GLADYS LIU MP, FEDERAL MEMBER FOR CHISHOLM: Good morning everyone, and welcome to Chisholm. This is a new addition to my electorate of Chisholm after the boundary redistribution, but this part has been neglected by previous Labour representatives, but as your federal member for this area, I’m very glad to be here at the Nanofabrication Centre and I had a tour to see the amazing scientific facilities that we have here and today, I’m very lucky to have the Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Minister Greg Hunt, Minister for Health and also Professor Susan Elliott and also Mr Michael Azrak. This is an exciting time. We have a very exciting and important announcement to make. As your federal member, I’m here to work with everyone. And I do look forward to this very exciting announcement.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much, Gladys. Well, Gladys, Michael, it’s great to be with you again. It’s great to be here, Greg. Congratulations on where we’ve been able to get to today. And to Susan and all the team at Monash and particularly, I just want to thank Sean for that tremendous tour you were able to take us around the facility today. And of course, when we came here today, we went past the [inaudible]. And another incredible piece of scientific infrastructure. Yesterday, I was announcing a very big piece of infrastructure, a dam in North Queensland, and that’s important for the prosperity of our country. But so is the science infrastructure that we’re standing in here to see it from down the road and the many other big investments that we have made on science infrastructure in this country. That’s important because it drives the research and development and the and the new technologies that will fuel so many Australian businesses and entrepreneurs and scientific advancements. And there is no place in the country that’s doing it better than what’s happening here in Victoria and in the electorate of Chisholm. We’ve had the opportunity, Gladys, to meet some of your, some of the very new constituents who have come to this part of Melbourne because they can participate in a world class facility like this. So boys and girls studying science today when they go to school today and they’re sitting there like science like this would have to be one of the most exciting times for any young person studying science, school or university because they are going into should they choose to continue down that path to one of the most exciting areas of Australia’s economic advancement.
And so today is another big investment in that future. The science and technology, which is such a central part of our economic plan because a stronger economy means a stronger future. And whether that’s building dams or whether that’s investing in new clean energy technology and research, in particular hydrogen, or it’s indeed investing in high end leading edge high value vaccination manufacturing capabilities. This is Australia’s future, and it’s built on a very strong foundation of our traditional industries, whether in the resources sector or the agricultural sector, and so very exciting to be here today with Moderna.
Last year, we announced that we had an in-principle agreement between the Commonwealth Government and Moderna for us to have the first manufacturing plant of the production of mRNA vaccines in the southern hemisphere. And today we have that deal between the Commonwealth Government, the Australian Government and Moderna. And this means an Australian shot in the arm for our pandemic preparedness for Australia’s health, but also for the future of Australian manufacturing in the medical sphere. Medical manufacturing is one of the six core areas of our manufacturing plant, which is a core component of our economic plan. You know, over the course of this pandemic, Australia has demonstrated a resilience like few other countries in the world. We know that we have had one of the lowest death rates from COVID in the world. We have saved over 40,000 lives over the course of this pandemic right here in Australia. We have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, and today we meet the 95 per cent double dose vaccination rate for Australia. And Greg, I can remember going back some years before we began the vaccination programme last year and they were asking us what’s the level you’ve got to get when it comes to vaccinations? And the highest level that anyone ever anticipated has been necessary was 95 per cent. And Australia today meets that mark, and I think that shows the success of a programme that has reached out to all corners of the country.
But we’ve had an economy that has outperformed all of the G7 advanced economy nations in the world. France, Germany, Italy, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, we’ve outstripped them all, both in jobs and economic growth. And we’ve done that because we’ve had a resilience in our economy. We’ve invested in the strength of our economy by getting taxes down, by cutting red tape, by enhancing our data and digital capabilities, by ensuring affordable and reliable energy for our businesses, ensuring that we’re investing in the skills and the infrastructure and what this arrangement with Moderna does. A multi-billion dollar investment that provides for the future resilience of this country when it comes to not just pandemics. But many other areas in which we have to deliver vaccines. mRNA before the pandemic began was largely looked down as almost science fiction, and now it’s a science reality and it’s a science reality here in manufacturing in Australia. There are few countries in the world that have been able to get to this point through the course of the pandemic and certainly not in the southern hemisphere. Parts of North America and Europe, which have these capabilities before the pandemic started. And now Australia moves into that league of nations on the basis of being able to deliver that here. Now the reason we can do it is because we’ve got the people, we’ve got the commitment, we’ve got the infrastructure and it’s all here in Melbourne. This is a hub for medical science. It’s a hub for medical manufacturing and it’s a hub for science jobs. So I go back to where I started with those kids going to school today and studying science. You have a very bright future because of what our government is doing here in partnership with Moderna today in ensuring that we will be at the leading edge of the manufacture of mRNA vaccines, not just here in Australia, but all around the world because of what will take place because of this farsighted investment. And with that, I’ll leave it to Minister Hunt to take you through the details and then of course, pass on to Moderna.
