Labor playing politics with Ebola crisis, Peter Dutton says

THE Health Minister has suggested the Ebola crisis has driven a wedge between Bill Shorten and Tanya Plibersek.

HEALTH Minister Peter Dutton has accused Labor of playing politics with Ebola, suggesting the response to the disease crisis had driven a wedge between Opposition leader Bill Shorten and deputy leader Tanya Plibersek.

Addressing reporters in Brisbane today, Mr Dutton batted away criticism from Ms Plibersek that the Australian government was not doing enough to combat Ebola in West Africa.

He said the government had already given $18m to the cause and was looking at funding work by the Gates Foundation and Australian drug company CSL on using plasma from Ebola survivors to treat patients with the contagious disease.

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The Health Minister renewed his calls for Labor to swing behind the government’s response, which has seen financial support for aid agencies that use Australian volunteer workers.

“It’s hard for Australians to understand why the Labor Party would want to play politics with Ebola,” Mr Dutton said.

“I think it’s very important for people to have a look at the difference in words between Tanya Plibersek and Bill Shorten on this issue. Bill Shorten repeatedly talks about volunteers … we are already doing that … yet Tanya Plibersek, when you look at her words, has it very differently.”

“I think there is a big divide now, in Labor, about the response to Ebola, and I suspect that’s because Bill Shorten himself doesn’t want to play politics with Ebola but Tanya Plibersek certainly is.”

Mr Dutton said Mr Shorten should explain why he refused to “rein in” Ms Plibersek on the issue.

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“Mr Shorten has spoken about volunteers, which is an entirely different proposal to that which Ms Plibersek is talking about in terms of sending defence assets, defence personnel and health workers, essentially on a conscription basis, which is very, very different,” he said.