Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the Australian Centre for Disease Control Bill 2025 and the related Australian Centre for Disease Control (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2025. These bills deliver on one of the Albanese Labor government's most important commitments—to establish the independent Australian Centre for Disease Control, CDC. For the first time, Australia will have a dedicated national body bringing together experts, data and public health leadership to prepare for and respond to future health threats. Before Labor came to government, Australia was the only country in the OECD without a centre for disease control. That absence left us exposed when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. The independent COVID-19 response inquiry made clear that we went into that crisis without a playbook, without a single source of authority and without modern systems for collecting and sharing public health information. Australians deserve better than that. We deserve a system that learns from the lessons of the pandemic and builds something stronger and more resilient for the future. That is what these bills deliver.

The Australian Centre for Disease Control will be established as a statutory agency from 1 January 2026. It will operate independently, guided by a director-general and an advisory council of experts. The CDC's purpose is simple but vital: to protect Australians from health threats and to make sure our country is ready for the next crisis, whether it is a pandemic, an outbreak of infectious disease or the health impacts of climate change. The bill ensures the CDC can collect, analyse and share public health data; provide independent evidence-based advice to governments and the public; support national consistency and public health responses across state and territory borders; and publish its advice openly to build public trust and transparency. The director-general will be an independent statutory appointment. Their advice to government will be based on evidence not politics. Importantly, they cannot be directed by the minister. That independence matters. Australians must be able to trust that public health advice is based on science not ideology. The CDC will focus first on communicable diseases and pandemic preparedness, with its remit expanding over time to include chronic and environmental health risks.

The accompanying bill, the Australian Centre for Disease Control (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2025, will transfer certain statutory health functions to the new CDC, including key responses under the Biosecurity Act, the National Health Security Act and the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry Act. This ensures the CDC starts its work with the right authority and expertise from day one.

We all remember what it felt like in 2020—the uncertainty. The COVID-19 inquiry found that Australia's pandemic response was often slow, fragmented and undermined by poor data-sharing between governments. It's not enough to say, 'We'll do better next time.' We need to build the systems now that make sure that we can. That's why this reform matters. The Australian CDC will give our country the tools to detect risk early, respond faster and provide clear and trusted information to the public. It will link health data from across states and territories so we can see the full national picture. It will help us understand how disease is spread, how interventions work and where resources are most needed. Better data means that better decisions and transparency will be at the heart of this new agency. The bill requires the CDC to publish, by default, any advice it provides to governments that contains recommendations to act or not act. That openness will build public confidence in the advice being given and ensure that public health decisions are accountable to the people they affect. The CDC will operate under a one health framework, recognising that the health of people, animals and the environment are all interconnected. This is a forward-looking approach that reflects the real-world causes of emerging diseases. It is how we will manage risks like zoonotic spillovers and the growing health impacts of climate change. The CDC will work with universities, hospitals and research bodies to provide high quality, evidence-based advice. It will coordinate national data systems and set standards to make health information more findable, accessible and secure. Strong privacy protections are built into this bill. Personal information can only be used or shared where it is necessary and proportionate to protecting public health. This is about using data responsibly to protect people, not to control them. (Time expired)