Australia. And the Premier has added that. Now, that's not unlike, not unlike the sorts of things we've been talking about for some time, that where people are vaccinated and an exemption is being granted that the vaccination aides that exemption being given on public health grounds. And so I think that's very consistent with what the national plan is seeking to achieve. And as I said last week, all premiers and chief ministers are strongly committed to and agreed to that, to the National Plan.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just to stay with that issue, do you see a future where you say that vaccines aren't mandatory, but do you see a future in which you cannot leave your state, you cannot travel domestically unless you can provide evidence that you have been vaccinated?
PRIME MINISTER: That's making an assumption that once we get past 70 per cent and the country is vaccinated in that way, that such border restrictions would even be necessary. And the whole point of getting to higher and higher levels of vaccination, and particularly once you go past 80 per cent, is that's when we're saying goodbye to lockdowns and where there are no lockdowns, there should be no borders. That's where the National Plan is driving. So what we're talking about is a situation right now where we have lockdowns and we have states closed off from one another, necessarily for obvious reasons, because of the very aggressive nature of the Delta strain. Now, in those circumstances, vaccine does provide some greater protection and some public health support. And so people who would be getting an exemption, so this is not this is not available to everybody, this is those who the state were looking to give an exemption to, that that exemption would be strengthened on the basis of someone being vaccinated. So it's a decision for now because borders exist now. But in the future, the whole point of getting to 70 per cent and 80 per cent is to say ultimately goodbye to those arrangements as well.
JOURNALIST: Premier Berejiklian said publicly today she thinks she can ease a few restrictions here and there when she gets to 50 percent without worsening the infection rate. Was she able to convince her colleagues and yourself of that in the meeting today? And did anyone again ask for her to put a ring of steel around Sydney, given Daniel Andrews warnings about it spreading to the region seem to have come to pass?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, again, what the Premier is referring to is not moving into Phase B.
JOURNALIST: I know that.
PRIME MINISTER: I know you know that. But I just want to be very clear. That is not what the Premier is referring to. The Premier is seeking to manage the lockdown in New South Wales. And I've spoken to the Premier about this, this week as well. And they are doing the necessary work to understand what the easing of some restrictions might mean in the New South Wales context. And she certainly doesn't want to see an escalation of cases or the virus not being suppressed and the efforts to actually take those case numbers down. And I'm quite certain and I would certainly hope that they would not be seeking to ease restrictions that could give rise to that. And I'm sure that would absolutely be the view of all other premiers and chief ministers. And I don't believe that's what the Premier of New South Wales would be seeking to do. So she's taking good advice on, on what can be done to ensure that the lockdown that's in New South Wales, that people will be able to sustain themselves through that lockdown because the lockdown is important. The lockdown is lifted when the lockdown works. And that's why it's so important for people right across Sydney to be complying with that lockdown. You know, we saw the cases up in northern New South Wales where someone just doesn't comply and look at, the look at the damage that causes. We've got to do the right thing by each other. We've got to do the right thing by our neighbours, by our communities, by our cities, by our country. And you can do that by following the rules, staying at home and getting vaccinated and getting tested. That's what's being asked of Australians. And that's how you get through. There isn't an alternative way. There's not some alternative world where you don't have to have these restrictions and somehow the virus doesn't kill large numbers of people. That world doesn't exist.
JOURNALIST: We're seeing a minority aren't doing what they're asked. And we've seen the consequences of that.
PRIME MINISTER: Yes.
JOURNALIST: Was it again pressed on New South Wales to at least try and ring-fence Sydney to catch these sorts of individuals or at least act as a deterrent?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh, I think it's been a fairly consistent position that all premiers, myself as well, want to ensure that we constrain and suppress the outbreak of New South Wales as effectively as we can. And and those issues raised today, I'm not mentioning any specifically, including the one you've raised, but there was a good opportunity, again, for the Premier to be able to just address those issues directly with her colleagues. And I thank her for doing so and I thank the other premiers for raising it in the good faith spirit they did.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said a royal commission would be a very useful tool, particularly in planning for future pandemics. Do you agree with him? Is that something that we really should lock in once we get through this?
PRIME MINISTER: To be honest, we're managing the pandemic right now, and this pandemic still has quite a long way to go. So I'm sure at some time in the future there'll be a time to talk about those reviews or whatever form they might take. But, you know, right now I'm just focused on the response we need to make now, and I'm not going to be drawn into those things. There will be a time and a place to have those discussions. It's not now.
