Coalition members' additional comments

As a once in a generation pandemic, the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic were extraordinary and there are lessons to be learnt.

The Morrison Government declared the COVID-19 pandemic on 27 February 2020, before the World Health Organization declared it on 11 March 2020. The early acknowledgement and action in closing international borders meant the Government could put health and economic measures in place to protect lives and livelihoods.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s established crisis framework enabled it to successfully assist 61,755 Australians to return and facilitate 227 flights.

The response to the pandemic was tough but it allowed Australia to be one of the few countries to come out of the pandemic stronger, with over 95% of Australians vaccinated and saving over 40,000 lives. As of February 2023, more than 64 million vaccine doses have been administered. With misinformation undermining efforts, the Department of Health’s Is It True? portal opened on 14 March and provided information on the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine rollout in more than 63 languages for multicultural communities.

In Australia from 3 January 2020 to 21 March 2023, there have been 11,380,700 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 19,447 deaths reported to the World Health Organization – meaning Australia has only contributed to 0.28% of the world’s deaths and 1.5% of cases. Other large economies such as the United States, China and India who did not implement measures like Australia did, had significantly more cases and deaths. The United States for example, has confirmed more than 102 million cases (13.5% of global cases) and more than one million deaths (16.2% of global deaths) with only 69% of the population fully vaccinated.

There is no doubt that the JobKeeper payment and other Federal Government financial supports played a key role in supporting the national economy throughout the pandemic, ensuring businesses could keep employees connected. The Reserve Bank estimates the payment reduced total job losses by 700,000 between April and July 2020 and Treasury estimated the unemployment rate would have been at least 5% higher. The Morrison Government’s $314 billion in direct economic support including payments to individuals and support for businesses, contributed to Australia keeping its AAA credit rating – one of only nine countries to achieve this.