Experts warn Australia is unprepared for future pandemics

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Experts are warning Australia is poorly prepared for future pandemics.

Transcript

00:00The bottom line here is I'm not sure we have learned the lessons from the pandemic.

00:06We've seen the COVID response inquiry giving some clear recommendations as to how we need

00:11to improve our preparedness.

00:13Establishing the Australian Centre for Disease Control was number one in those recommendations

00:17and we have the Albanese government, that's a government which is committed to establishing

00:21a CDC.

00:22They've committed $252 million and to pass the legislation in this calendar year to start

00:28on January 1.

00:29But of course we face an election and we don't know what the Coalition's position is with

00:34regard to the future of the CDC.

00:36So we're looking to get a clear commitment from either Mr Dutton or Senator Rushton as

00:42to their intention with regard to the future of the CDC and if they're not supportive of

00:46its establishment, how they would approach an outbreak of the kind we've just been dealing

00:52with.

00:53We're concerned that there's some pandemic amnesia, that people just really want to put

00:58it behind them and not think about it anymore.

01:00But we really think it's vitally important that the expertise is put in place, that the

01:04data systems and mechanisms are put in place and that we train the next generation of experts

01:10who can deal with those future challenges.

01:12So if Australia does not have a CDC, what would we be missing out on?

01:17We're missing out on that centralised focus where experts can bring together the intelligence

01:23available from around the world, translate that into a form of action that can involve

01:29and guide states and territories, of course recognising that there are states with very

01:34substantial expertise, a critical mass of New South Wales, it's a very different scenario

01:38from where I am here in Tasmania in the capacity of people in a smaller population.

01:43So what we want is consistency of that expert advice, the analysis of the data that's immediately

01:48available to guide the policy decisions that have been, now we understand, so important

01:53to us.

01:54Sometimes the response is extreme and we've been isolated, had schools closed, businesses

01:59closed, workplaces shut down and that's deprived people of their living, developing education

02:06and the like to protect our health.

02:08We need to get that balance right and that can only be done when you've got the best

02:12expertise with the best data, best connections internationally and that's how we need to

02:18manage to go forward with regard to the future risk of pandemics and infectious outbreaks.

02:24And what about from the perspective of managing the public?

02:27How is Australia set on that issue if it was to hit again the public's attitudes to things

02:32like lockdowns once again?

02:35And that comes down, Joe, to credibility and Australians were very much supportive of government

02:41action at the time when the pandemic unfolded and there was genuine anxiety in the air.

02:45We really weren't certain how this thing was going to play out but having now gone

02:50through it, there might be a level of reluctance to have the same kind of compliance.

02:54So that's why it's so vital that the CDC is independent, it is absolutely expert based

02:59and driven and that it builds trust with the Australian community.

03:02It has to build trust with the politicians and decision makers but it also needs to build

03:07trust with the community and only in that way and it being purely driven by the best

03:12science and not be swayed by political considerations, that's where we're going to get the best outcome

03:18and that's where we're going to have the greatest opportunity to face future challenges when

03:22it comes to outbreaks.

03:23But Joe, the other challenge we have is a tsunami of chronic disease that we're facing.

03:28All of our families are blighted with cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia.

03:34Many of these are preventable diseases.

03:36So we need to invest more in those areas where we can prevent disease in the first place

03:42and that's what public and population health is about and that's where we need a greater commitment.

03:46And just finally, have you only started today to look for this guarantee from the Coalition

03:50on the CDC or have you been approaching the Coalition on that for some time?

03:55We've been making calls about this for some time.

03:58We've spoken to people in the Senator's office.

04:01We've made our approach clear.

04:02We've got a seven point plan with regard to the federal election and we've communicated

04:06to that in the Parliament.

04:08We've also been communicating with the crossbench because we realise that the next Parliament

04:12may not necessarily be one party or the other in majority.

04:16So the crossbench may well be important as well.

04:18So we need to communicate where we think Australia best should go when it comes to public health

04:23to all of the people who will be making those key decisions in the next Australian Government.

Category

Transcript

Recommended