JOURNALIST: Have you had any luck getting surplus vaccines from say, the United States or other countries in Europe or vaccines that are close to expiring?
PRIME MINISTER: We've been working night and day on these tasks. And I can assure you, if we're in a position to make any announcements in that way, then we certainly will.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just on business support. 80,000 businesses in Sydney are yet to receive a single cent from either Commonwealth or state levels. Is that acceptable, given the immense pain that they are going through, eight weeks into a lockdown? And secondly, one of your own MPs Andrew Laming has been caught breaching guidelines on mask-use in Queensland. Is that acceptable from one of your own?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'm not aware of that circumstance, so I'm not aware of, of the details or facts of that, but if that were indeed the case, I would be expecting all members of parliament to comply with the restrictions that are in place right around the country like any other Australian. There aren't two rules, there's just one. And we all need to comply with it. And that would be my instruction to everybody, regardless of where they work, what their occupation is. And that would, I'm sure, be the community's expectation as well. I'm not familiar with the case or the report that you've highlighted, but that would be my position in principle, regardless.
On the other matter. Well, as you know, the Commonwealth are not making the payments to businesses. The state governments are making the payments to businesses. The Commonwealth is making the more than $2 billion in payments directly to individuals. Last time we delivered income support through JobKeeper. So we made a payment to the business and the business made the payment to the individual and they were those $750 payments. On this occasion, we're cutting out the middle person and we're making those $750 payments directly to the individual. And that's, as I said, well over $2 billion in payments have already been made. And even as some of your colleagues have, have put on social media, family members getting those within about 30 to 40 minutes of each of those applications being made. So the Commonwealth system of COVID disaster support to those employees who are losing hours, and we previously made those payments through businesses, we're now doing it direct and that is proving to be very effective, particularly in the way that lockdowns come on and come off. It's proving to be far more flexible, far more flexible and far more targeted. And it's helping casuals. It's helping people in all sectors, all industries, regardless of what their form of work is. Now for the states, we are supporting them and meeting the cost 50/50 of a series of business support programmes. And they are being delivered by the states directly. And we will support them as we indeed are in many states through the Australian Taxation Office to assist them in ensuring the appropriate way of handling those payments. It is the right thing for the states to want to do those payments. We were also very supportive of them making those payments, whether in New South Wales, Victoria or anywhere else. Different states have had different success rates in making those payments and they should be made promptly, as was outlined to us, that they would be.
JOURNALIST: Just to General Frewen, could I please ask about vaccination rates amongst indigenous Australians? Do you accept that they're lagging vaccination rates amongst non-Indigenous Australians? And what more can the Commonwealth do to help catch them up?
LIEUTENANT GENERAL JJ FREWEN, COORDINATOR GENERAL OF OPERATION COVID SHIELD: Yes, so look they're at first dose 28 per cent and fully vaccinated around 14 per cent. That's across the nation. Now, we, of course, look at these numbers both in remote and regional areas and in urban areas as well. They are behind the national averages at the moment. And that is, of course, something we are focused on. Some communities are well ahead of others, but we're working with the states and territories and we're looking very systematically at all of the communities and how we can best help bring them along.
PRIME MINISTER: Can I just add those …
JOURNALIST: [inaudible] to get more vaccines out to indigenous areas?
LIEUTENANT GENERAL JJ FREWEN, COORDINATOR GENERAL OF OPERATION COVID SHIELD: That's a matter for the jurisdictions as to whether they wish to seek that sort of support.
