Fresh voice on deadly Ebola virus

AUSTRALIA has been persuaded to give a more fulsome commitment to fight Ebola in West Africa.

AUSTRALIA has been persuaded to give a more fulsome commitment to fighting Ebola in West ­Africa after key G20 leaders warned that governments must not to take an ­insular approach.

At the end of the Brisbane ­summit, Tony Abbott made spe­cific reference to the deadly virus ravaging Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, less than a fortnight after he sought to downplay its global implications and its importance to the G20.

“We support the international response and have committed to do all we can to ... respond to the crisis,” the Prime Minister told ­reporters yesterday.

The Abbott government has been criticised for not sending doctors to West Africa, opting ­instead to pay private company Aspen Medical up to $20 million to find mostly African staff for one of six British-built treatment centres in Sierra Leone. A formal G20 statement called on governments to commit skilled medical teams.

British Prime Minister David Cameron wanted Ebola high on the G20 agenda and US President Barack Obama declared “we cannot build a moat around our countries, and we shouldn’t try”.

While Australia and Canada have imposed border controls to limit the risk to citizens, the US and Britain have placed a greater focus on preventing the spread of Ebola in West Africa.

Mr Cameron yesterday said that “the best way we can keep our people safe from Ebola is by tackling it at its source”.

It was unclear yesterday whether the Abbott government would increase its $52m com­mitment or send its world-class AUSMAT teams, which held Ebola exercises in Darwin over the weekend.

SEAN PARNELL