Division Description Changes — Bills — Covid-19 Disaster Payment (Funding Arrangements) Bill 2021; Second Reading — 24th Jun 2021

Change	Division
senate vote 2021-06-24#9 Edited by mackay staff on 2021-07-02 13:20:50	Title Bills — Covid-19 Disaster Payment (Funding Arrangements) Bill 2021; Second Reading Covid-19 Disaster Payment (Funding Arrangements) Bill 2021 - Second Reading - Quarantine and vaccine rollout Description ~~<p class="speaker">Jess Walsh</p>~~ <p>I rise to speak about the COVID-19 Disaster Payment (Funding Arrangements) Bill 2021. The government had to be dragged kicking and screaming to support workers with these payments in the latest round of the COVID crisis. Casual workers in Victoria were left waiting in the last outbreak, without income and without support, until the federal government finally delivered this payment.</p> <p>This government has form when it comes to leaving casual workers behind. During the pandemic, Prime Minister Morrison was pushed into a nationwide wage subsidy for Australian workers and businesses, and who did he choose to exclude? He chose to exclude thousands of casual workers, gig workers, arts and entertainment workers and more—workers in some of the hardest hit and most insecure industries. At the same time, while this government was leaving vulnerable casual workers behind, big and profitable businesses like Harvey Norman were able to pocket the JobKeeper payments, and they still don't have to repay the millions of dollars the government handed out to them. It is an absolute disgrace that the government had to be dragged kicking and screaming to this much-needed disaster payment.</p> The majority voted against an amendment to the usual [second reading *motion](https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/how-parliament-works/bills-and-laws/making-a-law-in-the-australian-parliament/) "that** the bill be read a second time", which is parliamentary jargon for agreeing with the main idea of the bill. It was introduced by Queensland Senator [Murray Watt](https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/senate/queensland/murray_watt) (Labor). ### Amendment text* > At the end of the motion, add: ", but the Senate: > *> (a) notes the Gover*nment has: > *>> (i) catastrophically failed to address outbreaks in hotel quarantine, which has led to extended lockdowns in states across A*ustralia, >> *>> (ii) botched the COVID-19 vaccine rollout*, which has left all Australians, but particularly aged care workers, vulnerable, and >> *>> (iii) failed to ensure that workers and** businesses received the support needed in the recent Victorian lockdown,* > *> (b) further notes this bill may not have been necessary, if not for** the Government's failure on quarantine and vaccines, both national responsibilities; and* > *> (c) calls on** the Government to:* > *>> (i) build dedicated quarantine facilitie*s and expand existing facilities in every state and territory, >> *>> (ii) fix** the vaccine rollout and expand mobile and mass vaccination clinics,* >> *>> (iii) start a mass public information campaign to encourage people** to get vaccinated, and* >> >> (iv) begin manufacturing mRNA vaccines right here in Australia". <p>The government also has form on excluding and punishing insecure workers. After excluding so many insecure workers from JobKeeper payments, the Prime Minister told those workers to smash open their piggy banks and raid their own super to get through the pandemic. Instead of sharing the burden equally amongst Australians, instead of helping all Australians, the Prime Minister chose to tell some of our most vulnerable people, our most insecure workers, that they needed to fund their own pandemic support.</p> <p>It's no surprise, then, that when these latest COVID outbreaks happened the government took its time to support casual workers again. This government has shown absolutely no urgency during this crisis. According to the Prime Minister, on financial support for casual workers after the early end of JobKeeper—what's the hurry? The vaccine rollout—well, apparently the Prime Minister thinks it's not a race. Purpose-built quarantine facilities—well, they can wait, too. But our doors are open, according to the Prime Minister, if the states want to take responsibility for quarantine. If the states want to come up with proposals for purpose-built, open-air quarantine, the government is willing to hear those proposals.</p> <p>Well, what a slow and heartless response to this COVID crisis from this government. This government should be absolutely embarrassed about the bungled vaccine rollout. They should be ashamed at the pace of the vaccine rollout in this country. Australians entered 2021 expecting a fast and efficient vaccine rollout from their government, only to be given the opposite by this federal government. I was there last winter with Victorians as we faced a winter with the virus spreading throughout our community. Really, back then, one of the only things that gave us hope was that the federal government would get itself together and be able to do a fast, efficient and effective vaccine rollout once we got through the COVID outbreaks of winter—that they would do that in 2021.