Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to clarify if there is the potential that these organisms will not have been assessed or tested—which is why we wanted to put some boundaries and definitions around severity, scale and imminence. There are also scales of threat. For example, the guidelines say that the states and territories will be given 48 hours, I think, to respond. Depending on the scale of the threat, that time line may be essential. It may not be, though. That is why we would prefer to see a clearer definition of ‘threat’ in the guidelines in the regulations or in the bill. The other issue in defining the threat is that the bill says:

An actual or imminent threat of a kind mentioned in paragraph 2(a) or (b) may include, but not be limited to ...

So while we have talked about the examples that are in subsection (3) it is not limited to that. That gives us some concern, which is again why we were trying to limit this provision specifically to medical emergencies.