Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Australia is the only country in the OECD that doesn't have a dedicated centre for disease control. In my 2020 budget reply I pledged that Labor would establish an Australian centre for disease control. Why won't the Prime Minister?

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I understand that the Leader of the Opposition is proposing the American response to the pandemic. We have taken the Australian response throughout the pandemic.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On a point of order, Mr Speaker: is it in order for the minister, at the beginning of his answer, to ask himself a separate question?

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That is what he has done.

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. You may not like the answer that the minister for health is giving—

Honourable members interjecting—

No. The minister for health has the call.

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Australian outcome is one of the strongest outcomes in terms of saving lives, protecting lives, and vaccination rates in the world. I understand that the opposition has a different approach. We've seen that pretty much throughout the pandemic. There has been very little support for the measures which this government has taken that have saved lives on a scale that is seen around the world as one of the finest and strongest and most profound outcomes in terms of lives being saved—30,000 lives being saved. They may wish to propose the US response or the European response, because that is what a CDC is.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A point of order, Mr Speaker, on relevance.

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What's the point of order?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On relevance. He's speaking about America. I'm talking about an Australian centre for disease control. The hint is in 'Australian'.

Honourable members interjecting—

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. Leader of the House, just before you commence: when I'm being yelled at from both sides, in both ears, it's very difficult to hear what's going on. The Leader of the House has the call.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, in accordance with the standing orders, the opposition has the ability to raise one relevance point of order. That was raised earlier. Mr Speaker, this is a continual habit of the Leader of the Opposition. He has a glass jaw, as we know, and pops up frequently, but it's not—

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leader of the House—

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

within his ability to do that.

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One of the problems that arise out of points of order—

Honourable members interjecting—

Order! Leader of the Opposition, this is particularly directed at you. One of the issues when the Leader of the Opposition approaches the dispatch box and doesn't immediately state the point of order is that—

Opposition members interjecting—

I don't need the advice. One of the issues, when the Leader of the Opposition does approach the dispatch box and doesn't state the point of order, is that there becomes a situation where there's an uncertainty as to whether you've previously raised, for instance, a point of order in relation to relevance. So I'm going to reiterate to the Leader of the Opposition the importance of stating the point of order when he does come to the dispatch box. The minister for health is being relevant and can return to the question.

The member for Lalor is warned.

The member for McEwen is warned.

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If Australia had the rate of loss of life of the OECD, there would have been 30,000 lives lost. If Australia had the loss of life, sadly, of the United Kingdom or the United States, upon which the model of the opposition is based, the loss of life would have been 45,000. By contrast, we have gone down the Australian way, and it has saved lives and it has protected lives. That Australian way has been based upon a very simple principle— that we have a national incident centre, with a chief medical officer who has been co-opted for the duration of the pandemic to all of the discussions within the National Security Committee, which the Prime Minister has chaired and upon which all of the large decisions, the biggest decisions, have been made based on medical advice directly to the Prime Minister and the National Security Committee. And that structure includes the Communicable Diseases Network Australia, the AHPPC, the Scientific and Technical Advisory Group, all feeding in through the National Incident Centre and the Chief Medical Officer.

When the big decisions had to be made, ultimately it was the national security committee, and ultimately it was the Prime Minister, who had to take those decisions, and that structure has protected Australia.

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Kingston is warned.

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The bigger the decision, the more clear was the vision of the Prime Minister. The strength of the approach he's taken and the closing of the borders to China are as large a decision as any Australian has taken in peacetime since the Second World War, and that structure and those decisions have saved lives. We stand by our model, not the American model. (Time expired)