</p> <p>And here we are again. This time, this winter, it's not Victoria facing the crisis; it's not Victoria in imminent crisis. This time it's New South Wales, facing another winter with this virus yet again trying to spread its way through the community—a community that, because of the failings of this government, is almost entirely unvaccinated. Today only three per cent of Australians are fully vaccinated. This government should be embarrassed. They should be ashamed. We are currently millions of doses behind the government's own vaccination targets—not their first target, which got passed, and not their second target, which they threw out, but their third target. This government just keeps dropping the bar lower and lower and still missing the mark on their vaccination targets. And still, even this week, they cannot tell us when all aged-care workers will be vaccinated. They can't tell us.</p> <p>This government's vaccine strategy is a complete and utter shambles. One day they're telling over-50s to go and get the AstraZeneca vaccine. The next day they're saying people can wait for a Pfizer vaccine, until the end of they year, if they're not comfortable getting AstraZeneca. Now we know AstraZeneca is safe only for those aged over 60 years. This is all because the government decided to put all its eggs in the AstraZeneca basket. This government has messed up this vaccine rollout from day one. They should have done what the experts recommended. They should have done what Labor called for, and that was to source multiple vaccine contracts right from the start.</p> <p>It is Australians who are suffering because of the incompetence and bad decisions of this government. It is Australians who are suffering because of the tragic decisions of this government. Australians had to dig deep to get through the last year. They have sacrificed so much to try to beat this virus, and they should have been able to come into this year with the confidence that the Australian government had their back, that the Australian government was going to roll this vaccine out comprehensively and effectively. They have done the exact opposite. Australians should have been able to come into 2021 and see, in the middle of the year, a real plan that ensured that they would be able to beat this virus and would be safe—that people wouldn't just be going about their daily lives waiting for the next COVID outbreak to hit their community.</p> <p>People of Australia should have been able to hope that we would all be vaccinated, that quarantine would now be safe. But this Morrison government has failed on both counts. They have failed Australians. They have had months and months to effectively roll out this vaccine. They have had months to get safe, national, open-air quarantine facilities up and running. Have they done either? No, they have not. Throughout this pandemic, the Morrison government has denied its responsibility for quarantine. It has failed to set up appropriate national standards for quarantine. All the while, they sit back and they critique what the state governments are doing. They critique state government responses to breaches in hotel quarantine.</p> <p>Everybody knows that hotels are not fit for purpose, that hotel quarantine was okay at the start of this pandemic but, 18 months on, is a complete failure. The Prime Minister, though, doesn't see it that way. He said on hotel quarantine back in April: 'This is a system that is achieving 99.99 per cent effectiveness. It's a very strong system and serving Australia very well.' Well, 24 breaches later and it is difficult to take those statements from the Prime Minister seriously. It is difficult to take those statements as anything other than a complete abrogation of this federal government's responsibility for controlling this virus and for establishing safe and effective open-air, purpose-built quarantine facilities. With tens of thousands of infections in Australia and more than 800 tragic deaths last year, that is not a quarantine system that is serving Australians well. It is a system that is struggling to keep up. When, Australians are asking themselves, will the Morrison government get it that hotels are built for tourists, that hotels are built for short stays? Hotels are not built for virus control.</p> <p>Of course, the government was told this way back in October. They were told by their own hand-picked adviser Jane Halton that they needed to build fit-for-purpose quarantine facilities. This was months ago. The Victorian government handed them a proposal for a new purpose-built quarantine facility back in April. It took the Victorian government to take on the federal responsibility of setting up safe and effective quarantine and come up with a proposal, which they presented to the federal government back in April. When did the Prime Minister finally agree to build a facility in Victoria? It was in June. This was a completely reactive decision. This was in June while Victoria was battling with new COVID outbreaks due to yet another failure in the hotel quarantine system—this time, a leak from the South Australian hotel quarantine system.