PRIME MINISTER: This comes up in most meetings. And just to draw your attention that there are 103 Aboriginal community controlled health services. We had Pat here just over a week ago, we were talking about that issue. Across 158 delivery sites participating in the programme. 120 of those sites are administering Pfizer run programmes by those Aboriginal community controlled health services. And there are 18 Commonwealth vaccination clinics operated by those ACHH services in the rollout. The Royal Flying Doctor Service, great heroes, has delivered over 9,221 vaccine administrations in 88 rural, remote and very remote communities in Australia. And we're assessing a range of other further requests where we might be able to support them in that work. Australia is a very big country and our indigenous populations live in some of the remotest parts of our country. It was always going to be the most challenging elements of all the vaccine rollout and not unlike, I'm sure, what has been experienced by other countries. But I stress again the fact that these Aboriginal community controlled health services have been so successful working with those local communities to prevent wherever possible seeing COVID getting into those communities has been absolutely extraordinary. It genuinely was at the outset in, I believe, our first meeting that we had as premiers and chief minister and I. We were most concerned about those communities. It's a difficult area to get as many of those vaccines as we can. I want to thank our church leaders and others who've been supporting those efforts in indigenous communities, particularly where you have to address sometimes with hesitancy in getting information into those communities. So it's quite a coordinated effort. It's a difficult job, but very caring people are getting about the job of meeting that need.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister just on the issue of vaccines and businesses mandating them. It seems that on the one hand, you've told businesses that they can mandate vaccines and on the other hand, you're saying they'll be protected if they don't mandate vaccines for their staff. How is, for instance, the owner of a small construction business or a cafe supposed to work out what they should be doing?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we're not suggesting that businesses should be mandating vaccines to their employees. We're not suggesting that. We're not making that a point of policy at all. If a business feels that they think they need to do it to protect themselves, potentially about an employee who might have, bring an action against them, if there was a, they will become ill, then what I'm saying is that that would happen because a state workplace health and safety law might provide for that. Now, what I've advised the state and territories today is through their workplace health and safety regulators, they can take action to prevent that situation. So the small business owner may feel under no compulsion to put a mandatory vaccination programme in place. And so there are two issues here. There is the employee who's worried that they might have an action brought against them, they have no intention to want to put a mandatory requirement on their employees, but their concerned an action could be brought against them. That has a remedy there. In terms of others who may be wanting to do that, well, the Commonwealth Government and the state government are not asking them to put those mandatory requirements on at all because it's not a mandatory programme. By all means encourage them, of course. But a requirement for them to do it is only being done in very specific circumstances. Quarantine workers, those who work in the aged care sector, they are the only areas where we've taken those steps and in the right quite specific circumstances of New South Wales presently, there is also an order that has been put in place there.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, there about 200 ADF personnel due to go into New South Wales on Monday. What will they be doing and will they be going to regional areas?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, they'll be working right across the range of supports that are provided in logistics and distribution, in supporting contact tracing work that is occurring in New South Wales, because the volume of cases and they need further supports there. They're accompanying police officers and others with compliance works, basic support operations. General Frewen might want to add to that list, but they pretty much do everything that is being asked of them and they provide great support to the states and territories. We saw it last year in Melbourne. We're seeing it again in New South Wales. Commissioner Fuller is directing what they'll be doing. He's the lawful commander of all of those operations in New South Wales and and our ADF personnel working under that command and support that broader effort.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL JJ FREWEN, COORDINATOR GENERAL OF OPERATION COVID SHIELD: No, I don’t have anything to add to that.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just on that issue of mandating though, just a hypothetical, right. Say you're a parent and you have to send your child into a school. Your child is not old enough to be vaccinated, right. Wouldn't it make sense for the teachers to be vaccinated? Why would you be like, you know, like if you actually sort of leave, the logic is a little topsy turvy that you're giving employers the right not to mandate. Why shouldn't teachers have to get a jab to teach students that have no protection?
PRIME MINISTER: We think everybody should get vaccinated. That's the public health advice. Whether you're a teacher, whether you're a construction worker, whether you're a journalist, whether you're a politician, whether you drive a bus. We think Australians should get vaccinated, but we don't think we should make it mandatory in Australia. If there is a very specific workforce that for public health reasons that our medical advisers say to us, it's very important that we put a mandatory requirement in this specific area, then, of course, we would take that action. And we have in relation to aged care workers and quarantine workers. But that has not been the medical advice on other occupations, because the general level of vaccination, you know, we're seeking to achieve those 70 and 80 per cent targets. And I would hope that teachers, of course, would go and get vaccinated. Of course I would. But I would hope you would and I would and anyone else would. We're not running a mandatory vaccination programme. We're not running one. In specific cases, we might seek to do that for public health reasons. But otherwise, that's just not how we do things in Australia.
JOURNALIST: Professor Kelly was there any advice on teachers to the National Cabinet?