THE HON. GREG HUNT MP, MINISTER FOR HEALTH: Thanks very much to the PM, to Gladys, to Michael Azrak, the CEO of Moderna here in Australia and to Susan Elliott and her incredible team here at Monash University. And Sean, who obviously leads the Centre on which we’re standing. Bringing Moderna to Australia, bringing Moderna to Melbourne is like bringing one of Apple’s global R&D and manufacturing hubs to Australia in 1990. We’re in on the ground, but we’re here for the long term. It does a number of things. It’s about saving lives, protecting lives. It’s about pandemic resilience. But it’s also about the broad vision and horizon of job creation and ecosystem for world-class research and translation.
And there are three things which come with this agreement. An agreement which has been done in just a matter of three months. One is about a manufacturing hub for up to 100 million mRNA vaccines a year, both for annual needs in respiratory conditions, so not just COVID, potentially flu, potentially many other respiratory conditions, potentially Michael, combined flu and COVID shots in years to come. Two, it’s about having one of Moderna’s global R&D hubs in Australia, in Melbourne. And three, it’s about having their regional headquarters. So Moderna has looked around the world and they partnered with Australia and we have partnered with them. And what that means is jobs, it means economic prosperity, but above all else, it means creating a world class ecosystem. It’s about saving lives and protecting lives. And mRNA isn’t just about public, it isn’t just about vaccines. It’s also about the precision medicines of the future. So we can literally tailor the treatments for individuals over the course of the next decade. And the other thing will be done in the budget will be the 10 year Medical Research Future Fund plan, which is about tailored medicine and treatment and diagnosis, so we will be the world leader in precision medicine and genomic medicine and mRNA is the most flexible platform to deliver those outcomes.
MR MICHAEL AZRAK, CEO OF MODERNA AUSTRALIA: Prime Minister, Minister Hunt, Gladys, other colleagues. I am immensely proud to represent Moderna today on this landmark occasion. It is a landmark occasion for Australia, for Moderna, our medical research community and a high tech industry. This is the first, Australia is the first country in the world to reach an agreement with Moderna for onshore manufacturing. As the Prime Minister said earlier, we were with you around three months ago, and this talks to the commitment of the solid partnership between the Commonwealth, Moderna and the Victorian Government to make this a reality. Australia is going to have onshore capability of the most cutting edge research available today for mRNA prescription vaccines. Yesterday it’s COVID, but tomorrow the influenza respiratory system virus and other respiratory viruses in the future. We’re investing heavily in developing combinations. Just yesterday, we announced we are going into the clinic for a triple combination for COVID, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus for at risk populations over the age of 50. We’ve all seen the burden that respiratory disease caused and ravage one of the economy and on our loved ones. And today’s agreement will ensure Australians will be manufacturing respiratory vaccines right here in Melbourne. But I’m really excited about the R&D collaboration.
If we think about the pace of science. Science has never been faster than it is today, if we just look back at the last 15-20 years, the first wave of amazing science was the emergence of the monoclonal antibodies. And then more recently, you’re seeing, you know, quality therapies. And now the next wave is mRNA. And Australia is going to be a pioneer and frontier R&D community that’s going to drive that next wave of science. And I’m immensely proud that Moderna will be a bedrock within the R&D community. We want to drive and embed ourselves end-to-end, looking at preclinical and clinical trials. And, most importantly, developing work force capabilities for the future. Today’s partnership is a 10 year agreement, but Moderna talks in decades, and we think and plan in decades. I’m very confident we’ll be here for much more than ten years, Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: I have no doubt.
MR MICHAEL AZRAK, CEO OF MODERNA AUSTRALIA: And finally, I really want to thank so many people that made this a reality. Many colleagues within the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry and colleagues on both sides, as well as legal teams, who worked around the clock to make sure Australians get access to first onshore manufacturing mRNA facility. So with that, thank you Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you. I want to join with you in thanking everyone who got us here today and getting us together on such an important arrangement to give this Australian made shot in the arm, not just to our medical manufacturing capability, a shot in the arm. An Australian made shot in the arm for jobs. An Australian made shot in the arm for protecting our health both today and in the future. So thank you to everyone who worked so hard to get us there in three months and off we go. We’ve got lift off. So, happy to take some questions. Let’s stay on the mRNA Moderna announcement first, but obviously happy to take other questions after that.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you say it’s a multi-billion dollar investment. What’s the figure of such a facility?