</p> <p>This government just doesn't think ahead. They are completely reactive. They don't plan. When they are finally dragged, kicking and screaming, to act, too often it is already too late. It is impossible for a federal government to deal with a pandemic if they have the attitude of this Morrison government. This is a government that does not believe in proactively taking charge of this emergency situation. They don't even believe that they have a responsibility for federal quarantine. If they do believe that they have responsibility for the vaccine rollout, they are showing absolutely no urgency in getting it done whatsoever.</p> <p>Part of the problem with this Morrison government is that it is impossible to deal with a pandemic if you don't actually believe in taking responsibility, if you don't actually believe that it is the role of government, of your government, to keep people safe. It will be impossible for the Morrison government to deal effectively with this pandemic if they don't even believe in governing in the best interests of Australians at all. It will be impossible to deal with this pandemic effectively if the government's strategy is to wait to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to do anything. It just won't work. As a result of this government's failure on vaccines, failure on quarantine and failure to take responsibility, Australians are now exposed. It doesn't have to be this way at all.</p> <p>If only this government believed in taking responsibility. If only they believed in governing in the best interests of all Australians. If only they would act ahead of time, instead of reacting when it's already too late. Until this government does act, all of the hard work that Australians put in to get our country moving again is just waiting to be thrown away. It is Australians who have sacrificed so much. It is Australians who have done all of the work to defeat this virus. Unless this government starts to be proactive, unless it starts to put in place systems that keep people safe, all of the hard work that Australians have done—all of it—is going to be squandered over the course of 2021.</p> <p>Labor knows that if we are to beat this virus and keep Australians safe there can be no more delays of the type that this Morrison government engages in. It is Labor that would build dedicated quarantine facilities in every single state and territory. Labor would fix this bungled vaccine rollout. Labor would start a mass public health campaign around vaccines. Where is the public health campaign around vaccines in this country, today, under the Morrison government? Labor would make it a first priority to manufacture new vaccines right here, and it is Labor's plan that is the only pathway to a real recovery that leaves Australians secure in getting on with their lives. That is the kind of leadership that Australians need. That is the kind of responsibility that Australians need. The Morrison government is offering the opposite.</p> ~~<p class='motion-notice motion-notice-truncated'>Long debate text truncated.</p>~~

~~Jess Walsh~~
I rise to speak about the COVID-19 Disaster Payment (Funding Arrangements) Bill 2021. The government had to be dragged kicking and screaming to support workers with these payments in the latest round of the COVID crisis. Casual workers in Victoria were left waiting in the last outbreak, without income and without support, until the federal government finally delivered this payment.
This government has form when it comes to leaving casual workers behind. During the pandemic, Prime Minister Morrison was pushed into a nationwide wage subsidy for Australian workers and businesses, and who did he choose to exclude? He chose to exclude thousands of casual workers, gig workers, arts and entertainment workers and more—workers in some of the hardest hit and most insecure industries. At the same time, while this government was leaving vulnerable casual workers behind, big and profitable businesses like Harvey Norman were able to pocket the JobKeeper payments, and they still don't have to repay the millions of dollars the government handed out to them. It is an absolute disgrace that the government had to be dragged kicking and screaming to this much-needed disaster payment.
The majority voted against an amendment to the usual [second reading motion](https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/how-parliament-works/bills-and-laws/making-a-law-in-the-australian-parliament/) "*that the bill be read a second time*", which is parliamentary jargon for agreeing with the main idea of the bill. It was introduced by Queensland Senator [Murray Watt](https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/senate/queensland/murray_watt) (Labor).