PROFESSOR PAUL KELLY, COMMONWEALTH CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: So at last week's National Cabinet, there was a request when we were looking at the Doherty modelling project to specifically look at the issue of school children. I think one of the things we have learnt from the Delta outbreaks here in Australia as well as around the world is that there is transmission amongst children. They don't generally get severe disease, but there is transmission and people and children are getting the virus. It's mostly coming from adults and so and not amongst children as such. So that was the request from National Cabinet to do further modelling on, in relation to child based vaccination, which may happen in the future, but also other ways of dealing with safety in school based areas and that will be work I'll lead also in the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee.
PRIME MINISTER: Okay, Greg. And then I'll have to leave it there.
JOURNALIST: Are you concerned about the the Taliban's ascendancy in Afghanistan? And we've got reports of the US, the UK and Canada are sending in fresh troops to evacuate their citizens and Afghan staff. What is your plan to evacuate Aussies and Afghan interpreters and other staff that have helped Australians through the conflict? Are you considering sending in troops? Or will you rely on our allies? What's the plan?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, first of all, yes, of course, we're concerned about the Taliban's battlefield gains in Afghanistan. That is, it's not surprising, but it is concerning. And it is very upsetting. We closed our embassy in Kabul on the 28th of May and returned non-resident diplomatic accreditation to Afghanistan. And we've been moving those who have been working with us there now for some time. Some 400 people granted visas under our locally engaged employee programme have already arrived and settled in Australia since April of this year. And we're continuing to process those other visas and ensure that we're in a position to be able to get them out of Afghanistan and get them to Australia, as we have done for those prior over many, many years now some [inaudible] been given to locally engaged employees and their families at risk of harm. We have made a lot of ground on this issue in the last few months. We'll continue to do that. We're liaising very closely with particularly the United States and others who are engaged in that area and will be working closely with them, including where necessary, using Australian Defence Force personnel to assist in in securing that outcome, both for the safe passage of people who we are taking out of Afghanistan to Australia, and also the remaining people who may still be there under the conditions that we've had them still there on. So it is a very serious issue. It's one the government has been progressing very carefully now for many, many months. It has been a regular issue on our agenda to ensure we're making progress on that. I thank particularly the Minister for Immigration, the Minister for Defence and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, who have ensured that we're able to accredit those who have been getting access to those visas and then arranging the flights to ensure we can get them out of Afghanistan and bring them safely to Australia. Over 400 already here, them and their families. And we've been doing this for many years now very successfully. And we will continue to implement that programme with a great sense of urgency, in partnership with those who also are engaged in similar activities in that region. Thanks very much.
JOURNALIST: [inaudible] the Taliban will take over Afghanistan and if so, Australians, what's your message to Australians who have spent two decades in that war? What's your message to Australians who would be wondering whether it was all worth it?
PRIME MINISTER: Fighting for what you believe in is always worth it. Thank you.
Virtual Address, Australian American Leadership Dialogue
11 August 2021
Prime Minister: Well, thank you very much, Phil, and greetings here from Australia. Phil is a founder of this Dialogue, one of which I've had an association with for many years. Can I thank you for your continued leadership and thank you for your passion. This is your passion project and I've seen that over a long period of time. So thank you very much for that warm welcome.
I'm very pleased to be able to be here today. To Mark Vaile, it's great that you are able to join us here today. Julie Singer Scanlan, the Vice Chair, Representative Joe Courtney and co-chair of the Friends of Australia Caucus. We have so many great friends at Capitol Hill. And we thank you for your great support of Australia over so many years, in so many circumstances. To Ambassador Sinodinos, my former colleague and good friend. Thank you for the great work you're doing, not just for Australia, but for the relationship, one of the most foundational relationships that I think exists anywhere in the world and in your important role you're doing a great job as a steward of that engagement. To my ministerial and parliamentary colleagues who I know are enthusiastic about this forum. And I thank you for joining in as well today and for the contributions that you'll be making. There are many more on this call, a who's who of those who contribute so much to our shared relationships, including Bob Zoellick. I'll come back to a little later.
I acknowledge the Ngunnawal people and indigenous peoples all across Australia, and I pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging and the indigenous peoples also of the United States. I also acknowledge serving members of the Australian and the United States Defence Forces who may be with us, as well as the many veterans who have contributed so much to our alliance, paid the ultimate sacrifice. I honour their service.
