COVID-19

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (15:49): As we gain some relief and satisfaction that South Australia has done well in getting on top of the coronavirus pandemic, we have been reminded in recent weeks that many places around the world continue to do it hard and lose lives on a scale that is hard to image.

The images and the numbers coming out of India tell us that this pandemic is not going away and a lot more needs to be done to bring it under control. If India, a nation with almost 20 per cent of the world's population, is being brought to its knees BY COVID-19, then we are all in trouble in this global village. If this pandemic and all the lockdowns and restrictions has taught us anything, it is that we are all in this together and the world has become smaller.

We no longer have the luxury of turning away from the bad news happening overseas and saying that it does not affect us here. The world needs to get together and help out countries like India, which is facing an unimaginable crisis. If we expect to get on top of the pandemic and return to something like normal life, we must support India or we will never rid this world of the coronavirus.

The news out of India is getting worse every day. In February, India was losing about 95 people a day. Latest figures show that numbers have exploded beyond anything we could have imagined to more than 3,000 a day. Last Thursday, 3,645 people lost their lives to the pandemic in a single day. India has over 20 million COVID cases and the nation recently passed the shocking figure of 200,000 deaths.

When I made notes for this speech last week, the highest number of cases recorded in a day was around 250,000. Over the weekend, that number hit a frightening new high of 400,000 people. The country is just not able to cope. Mass cremations are being conducted to avoid the risk of infection spreading. In the capital of Delhi, one in three people being tested for COVID-19 is returning a positive result, while cities like Kolkata and Chandrapur are recording almost 50 per cent infection rates.

I have heard distressing stories from friends of mine in the strong Indian community within South Australia of people losing family and friends to COVID. The virus has a virulent strain that struck swiftly and brutally across the Indian nation. We are hearing new stories of a failing health system, with oxygen shortages not just in regional areas but in the capital of Delhi. India is understandably experiencing social and political unrest, as people desperately seek medical aid that is not always available. On that front, I believe it is up to the more fortunate countries and wealthier countries to come to the aid of those in India.

The federal government has enjoyed bipartisan support during the COVID pandemic, but has failed on a number of fronts. Our vaccination program is too slow. The United Kingdom, with a population of less than 70 million, has given a jab to around 50 million of its people, more than 70 per cent of the population. Australia, with a population of 25 million, has only given a jab to two million people, around 8 per cent of the population.

It has failed to implement an effective quarantine process for travellers from overseas. Thousands of Australian citizens are desperate to come home and this government has done very little to assist them to get back to their country. The government has failed to protect Australian citizens around the world, in particular in India, and should be ashamed of the measures announced recently that prevent our citizens coming home from India, making it a criminal act with a penalty of five years' gaol and/or a fine of $66,000 just for wanting to come home to the safety of their homeland. According to the AMA, this is a clear indication that the federal government's quarantine program has failed.

Australia needs to join, if not lead, other First World countries and nations in providing support to India by way of vaccinations and a wide range of health care. It is in the interests of the whole world to ensure that a massive country like India, and a great friend of Australia, does not succumb to COVID-19. The sooner India is on the road to recovery, the less the threat to the rest of the world.

Just as importantly, we have to remember that each of these astronomical numbers is a person with a family, and with support from countries like Australia perhaps we can help ensure that many lives are saved while we bring COVID-19 under control.