### Amendment text
> *At the end of the motion, add: ", but the Senate:*
>
> *(a) notes the Government has:*
>
>> *(i) catastrophically failed to address outbreaks in hotel quarantine, which has led to extended lockdowns in states across Australia,*
>>
>> *(ii) botched the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, which has left all Australians, but particularly aged care workers, vulnerable, and*
>>
>> *(iii) failed to ensure that workers and businesses received the support needed in the recent Victorian lockdown,*
>
> *(b) further notes this bill may not have been necessary, if not for the Government's failure on quarantine and vaccines, both national responsibilities; and*
>
> *(c) calls on the Government to:*
>
>> *(i) build dedicated quarantine facilities and expand existing facilities in every state and territory,*
>>
>> *(ii) fix the vaccine rollout and expand mobile and mass vaccination clinics,*
>>
>> *(iii) start a mass public information campaign to encourage people to get vaccinated, and*
>>
>> *(iv) begin manufacturing mRNA vaccines right here in Australia".*
The government also has form on excluding and punishing insecure workers. After excluding so many insecure workers from JobKeeper payments, the Prime Minister told those workers to smash open their piggy banks and raid their own super to get through the pandemic. Instead of sharing the burden equally amongst Australians, instead of helping all Australians, the Prime Minister chose to tell some of our most vulnerable people, our most insecure workers, that they needed to fund their own pandemic support.
It's no surprise, then, that when these latest COVID outbreaks happened the government took its time to support casual workers again. This government has shown absolutely no urgency during this crisis. According to the Prime Minister, on financial support for casual workers after the early end of JobKeeper—what's the hurry? The vaccine rollout—well, apparently the Prime Minister thinks it's not a race. Purpose-built quarantine facilities—well, they can wait, too. But our doors are open, according to the Prime Minister, if the states want to take responsibility for quarantine. If the states want to come up with proposals for purpose-built, open-air quarantine, the government is willing to hear those proposals.
Well, what a slow and heartless response to this COVID crisis from this government. This government should be absolutely embarrassed about the bungled vaccine rollout. They should be ashamed at the pace of the vaccine rollout in this country. Australians entered 2021 expecting a fast and efficient vaccine rollout from their government, only to be given the opposite by this federal government. I was there last winter with Victorians as we faced a winter with the virus spreading throughout our community. Really, back then, one of the only things that gave us hope was that the federal government would get itself together and be able to do a fast, efficient and effective vaccine rollout once we got through the COVID outbreaks of winter—that they would do that in 2021.
And here we are again. This time, this winter, it's not Victoria facing the crisis; it's not Victoria in imminent crisis. This time it's New South Wales, facing another winter with this virus yet again trying to spread its way through the community—a community that, because of the failings of this government, is almost entirely unvaccinated. Today only three per cent of Australians are fully vaccinated. This government should be embarrassed. They should be ashamed. We are currently millions of doses behind the government's own vaccination targets—not their first target, which got passed, and not their second target, which they threw out, but their third target. This government just keeps dropping the bar lower and lower and still missing the mark on their vaccination targets. And still, even this week, they cannot tell us when all aged-care workers will be vaccinated. They can't tell us.
This government's vaccine strategy is a complete and utter shambles. One day they're telling over-50s to go and get the AstraZeneca vaccine. The next day they're saying people can wait for a Pfizer vaccine, until the end of they year, if they're not comfortable getting AstraZeneca. Now we know AstraZeneca is safe only for those aged over 60 years. This is all because the government decided to put all its eggs in the AstraZeneca basket. This government has messed up this vaccine rollout from day one. They should have done what the experts recommended. They should have done what Labor called for, and that was to source multiple vaccine contracts right from the start.
It is Australians who are suffering because of the incompetence and bad decisions of this government. It is Australians who are suffering because of the tragic decisions of this government. Australians had to dig deep to get through the last year. They have sacrificed so much to try to beat this virus, and they should have been able to come into this year with the confidence that the Australian government had their back, that the Australian government was going to roll this vaccine out comprehensively and effectively. They have done the exact opposite. Australians should have been able to come into 2021 and see, in the middle of the year, a real plan that ensured that they would be able to beat this virus and would be safe—that people wouldn't just be going about their daily lives waiting for the next COVID outbreak to hit their community.