This year the Dialogue, a staple of our relationship with the United States, occurs as we mark two milestones. Firstly, and significantly, the seventieth anniversary of the ANZUS Alliance signed in San Francisco on the 1st of September 1951, in the early years of the Cold War. Over seven decades, our alliance has endured, adapted and has remained strong. And this year we also remember another milestone on another September day 20 years ago when America was attacked and Australia invoked that treaty to stand with our ally. Indeed, as our Prime Minister, John Howard was there in Washington at the time to actually mark the fiftieth anniversary of that alliance. We have stood together in sunshine and in sorrow in the words of President Johnson, and we will continue to do so in an age of strategic contest.
The alliance remains crucial to our national defence and sovereignty and to regional stability. As we reflect on this relationship, we also reflect on what underpins it. Trust, reliability and a shared belief in shouldering the responsibilities of freedom. In our short time available today, let me make some observations about some of the areas where we are squarely facing these responsibilities of our times. Now, as I said in recent times, I've been reading Bob Zoellick, great book 'America in the World'. I understand Bob is with us for the Dialogue. It's a great read, Bob commended it to all. In it, he quotes former Secretary James Baker, a mentor of his, who said “almost every achievement contains within its success the seeds of a future problem”. The evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a lot like that. Adapting as we go, understanding that as the virus changes, then we must also. The Delta strain a clear example. The challenges we face today are different from what they were at the start of the year. There is no single victory over COVID. You have to keep coming back at it again and again and again. And Australia's record remains amongst the best in the world in saving lives and saving livelihoods. More than 30,000 lives here in Australia saved. If we compare that to what the average fatality rates have been across OECD countries and more than a million people we've been able to get back into work after last year's COVID-19 recession.
But with outbreaks and lockdowns currently in our larger cities, we still have a great deal of work ahead. And the overwhelming focus here and elsewhere is vaccines. The world has again witnessed the exceptionalism of American innovation with the development of world leading vaccines, working with the United States and other Quad partners, Japan and India, Australia is helping to deliver one billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the Indo-Pacific by 2022. We're also contributing $130 million to the COVAX Advanced Market Commitment, and we're investing $623 million to provide vaccine doses, technical advice, training for health workers and cold chain support to countries in the South West Pacific and South East Asia. And we're making great strides, I can assure you, here in the Pacific, Australia is the partner of choice when it comes to assisting them through this pandemic. And that choice has been based on the trust that we have built up with our Pacific family over these many years, and particularly in more recent times through our Pacific Step Up initiative, which has had such great support from the United States.
Our alliance is central to our shared objective of a peaceful, prosperous and stable Indo-Pacific. Our defence cooperation is strengthened and accelerated, as has Australia's own defence rebuild. We are undertaking the biggest regeneration of our Navy since the Second World War, and we're moving to a fifth generation Air Force that includes the F-35, the most advanced Strike Fighter in the world. We've just had our biggest bilateral military training exercise, Talisman Sabre, which saw nearly 14,000 personnel from the US and Australia with contingents from Japan and Korea, New Zealand, Canada and the UK spread out across Queensland. And there were a few spectators out there not too far away looking on. This is about ensuring our defence partnerships that they work seamlessly on the seas, on the ground and in the air.
We have work to do together on cutting edge technologies from hypersonics, integrated air and missile defence, electronic and undersea warfare to space, advanced cyber and critical minerals. As well, Australia wants to build our capacity to manufacture a suite of precision guided weapons. This will not only meet our defence needs, but importantly mean that Australia can become a second, secure source of supply for our ally, the United States. This is all about taking our defence technology cooperation to the next level, where we foster deeper integration of our security related science, technology, supply chains and industrial bases. Australia has never sought a free ride when it comes to our security. I've said so many times, including on the White House lawn, Australia may look to the United States, but we never leave it to the United States. Rather, we're building our capability. We're investing our wealth and treasure to make Australia stronger so we can be ready to defend our nation and a rules-based order in our region, a world that favours freedom and to be able to do so alongside who share our values and beliefs. Most significantly, the United States.