PRIME MINISTER: Multibillions.
JOURNALIST: Can you give us a bit more insight into that figure?
PRIME MINISTER: The ultimate position as you expect to be commercial in confidence, but I can tell you it’s multi-billions.
JOURNALIST: And some of the considered locations?
PRIME MINISTER: I’ll let the Minister speak to that.
THE HON. GREG HUNT MP, MINISTER FOR HEALTH: So ultimately, that’s a decision between the Victorian Government and Moderna, but Victoria is going to complete its agreements with Moderna. I will say that there are a number of sites under consideration. Gladys has been advocating very strongly for Monash.
PRIME MINISTER: Very strongly.
THE HON. GREG HUNT MP, MINISTER FOR HEALTH: And this is a leading candidate and we’ve been in discussions this morning. But ultimately, that’s, once Victoria has completed its agreement, we will be position to announce that but Monash is right at the top of the list.
JOURNALIST: And just, this might be one for you Michael, what would be the most immediate production once this kicks off in 2024.
MR MICHAEL AZRAK, CEO OF MODERNA AUSTRALIA: So absolutely our COVID vaccine, and I would anticipate influenza would not be too far behind, and very quickly we’ll be [inaudible], but we could very well have a COVID-influenza vaccine ready by the time production commences.
JOURNALIST: So we could have that ready to go by 2024? That combination?
MR MICHAEL AZRAK, CEO OF MODERNA AUSTRALIA: Yeah. Yep.
JOURNALIST: [inaudible]
MR MICHAEL AZRAK, CEO OF MODERNA AUSTRALIA: That really depends on the regulators, depends on the advice at the time and the demand. Absolutely. And the pathogens that are prevailing. But Australia will definitely be 100 million if need be.
JOURNALIST: And how many [inaudible].
MR MICHAEL AZRAK, CEO OF MODERNA AUSTRALIA: Yes, so I think once the facility is up and running, we’ll see up to 150 high-skilled jobs on the site.
PRIME MINISTER: I think Greg makes a very good point. When you make the comparison, if Apple had come here in 1990, I mean, so we’ve got Moderna here in Victoria because of the amazing ecosystem we have built here and the infrastructure that is being built, new science and medical research and manufacturing. Up in Sydney, there’s Google, one of five cities in the world that got billion dollars going into their research hub up there in Sydney, one of only five cities in the world. So Australia is attracting the world’s biggest and most innovative companies, and they’re coming here to Melbourne and they’re come to other parts of Australia and they’re coming to where the infrastructure is, where people are and where they got, clearly got a government in our government working with other partners to back them in, because it’s central to our economic plan. I want to stress that. What we’re announcing today is absolutely essential for future pandemic preparedness, and we’re already ranked number two in the world on pandemic preparedness for a country that saved over 40,000 lives. And one of the highest rates of vaccination in the world. And an economy has become through the pandemic better than every single G7 nation in the world. That says a lot to our preparedness and our, really resilience to date. What this is about is ensuring that we’re doubling down on our future preparedness and we’re looking forward. This is about our forward planning for jobs. Our forward plan for protecting the health of Australians.
JOURNALIST: Is priority access for Australians part of the deal for mRNA vaccines?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes.
MR MICHAEL AZRAK, CEO OF MODERNA AUSTRALIA: The Australian people have the number one priority for this facility and all doses that will be manufactured at the facility.
JOURNALIST: Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated that he’d like to the G20 but do you think he should be allowed to go?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we’ve been raising concerns about this and, Russia has invaded the Ukraine, has invaded Ukraine. I mean, this is a violent and aggressive act that shatters the international rule of law, and the idea of sitting around the table with Vladimir Putin – the United States are already in the position of calling out war crimes in Ukraine – for me is a step too far.
JOURNALIST: Do you think Australia would and should boycott the G20 in Indonesia?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we want to make sure that the G20 for Indonesia is successful. We want to work closely with Indonesia as our partner, and I’ve been in direct contact with President Widodo about these issues. The G20 isn’t just one meeting at the end of the year. The G20 is a series of meetings. The first of those come up in April, for finance ministers and central bank governors. Now, of course, at that time, I don’t think it’s any secret, but by that time, I think you can assume rightly that we’ll be in a caretaker period, given an election is due in the middle of May. And so that will obviously impact on Australia’s participation at that time.
