Covid vaccine contracts signed under the former Coalition government could be altered or scrapped by the new Labor administration, with the health minister, Mark Butler, calling a review of jab supplies “as a matter of urgency” in the face of emerging virus variants.
Following criticism of the Morrison government’s delay in signing contracts with mRNA vaccine manufacturers and a sluggish initial rollout, Butler said the review – to be chaired by the former health department secretary Jane Halton – would compare Australia’s purchasing processes with those of other nations.
“What I want this review to go to is some good independent advice to the government about our existing arrangements. The contracts that we have inherited from the former government, both about vaccine delivery over the coming 12 or 18 months and treatments,” he said.
“Also, what supplies we currently have in the country, whether they are adequate for our needs, or potentially even surplus to some of our needs.”
The finance minister, Katy Gallagher, is among Labor members who have called for a royal commission into the former government’s handling of the Covid pandemic. Butler, who was critical of the Coalition’s early vaccine procurement and rollout, said on Thursday that a major inquiry was warranted – but that Halton’s review would be forward-looking and probe Australia’s future needs, not past decisions.
“It’s not about looking back and examining the rights and wrongs of the former government’s approach to negotiating these contracts in the first place. It’s about the now and the next 12 to 18 months,” Butler said.
“I think it’s appropriate for us to have some independent advice about incredibly important arrangements we have inherited.”
Australia recorded 38,265 Covid cases and 60 deaths on Thursday, according to data tracking website CovidLive.
In a written statement, Butler claimed the former government had been “caught flat-footed on protecting Australians” and said the review would be a “deep dive” into current supplies and future needs.
Australia signed vaccine contracts with Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Novavax. Pfizer and Moderna are developing promising vaccines for young children and targeting specific new variants of Covid, with Moderna building a vaccine manufacturing facility in Melbourne.
Sign up to receive the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning
On Thursday, Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration granted a provisional determination to Pfizer, allowing the pharmaceutical company to apply for temporary vaccine registration for children above six months. The vaccine is currently approved for those aged over six years.
Butler said he had recently held productive discussions with Pfizer and Moderna about vaccines for children and specific variants.
Quick Guide
How to get the latest news from Guardian Australia
ShowPhotograph: Tim Robberts/Stone RF
Thank you for your feedback.
When asked if the review could lead to the cancellation or alteration of existing vaccine contracts or the signing of new ones, Butler said the government “might need to make some change”.
“I don’t want to predetermine what Ms. Halton should or should not come up with, but I want her to look at the current arrangements about vaccines and treatments and ensure their suitability,” he said.
“But if she makes an assessment – and she is as well-placed as anyone in the country to do that – given the changing nature of this pandemic, we might need to make some changes. We will look at that very carefully.”
Butler said he intended to publicly release the review’s key findings, excluding those that may be commercial-in-confidence, such as precise details around vaccine contracts.
The shadow health minister, Anne Ruston, cautiously backed the review but said she did not want it to become a “stunt” to criticize the former government, criticizing Butler for “derogatory comments” about the Coalition.
“I am somewhat surprised by the snap decision to do a review that we haven’t heard anything about before hearing about it today,” she told the ABC.
“I think Australians, on the whole, should have been reasonably pleased with how the previous government handled the pandemic. The highest vaccination rates in the world, the economy remained strong, the a very low death rate in Australia. I hope Mark Butler intends to make this a positive thing to support Australians.”
Ruston added that she believed any wider inquiry into Australia’s handling of the pandemic must be independent and bipartisan, including quarantine arrangements presided over by state governments.