Another great and global challenge is, of course, climate change. And I welcome President Biden bringing together the Leaders Climate Summit. Australia is taking, in our very Australian way, a practical, technology focused approach to reducing emissions while supporting jobs and strengthening our economy. And our policies are working. We've already reduced emissions by over 20 per cent on 2005 levels, which is comparable or better than similar economies and, with great respect to the United States, including the United States and your northern neighbours, Canada and our trans-Tasman partners across the ditch in New Zealand. Achieving our 2030 target will see emissions per capita fall by almost a half and our emissions per unit of GDP by two-thirds. Emissions intensity will drop by two-thirds. We're well on our way to a pathway on net zero. Our goal is to get there as soon as we possibly can, but to get there through technology that enables and transforms our industries, not taxes that eliminate jobs and livelihoods. Now we're very passionate about this, technology not taxes, for this reason, because we sincerely believe that this is the only way the world can truly combat climate change. Why do I say that? Developing countries comprise two thirds of the world's emissions and are rising. China's emissions exceed those of the OECD combined. If we do not solve the climate change in developing countries, we, the world, will fail. Now, as Special Envoy Kerry argued within days of being in the job, if not weeks, he said the US could reduce its emissions to zero, but if China doesn't then we achieve nothing, and he was dead right, that's not a criticism of China or any other developing country. It's just a simple fact. Developing countries need new energy technologies that can compete with fossil fuel alternatives now and into the future if they are to adopt them and transform their economies to reduce their emissions. But they shouldn't have to do so at the expense of their economic growth and ensuring prosperity for their people. Technology is the game changer. It always has been. The United States knows that in terms of the revolutions in shale oil, which completely transformed the US's energy security and the geopolitical map. So why now would we think the technology wouldn't be the game changer here?
We're going through a pandemic where technology and science and medical advances championed by the United States developed the vaccine, which is now saving the world from COVID. It didn't come from a conference. It came from technology and investing in technology like we have never done before to produce a vaccine that had never existed before for a virus we had never seen before. That's what technology can do. We're passionate believers in it and we learn it from the United States because the United States has been the champions of technology for generations and generations and generations. You know, for too long on climate change, we've been avoiding the elephants in the room. This is not an advanced economies’ problem only. It is a global problem. Emissions don't come with accents. They don't come with nationalities. They don't have favourite cultural dishes. They affect the globe the same way everywhere. And we have to work to get the solve for technology for the developing world. We have to make it work commercially in their countries and help them introduce those technologies. For us here in Australia, particularly our region, up in Indonesia, over in Vietnam, throughout Malaysia or throughout the ASEAN nations, our great partners in the Indo-Pacific working together with them. That is in our interests because it is building the prosperity of the region on which we depend, but it is also in the interests of the broader world. You know, Australia, we have a strong track record of achieving and exceeding our commitments and we've stuck by our commitments and we've kept them. You know, performance will always achieve more than commitments made but not met. When we make a commitment in Australia, we step up to it and we meet it and we stick at it. We've already deploying renewable energy nearly eight times faster per person than the global average. Our ambition is to be a world leader in the new energy economy. We are partnering internationally to scale up innovation in emissions reduction technologies, and this is part of a sweeping agenda amongst like minded countries working together on the technologies of the future to secure our prosperity and our security.
Artificial intelligence, moving on, machine learning, quantum computing and other technologies offer large opportunities for our societies, and we also know they must be resilient and secure. And that's why we're helping to develop robust global principles and standards that protect our citizens autonomy, privacy and data. We're supporting, but also protecting Australia's research and critical technologies and providing pathways to commercialisation. We have to build capability to protect ourselves from malicious online threats wherever they come from. With the US and others, Australia will continue to champion an open, free, safe and secure cyberspace and to build capacity and resilience to cyber security threats. We know these threats are on the rise, both by sophisticated state-based actors and cyber criminals. And we need to meet this threat head on and we are. As Secretary Blinken has observed, nothing is more consequential to our confidence, to our security and ultimately to our democracies.
Now, of course, our bilateral economic links, they're already strong. And Mark knows all about that because he was so instrumental in the formation of the free trade agreement with the United States. Mark Vaile I am referring to, of course. New investment in Australia. Now, more than a trillion dollars generated an estimated seven per cent of Australia's GDP in 2019. More than 1,100 US companies employ around 325,000 Australians. Nearly a quarter of a million Australians work in the United States, and not a single US product encounters a tariff, not one, when it enters Australia, not one. That economic relationship is built on strong foundations, including the Australia-USA free trade agreement signed 17 years ago. And again, I acknowledge the founding fathers of that agreement, Mark Vaile and Bob Zoellick, again, who were with us today, and I acknowledge them.
