Australian politics live: NSW health minister self-isolating and state parliament delayed after ‘likely positive’ Covid case – live

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I just simply reject the assertions that are just put out there by the member who has put this question, Mr Speaker.

As Australians understand and the states and territories understand, the vaccination of those who are involved in the quarantine process which was put in place by a decision of National Cabinet in March of last year, Mr Speaker, is administered by those states and territories.

Now, Mr Speaker, the Labor Party can seek to point-score all they like, but what Australians know is there is not one, to the best of my knowledge, not one person right now who is in an ICU in an Australian hospital as a result of falling victim to COVID.

What I also know, Mr Speaker, is you look around the world, that is not the case. If you look in the United Kingdom and the most recent information, I have, Mr Speaker, is over 16,000 new cases in one day, some 250 almost people are in hospital, and there are almost 20 deaths.

That’s just in one day, Mr Speaker. And for the Labor Party to come in here into this chamber, day after day, and talk down the achievements of the Australian people and how Australia has been able to come through this pandemic to this point in such a situation where Australians are not falling victim fatally to this COVID virus, where Australians almost a million jobs having come back into the economy, Mr Speaker, after the pandemic hit and so we have more people in work today than there were before the pandemic started.

Mr Speaker, this is a great achievement of the Australian people and all we get from the Labor Party…

(Tony Burke has a point of order on relevance)

…I’ll conclude on this note: The point of order just taken by the Manager of Opposition Business really exposes the Labor Party. The fact that Australian lives aren’t being lost and Australians are in jobs is exactly relevant, Mr Speaker. That’s what Australians are interested in. If the Labor Party don’t think that’s relevant in managing the pandemic, then they betray their snarling negativity that they parade in Parliament each and everyday.