Centre for Disease Control to manage future pandemics: Labor

An Australian Centre for Disease Control would be created to manage future pandemics, Opposition leader Anthony Albanese will announce, with Mr Albanese attacking the response so far as “too slow and reactive”. It signals the start of changing tactics from the Labor Opposition.

An Australian Centre for Disease Control to monitor and manage future pandemics would be created under an Albanese Government, it will be announced on Tuesday.

It signals the start of changing tactics from the Labor Opposition, with more policy and spending commitments expected from now.

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Opposition leader Anthony Albanese will today say that Australian is the only developed nation without the equivalent of a Centre for Disease Control (CDC).

Under the plan it would co-ordinate response to future pandemics, manage the national medical stockpile, monitor current and emerging threats and run preparedness drills on response to crisis.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese says a government he leads would create a Centre for Disease Control to manage future pandemics. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Joel Carrett

Mr Albanese said the response to the pandemic had been “too slow, too reactive and too uncoordinated”.

“We can’t be left playing catch-up again. We can’t afford another Ruby Princess, or another tragic disaster in aged care,” he said.

“Our health, our lives and our economy all depend on us getting our response to future pandemics right.”

There have been calls for a CDC in Australia including from the Australian Medical Association in June, when the organisation said there had been a “lack of consistent public health COVID-19 advice from governments”, particularly in the early stages of the pandemic.

More details on the plan, including on how much it costs, are expected to be revealed when Mr Albanese gives his Budget reply speech on Thursday.

Australia’s response to the pandemic has been managed through the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, made up of the nation’s chief medical officer, state chief health officers and similar experts, as well as the National Cabinet.

He told colleagues at Labor’s caucus meeting yesterday that the announcement would be a “change of tactics” for the Opposition.

“We will continue to hold the government to account, but will start to provide the beginning of our plan for Australia,” Mr Albanese said.

“Increasingly we will now provide our alternative.”