But in terms of all the other meetings, we’ve been making very clear statements and representations about our very strong concerns about the involvement of Russia in the G20 this year. We want the Indonesian G20 to be a great success. We want to focus particularly on the challenges of our region, the Indo-Pacific and Indonesia and President Widodo is a great champion, when President Widodo and I spoke about the G20 last year, at the last G20 meeting, he agreed that we were going to put taking on the big social media giants and ensuring that we were getting some consistency to protect not just Australians, but people all around the world from how people be victimised and bullied and using social media, ensuring those companies took their responsibilities seriously with what they were enabling to be done online. Now, that’s a serious issue, and it’s one of the serious issues that the G20 deals with. And I think we need to get on with those issues. And I would be disappointed if the G20 and I’m sure President Widodo would feel the same, that the real purposes of it were not able to be achieved. So I think we need to have people in the room that aren’t invading other countries.
JOURNALIST: The US this morning formally accused Russia of war crimes.
PRIME MINISTER: Yes.
JOURNALIST: Do you agree with that statement?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think that they’ve gone through the evidence and made those claims. And yes, Australia would share their assessment based on what we have seen. The Foreign Minister, as you know, on Sunday drew some obvious links between what we’ve seen happen in the Ukraine and the actions of Russia. And let’s not forget that we are currently with the Netherlands taking Russia to court on the issue of their complicity in the shooting down of MH 17. So we know Vladimir Putin’s form when it comes to taking the lives of innocent civilians. Russia has form. I’m not shocked by the report. I’m not shocked by their arrogance in what they’re seeking to impose on Ukraine. And that’s why Australia has been one of the strongest in taking action in relation to Russia.
Just on the weekend, I announced that in direct response to the request from Ukraine and Poland, 70,000 tonnes of Australian coal from Whitehaven is going there to power on their resistance. The alumina that was going to get on a boat this week and go back to Russia, which could be used in the production of weapons, that boat is not going to Russia, and we introduced sanctions to prevent any of that alumina or similar materials being sent to Russia. And I know Ukraine’s president, President Zelenskyy and the Prime Minister are very grateful for Australia’s response and the strong stand we’ve taken. And the United States singled Australia out for our very strong stance. And one of the reasons they are so encouraged by it is that in Australia, we’re a long way away from Ukraine, but we can we can see a bully when we see them and we always call it out under my government.
JOURNALIST: Speaking of bullying, Anthony Albanese is refusing to call an enquiry into allegations of bullying Senator Kitching. What would you do if you were faced with this situation?
PRIME MINISTER: You can look at exactly what we have done when we have gone through circumstances like this. We have had inquiries and we’ve been able to ensure that we have a better system, better support for the victims of this type of behaviour, and you know, they’re positive developments and we’ve also sought to do that in a bipartisan way. But Mr Albanese continues to look away when it comes to this issue, and that’s a matter for him to address. I think Australians honestly can see the double standard here. He’s happy to throw stones when it comes to these issues, but clearly not happy to hold himself to the same standard, he wishes to impose on others. And that’s called hypocrisy.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, on COVID, isn’t it time to end COVID mandates and go back to living life as normal?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the first point I’d make is that with 95 per cent of the country double dose vaccinated today, those over 16, and we’re well over 60 per cent now Greg, as I understand it, when it comes to a third dose.
THE HON. GREG HUNT MP, MINISTER FOR HEALTH: Two-thirds.
PRIME MINISTER: Two thirds, I can tell you and I’m sure that Gladys would agree with me, for two people who have had COVID. I’m really glad I had the third dose. Because my experience was a bit like the Treasurer’s, not that flash. But I was sitting there thinking, I’m glad I had my third dose because I would be feeling a whole lot worse. And so that’s why I would encourage people to go out and get that third dose. That’s your best treatment to ensure that if you contract COVID, that the illness that you experience will not be severe but will be moderate. I spoke to the Chief Medical Officer this morning, Professor Kelly, and I had a meeting with the medical expert panel yesterday with the constant contact, of course with Greg Hunt. And he tells me that our hospital system is functioning well within the, in terms of the impact of this latest wave. And we’re not being complacent about this wave, but we also know the severity of the disease for this wave is not what was under Delta. We’re keeping a very close eye on other strains, which are being examined. But at this stage there’s enough information to have opinions about that. And so we’ll continue to proceed cautiously as we have throughout the pandemic, and that’s why we’ve saved over 40,000 lives. And this is why Bill Gates himself has said that if you want to avoid a future pandemic globally, do what Australia did during this pandemic. And I think that was a great vote of confidence in Australia’s handling of the pandemic.
