Highway to health: ACDC legislation passed by Parliament
This week the Senate passed a bill to establish an Australian Centre for Disease Control, a win for the AMA.
We welcome the leadership of the federal government on establishing the CDC, particularly the role played by the Health Minister, Mark Butler, who the AMA has worked collaboratively with on this important initiative.
The AMA one of the first health organisations to champion the need for an independent Australian CDC, having first called for a CDC in 2017 and advocating strongly for its creation since.
The AMA saw the need for this body well in advance of the pandemic, issuing a position statement calling for the CDC in 2017, with the COVID-pandemic then highlighting exactly how ill-prepared Australia was to respond to such events.
In a media statement, AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen said the world was dealing with many complex issues, including communicable diseases between people and animals, antimicrobial resistance and other emerging threats that require surveillance and monitoring.
“I’m delighted to see the Senate pass the legislation that will create an agency that’s able to anticipate threats — and respond to them,” Dr McMullen said.
The AMA is looking forward to continuing to work with the government and the new Director-General to ensure the CDC relies on strong, clinical and scientific expert leadership.
