As we reflect on the fifth anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, a crisis that reshaped the world and confined millions of Australians to their homes, it’s clear that the echoes of that time still reverberate in our society. The Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) has issued a stark warning: Australia is ‘grossly unprepared’ for the next pandemic, and the time to act is now.
The call for action comes from the PHAA’s chief executive, Terry Slevin, who emphasises that the question is not if another pandemic will strike but when. With a history of global health scares like SARS, swine flu, and MERS, and the current threats of avian influenza, Mpox, and Japanese encephalitis, the need for a robust and centralised response mechanism has never been more apparent.
The proposed solution? The establishment of a permanent Australian Centre for Disease Control (CDC), a dedicated bureaucracy that would concentrate and coordinate the nation’s response to future health emergencies. This idea isn’t new; it’s modelled after the United States’ CDC, which has been instrumental in managing large-scale health crises.
The Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases, represented by its president Joseph Doyle, echoes the PHAA’s sentiments. Doyle stresses that Australia has not fully capitalised on the lessons learned from the last pandemic. The interim CDC, established by the government with a view to becoming permanent by January 1, 2026, is a step in the right direction, but experts argue that it needs to evolve into a well-resourced, transparently governed, expert, and evidence-based institution.
Health Minister Mark Butler has acknowledged the shortcomings of Australia’s pandemic preparedness, citing the slow, confused, and authority-lacking response to COVID-19. With a $251.7 million allocation to the CDC project, the government aims to ensure better preparedness for future health threats.
However, the path to establishing the Australian CDC is not without its challenges. Legislation for the CDC has yet to be presented to parliament, and opposition shadow health minister Senator Anne Ruston has criticised the government for its slow progress, suggesting that the reform may not be finalised before the next election.
The COVID inquiry report, released in October of the previous year, highlighted another critical issue: the erosion of public trust. Australians, initially compliant with government directives, grew increasingly sceptical as the pandemic wore on. This collapse in trust could make it unlikely for the public to accept large-scale measures and restrictions in future pandemics.
Moreover, the Australian Human Rights Commission has raised concerns about the ‘collateral damage’ of the pandemic response, emphasising the need to prioritise human rights in future emergency planning. The commission’s report details the severe impacts on economic stability, education, and individual freedoms, urging that these experiences should not be ignored or repeated.
The report also sheds light on the negative effects of widespread school closures on children’s development, with personal accounts from parents like a mum from regional NSW who witnessed her children’s disengagement from education.
The question remains: will the government heed the call of experts and expedite the creation of the Australian CDC? Only time will tell, but one thing is certain—the stakes are too high to ignore the lessons of the past.
What are your thoughts on the establishment of an Australian CDC? Do you believe it would improve the country’s response to future health crises? Share your insights in the comments below—we’d love to hear from you.
Also read: Pandemic lessons: How Australia can better protect rights in future crises
The starting point is a proper admission of wrongdoing forcing untested vaccines on the public and locking unvaccinated, perfectly healthy people out of jobs and social gatherings while letting sick people in if they had a stupid tick on their phone. Admit wrong and fix the damage with proper compensation payments to people who were injured by the jab, lost their jobs and income, or suffered other major losses due to refusing the jab (as should have been their right!). Until those responsible for causing harm tell the truth and take steps to repair the damage they caused, there will be no public trust and no organisation, no matter how it is structured, will solve the problem.