But when it comes to issue of mandates, I want to be very clear about this. The Australian Government, my Government has only supported vaccine mandates for aged care workers, disability workers and those in high risk health settings. Every other vaccine mandate has been imposed unilaterally by state premiers with no endorsement of the Commonwealth Government. I want to be very clear about that. That has been imposed unilaterally by state governments and the powers which they have to make those decisions and they have those responsibilities but they have the accountability for those decisions as well. And we are progressing well incredibly well through this latest wave. But, you know, we have to be cautious. And I am seeing Australia come back to life. I am seeing Australia reconnecting. I am seeing people coming back into businesses. We’ve got unemployment down four percent and life is getting back to normal. People are back to the football, people are back at the cricket and people are back to the netball. Kids are playing sport again. People are going to barbecues again, they’re going to the pub. They’re going out to dinner. How good is all of that? But we want to make sure we keep it. And so we will continue to be careful with the medical advice. But we’ll get the balance right, which is what my government has always done. I particularly want to thank Greg Hunt for the amazing work he’s done as Health Minister. We’ve always said it’s about saving lives and saving livelihoods, and no country has got that balance right better than Australia.
JOURNALIST: Do you think, the Victorian Government has announced a mental health levy, to fund their $3.8 billion mental health spend. Do you support the imposition of levies for an ongoing and sustainable funding for mental health?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that’s not our approach. The Labor Party increases taxes. That’s not what we do. We just make sure things are funded. The mental health package that we funded in last week’s budget, the largest ever by an Australian Government has been delivering on the ground. I’ll have a bit more to say about those things today at another event. But I think the Royal Commission here in Victoria and the Premier and I have discussed it on many, many occasions. And I think there are many, many very important issues which they’re proceeding with, and we endorse and support that. But how they finance it, through higher taxes, well, that’s a matter for the Victorian Government. That’s not our approach. Under the Liberal Governments, Liberal-National Governments, as you’ve seen, we reduce taxes. That’s what we do because we know that when you can keep more of what you earn, whether you’re an individual or you’re a business, then that’s a great incentive to keep earning and you keep going forward. And these are very important services. But the best way to guarantee the essential services that Australians rely on, whether it’s Medicare or whether it’s the pension or whether it’s the National Disability Insurance Scheme or indeed important investments in the health care space and all of these things is a strong economy. If you don’t have a strong economy, you can’t pay for the essentials that Australians rely on. You can talk about all you want. That’s why we’re building dams. And that’s why we’re investing in new energy. That’s why we’re investing in critical science and research infrastructure. And you’ve got to keep Australia safe, and that’s why we’ve got record investments in our defence forces.
JOURNALIST: What was your reaction to hearing Brian Houston’s resignation from Hillsong yesterday?
PRIME MINISTER: I think it’s entirely appropriate, and I must admit that we were very disappointed and shocked to hear the news, we heard the same as, about the incidents took place. My first thoughts were with the victims, as they’ve been rightly described and so very concerned and the actions that have been taken are entirely appropriate and I’m sure they will continue down that path as a church. I mean, I haven’t been at Hillsong now for over about 15 years. I go to a local church in my own community, a Pentecostal Church. I think everybody knows that. But, you know, I was quite shocked, and I’m sure like many, very disappointed.
JOURNALIST: Minister Hunt, if I may, was there any indication from ATAGI that they will be introducing or recommending a fourth dose to the general public, either now or in the near future?
THE HON. GREG HUNT MP, MINISTER FOR HEALTH: So I’m expecting to get the advice over the course of today and then we’ll consider it and have more to say, probably over the next 48 hours. At this stage, I haven’t been briefed on it, but we’re foreshadowed that a fourth dose most likely for seniors and possibly some for who are immuno-compromised is under consideration. We’ll get that, as we’ve done, as the PM was saying, right throughout. We’ll follow that, follow that medical advice. The other thing that I think is very important just in relation to the question, is that we’re now, on yesterday’s numbers, at 26 Australians who are on ventilation. We have a seven and a half thousand person capacity and with COVID, there are 26 vaccinations and treatments that are available, the capacity of our hospital system. All of those things have come together and that’s one of the elements which contributed to one of the lowest rates of loss of life in the world.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, can we expect an announcement today on a New Zealand refugee deal?
PRIME MINISTER: I will allow those announcements to be made in due course. As you know, we’ve been working closely with the New Zealand Government for some time on those issues. I’m looking forward to a resolution and announcement on some of those matters soon. Thank you very much everyone.
