Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the Australian Immunisation Register Bill 2015. I believe it is very important legislation. The bill before us today establishes a new consolidated legislative framework to manage and expand the two existing immunisation registers. From 1 January 2016, the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register, or ACIR, which currently records vaccinations for children aged seven and under, will be expanded to collect and record vaccinations given to young individuals under the age of 20 years. I think that is particularly important with the newer vaccines that have been developed in recent times. It is important that this data is transferred so that the government's No Jab, No Pay budget measure can be implemented.

Prior to the last election, this was one of the policies of the Labor Party, and we are very consistent. We support good policy and this is good policy. It is something that I believe many, many Australians would endorse. There are some people who are conscientious objectors to immunisation. I acknowledge that fact, and this legislation will not force them to immunise their children. This legislation will lead to a situation where, if they do not immunise their children, they will not receive financial support from the government.

The other component of this legislation is that, from September 2016, Australia's immunisation system will be expanded further to cover all vaccinations from birth to death given through general practice and community clinics and become the Australian Immunisation Register. It will have considerable important data and will be a way to monitor, over the long term, the impact that immunisation has within our society. The bill also replaces the human papillomavirus register with the Australian School Vaccination Register. Once again, it is broadening a really good policy. The ASVR broadens the immunisation data, and that will assist vaccination providers to boost the coverage rates. That will make sure that more and more young Australians are immunised. Other adolescent vaccinations administered through the schools program are chickenpox, diphtheria, tetanus and the pertussis-whooping cough booster. It is a way of ensuring that young people have the vaccinations that they need.

It is almost 50 years since infant vaccinations for diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus became routine in Australia. The incidence of vaccine preventable diseases has declined dramatically. We have used existing vaccination records and the recollection of experts to compile a history of vaccination, and that has been quite useful because it demonstrates, very visually, the impact that vaccination has had in our society. I was looking at some figures that showed that, from 1926 to 1935, there were 4,073 deaths from diphtheria in Australia. From 1996 to 2000—I am working from a table that ends in 2000, but I can confidently say that the figures are the same now—there were zero deaths. So we have gone from over 4,000 deaths from diphtheria to zero deaths. To my way of thinking, that is a fantastic outcome. That is the kind of outcome that you like to see. It is good preventive health care, and the best kind of health care is preventive health care. That is why governments invest in preventive health care—and that is why I have been a little upset about the Abbott-Turnbull government not investing in preventive health in the way that they should. Taking money out of preventive health is really bad health policy. But I have to compliment them on following through on the Labor policy of No Jab, No Pay and maintaining a commitment to ensuring that young Australians and all Australians maintain their vaccinations, that we have a good record of the vaccinations and that incentives are put in place to ensure that people are vaccinated.

Since the introduction of childhood diphtheria vaccinations, which I was talking about just a moment ago, in 1932, there has also been the introduction of vaccines for tetanus and pertussis, which, for the record, is whooping cough. When the immunisation rate for whooping cough goes down, we hear about epidemics that take place. There have been a few of those in recent times—it is particularly dangerous for babies—and it really shows how important it is that we are vigilant in ensuring that Australians are immunised for whooping cough—and, of course, poliomyelitis in the 1950s. We have parliamentary friends of the late effects of polio in this parliament, and many of the members have met with people and constituents who are living with the late effects of polio. Former Senator John Tierney is one of those people. Representatives of the group Polio Australia will be down here in parliament this week, meeting with members and reminding us just how important it is to be immunised against diseases such as polio.

My own grandfather was a victim of polio. He did not lose his life, but he had a permanent disability and had to wear calipers throughout his life. The shadow minister for health's mother also is a survivor of polio. So these diseases were just so prevalent within our society, and the thing that changed that was immunisation. By immunising babies, children and adolescents, we are preventing the spreading of these diseases. It is in countries like Pakistan, where polio still exists and where there is suspicion about the immunisation of people against polio, that we still have a problem. So we need to get the message out very strongly into the community that immunisation saves lives. It is one of the best preventative health measures that can be introduced. You cannot separate the reduction in deaths and the incidence of these diseases from immunisation. It is the best argument that you could put forward for immunisation.

I know there are many people who feel that there are risks associated with immunisation, but the risks associated with not immunising are far, far greater. I have a niece who is quite an expert in the area of autism, and she had a baby and—because autism is one of those illnesses or disabilities that people tend to associate with immunisation—I asked her what she thought about it and whether or not she would be having her child immunised. She said to me that she has not seen any research that substantiates this. There was a paper that was prepared—I think it was in the UK—but that paper has been largely discredited. She said that without a doubt she would be immunising her children and she knew that immunisation saves lives.

This bill creates a new consolidated framework, as I have already said, and it further refines the monitoring of data, because it is important to monitor data and to make sure that people are having the immunisations that they need. It is going to ensure that children, young people and even older people follow through and they have all the vaccinations that they need from birth to death. That is the thing that is so exciting about this legislation.

One aspect that I am a tiny bit uncomfortable about relates to No Jab, No Pay, which I support. But I worry about some people that will not get the information or will not understand the information and will not be able to relate the fact that they are not being paid their Centrelink payments to the fact that their child is not immunised. They may not have their child immunised, because in their daily lives the importance of immunisation does not register. So I think there needs to be a very strong education campaign around the need to immunise. I do not think that we can ever move away from the fact that it is vital to educate all Australians that immunisation is imperative for good public health. The benefits of immunisation flow to all sectors of society and to all people, and it is so important that immunisation continue.

As I mentioned very briefly a moment ago, prevention is one of the most important public health measures that a government can put in place. I am really disappointed that the government cut $800 million from the health flexible grants. That will impact on community health groups. The cuts to preventative health will also impact on the overall health of Australians.

So immunisation is important, but all those other preventive health measures and the flexible health grant funds are very important too. The government needs to be very thoughtful of the impact that the freeze on Medicare will have on Australians; it can lead to fees, a GP tax or a GP surcharge, that will prevent people from accessing their doctor and prevent them from having the immunisations that they need.

This legislation is good legislation. It has my support. But I must say that the government has a lot more work to do in the preventive health area, and if it does not embrace preventive health then the consequences will be enormous.

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