Over the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented health, economic, and social challenges across Australia. The COVID-19 pandemic and the Australian government's response to it has been the defining issue of the 46th Parliament.

To date, the Australian government's response has been characterised by poor preparation, a refusal to take responsibility and provide national leadership— including in areas of clear Commonwealth constitutional responsibility— a failure to learn lessons as the pandemic progressed, and significant failures of implementation with, at times, catastrophic consequences.

Throughout the pandemic, the Australian government side-stepped its responsibility for the quarantine system, which left the country vulnerable to outbreaks, lockdowns, and widespread community transmission.

The national vaccine rollout was Australia's safe way through the crisis. Unfortunately, the rollout was plagued by the failure to secure enough supply and significant delays which led to every target the government set itself being missed. This left millions of Australians vulnerable to the virus for longer than necessary and the reliance on lockdowns to manage virus spread being extended. There was poor role delineation between federal and state and territory governments in the early stages of the rollout, which should have been addressed prior to the rollout commencing.

The committee is disappointed that it has been prevented from providing vital oversight of the management of the government's COVID-19 response by spurious claims of public interest immunity by ministers and government officials. Access to information has been restricted and interest in participation in committee hearings by key government officials has diminished over time, which has been frustrating.

As Australia's public health experts warn of a dangerous winter ahead, it is important that we learn the lessons of the past two years. It is essential that we have in place better readiness for a more effective response that will protect all Australians, and that we do not see a repeat of the mistakes and failures that riddled the response to the outbreaks to date.