Sophie Scamps (Mackellar, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move amendments (1) to (5), as circulated in my name, together:

(1) Clause 10, page 15 (lines 9 to 11), omit subclause (3), substitute:

(3) The Minister must not appoint a person as the Director-General unless:

(a) the Minister first appoints a selection panel consisting of at least 3 persons for the purposes of assessing whether a candidate is suitable for appointment; and

(b) the independent selection panel has advertised the appointment, conducted interviews and shortlisted at least 3 candidates for appointment on the basis of the following criteria:

(i) appropriate expertise;

(ii) qualifications or experience in public health matters;

(iii) integrity;

(iv) opportunities for promoting diversity in the public sector; and

(c) the independent selection panel has provided to the Minister a comparative assessment of the 3 shortlisted candidates against the criteria in paragraph (b), and a certification statement indicating that they are eligible for appointment; and

(d) that person has been shortlisted for the appointment by an independent panel in accordance with paragraph (b).

(2) Clause 11, page 16 (after line 19), after subparagraph (h)(v), insert:

(va) bodies whose objects include the prevention and management of occupational disease and injuries;

(3) Clause 11, page 17 (after line 3), after paragraph (j), insert:

(ja) promoting public health research through:

(i) maintaining close relationships with key public health research entities; and

(ii) providing advice to government grant making entities on research priorities for public health matters;

(jb) building and enhancing expertise in relevant public health expertise and workforce capacity;

(4) Clause 29, page 28 (lines 11 and 12), omit the clause, substitute:

29 Chair of the Advisory Council

The Minister must appoint an Advisory Council member other than the Director-General to be the Chair of the Advisory Council.

(5) Clause 30, page 28 (line 25) to page 29 (line 10), omit subclause (4), substitute:

Process for appointment

(4) The Minister must not appoint a person as a member to the Advisory Council unless:

(a) the Minister first appoints a selection panel consisting of at least 3 persons for the purposes of assessing whether a candidate is suitable for appointment; and

(b) the independent selection panel has advertised the appointment, conducted interviews and shortlisted at least 3 candidates for appointment on the basis of the following criteria:

(i) appropriate expertise, qualifications or experience in at least one of the following:

(A) public health matters;

(B) clinical practice;

(C) economics;

(D) human rights;

(E) data and statistics relating to public health matters;

(F) emergency management;

(G) communications;

(H) any other field that the Minister considers appropriate;

(ii) integrity;

(iii) opportunities for promoting diversity in the public sector; and

(c) the independent selection panel has provided to the Minister a comparative assessment of the 3 shortlisted candidates against the criteria in paragraph (b), and a certification statement indicating that they are eligible for appointment; and

(d) that person has been shortlisted for the appointment by an independent panel in accordance with paragraph (b).

The amendments I'm introducing today are also made in good faith and will do four things. Firstly, they'll create an independent selection process for the appointment of the director-general and the advisory council. Secondly, they stipulate that the chair of the advisory council be a member of the council rather than the director-general. Thirdly, they expand the functions of the director-general to include both the promotion of research and advice to government on workforce capability. Lastly, they ensure consultation occurs with preventive health bodies.

A central objective of the Australian Centre for Disease Control is to guide independent, evidence based public health decision-making that builds and maintains public trust. While the creation of the Australian CDC as a statutory Commonwealth entity with clear lines of accountability delivers on this objective, public trust will absolutely hinge on the CDC's independence from political interference now and into the future. The politicisation of the US CDC, under the influence of health secretary Robert F Kennedy, has shown how misinformation and political pressure can undermine scientific leadership. Australia must proactively design safeguards to prevent similar vulnerabilities. My amendment to this bill would do this, so it's somewhat alarming that the way this bill is currently drafted means that the minister of the day will retain discretion over the appointment of the director-general. Again I say: let's establish this really important institution in a way that safeguards its integrity.

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