In economic terms, our FTA is critical infrastructure, but we need to keep upgrading that infrastructure. Unlike the Cold War, geostrategic competition in the coming decades will be engaged in the economic realm. Our recent experience with economic coercion underlines that. That's why I believe our bilateral strategic cooperation must extend to economic matters. We should consider a regular Strategic Economic Dialogue between our most senior key economic and trade officials. Now, more than ever, we need to be working closely together on the common economic challenges that confront us. And, you know, we've got to deal with the hard stuff. We've got to deal with the reform of the World Trade Organization. We've got to deal with ensuring that there is a working appellate system that ensures that the rules of trade work because where there is no rules, others will seek to exploit and take advantage, and we know all about that down here in Australia with what we're confronting. So we need a working WTO system to ensure that we have a working world trade system that we can rely on to ensure that no country, no country suffers any exploitation against its interests, as we are seeing at present.
Now, beyond our strategic, scientific and economic partnership, we have a role in the world that's less tangible, but just as important. We must continue to demonstrate that liberal democracies work. This, I know, is a key focus of President Biden, and I couldn't tell you how energised I was when I heard the President say that at our Quad Leaders’ Meeting in our first historic gathering. He talked about this as a passion, as a mission. And it's one I sincerely share. And Australians do also. As Australians, we know that our influence with others rests squarely on our success at home, on our open democratic society, on our belief in freedom and a fair go, and on a strong and resilient economy that enables us to fulfil our promise to the Australian people and project leadership abroad. Our example, as great democratic countries and the freedoms that we hold so dear, is the best argument for how we run our countries and what those systems offer to the rest of the world. We believe that democratic elections, the rule of law, freedom of thought and expression, even when people don't agree with us, independent judiciaries, accountable governments, deserve our allegiance based on their intrinsic merit and on their capacity to deliver better lives for our people. That open, business-led market economies provide the best means for generating shared prosperity in a world of rapid change. Again, Bob Zoellick's account of US diplomacy captures wonderfully the self-confidence of Ronald Reagan's injunction of “free markets, low tax rates [and] free trade” as “the weapons of peace we must deploy in the struggle to win a future of liberty”.
Working together, I'm confident our countries can support, defend and renovate a liberal rules-based international order that supports opportunities for all. No country did more than the United States to build that liberal order from the ashes of depression and a war after 1945. Ushering in decades of peace and prosperity unmatched in human history. In Australia, the US has no stronger partner today in defending the values and its institutional pillars of what was created by, and indeed, a remarkable generation of American leaders.
At the G7 at Cornwall, I stressed to leaders present, the need now for like-minded liberal democracies to come together in the face of today's challenges, to reinforce our defence and security ties as we look to celebrate the seventh anniversary of our alliance, very soon. To reinforce our economies with market openness, tempered where necessary by active steps to bolster our economic resilience and above all. To reinforce the institutional foundations of a world order that favours freedom. I quoted Benjamin Franklin at the G7 when he talked about the Republic and he said “a republic, if we can keep it”. And I said to those around the table, of a world order that favours freedom if we can keep it, because it requires the same diligence and the same continued passion and commitment as those founders of that rules based system built after the Second World War, led by Americans who believe passionately about what had taken that nation to lead the world in establishing that peace and winning that peace together.
Let me conclude by thanking you for what you do to support our alliance and our common cause as two great liberal democracies. Australian-American Leadership Dialogue is a living expression of friends coming together for a higher purpose. Our two countries have a big evolving canvas in front of us. The responsibilities of freedom are great and I want to personally thank the Biden Administration, who we work very closely with and now as they've come to office and understand and support this very important relationship. I look forward to further meetings as we've already had. I look forward to working with the Biden Administration to secure the peace, prosperity and partnership that holds our peoples dear.
And let me say this in conclusion, regardless of who sits in this office and who sits in the office over there in Washington, we all understand that we carry the stewardship of this relationship. It is one of the most important responsibilities that we have. I take that responsibility, as I know Australians know, very, very seriously. And we are deeply committed to this partnership in this relationship because we see it as the foundation of our security and our prosperity. But more than that, we see it as one of the most necessary partnerships to favour a world order that favours freedom. Thank you very much for your attention.
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.