People of Australia should have been able to hope that we would all be vaccinated, that quarantine would now be safe. But this Morrison government has failed on both counts. They have failed Australians. They have had months and months to effectively roll out this vaccine. They have had months to get safe, national, open-air quarantine facilities up and running. Have they done either? No, they have not. Throughout this pandemic, the Morrison government has denied its responsibility for quarantine. It has failed to set up appropriate national standards for quarantine. All the while, they sit back and they critique what the state governments are doing. They critique state government responses to breaches in hotel quarantine.
Everybody knows that hotels are not fit for purpose, that hotel quarantine was okay at the start of this pandemic but, 18 months on, is a complete failure. The Prime Minister, though, doesn't see it that way. He said on hotel quarantine back in April: 'This is a system that is achieving 99.99 per cent effectiveness. It's a very strong system and serving Australia very well.' Well, 24 breaches later and it is difficult to take those statements from the Prime Minister seriously. It is difficult to take those statements as anything other than a complete abrogation of this federal government's responsibility for controlling this virus and for establishing safe and effective open-air, purpose-built quarantine facilities. With tens of thousands of infections in Australia and more than 800 tragic deaths last year, that is not a quarantine system that is serving Australians well. It is a system that is struggling to keep up. When, Australians are asking themselves, will the Morrison government get it that hotels are built for tourists, that hotels are built for short stays? Hotels are not built for virus control.
Of course, the government was told this way back in October. They were told by their own hand-picked adviser Jane Halton that they needed to build fit-for-purpose quarantine facilities. This was months ago. The Victorian government handed them a proposal for a new purpose-built quarantine facility back in April. It took the Victorian government to take on the federal responsibility of setting up safe and effective quarantine and come up with a proposal, which they presented to the federal government back in April. When did the Prime Minister finally agree to build a facility in Victoria? It was in June. This was a completely reactive decision. This was in June while Victoria was battling with new COVID outbreaks due to yet another failure in the hotel quarantine system—this time, a leak from the South Australian hotel quarantine system.
This government just doesn't think ahead. They are completely reactive. They don't plan. When they are finally dragged, kicking and screaming, to act, too often it is already too late. It is impossible for a federal government to deal with a pandemic if they have the attitude of this Morrison government. This is a government that does not believe in proactively taking charge of this emergency situation. They don't even believe that they have a responsibility for federal quarantine. If they do believe that they have responsibility for the vaccine rollout, they are showing absolutely no urgency in getting it done whatsoever.
Part of the problem with this Morrison government is that it is impossible to deal with a pandemic if you don't actually believe in taking responsibility, if you don't actually believe that it is the role of government, of your government, to keep people safe. It will be impossible for the Morrison government to deal effectively with this pandemic if they don't even believe in governing in the best interests of Australians at all. It will be impossible to deal with this pandemic effectively if the government's strategy is to wait to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to do anything. It just won't work. As a result of this government's failure on vaccines, failure on quarantine and failure to take responsibility, Australians are now exposed. It doesn't have to be this way at all.
If only this government believed in taking responsibility. If only they believed in governing in the best interests of all Australians. If only they would act ahead of time, instead of reacting when it's already too late. Until this government does act, all of the hard work that Australians put in to get our country moving again is just waiting to be thrown away. It is Australians who have sacrificed so much. It is Australians who have done all of the work to defeat this virus. Unless this government starts to be proactive, unless it starts to put in place systems that keep people safe, all of the hard work that Australians have done—all of it—is going to be squandered over the course of 2021.
Labor knows that if we are to beat this virus and keep Australians safe there can be no more delays of the type that this Morrison government engages in. It is Labor that would build dedicated quarantine facilities in every single state and territory. Labor would fix this bungled vaccine rollout. Labor would start a mass public health campaign around vaccines. Where is the public health campaign around vaccines in this country, today, under the Morrison government? Labor would make it a first priority to manufacture new vaccines right here, and it is Labor's plan that is the only pathway to a real recovery that leaves Australians secure in getting on with their lives. That is the kind of leadership that Australians need. That is the kind of responsibility that Australians need. The Morrison government is offering the opposite.
~~Long debate text truncated.~~