Transcript: Scott Morrison press conference, Monday August 23

The following is a transcript of Scott Morrison’s comments during a press conference on Monday, August 23.

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 to 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 is no doubt about that: 30,000 lives saved; 1 million people back in work as we have combated this virus in all of its strains over 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 paces we are now doing. 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 into 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 it 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 can’t 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 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.