Julian Hill (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

You actually didn't have a skirt on, so you were left outside. No wearing black pants to meet the Thai royal princess, as it turns out. But that's a story for another day!

This is where the link with vaccinations comes in. We were traipsing around in the mud in Myanmar villages. From rural Myanmar right through to the regional level health centres, this is all part of the same chain. So our work in Australia to maintain our levels of immunisation is intimately linked to our work in Asia if we are to really eradicate these diseases from the world.

In closing, I will read a comment around controlling the incidence of vaccine-presentable diseases in the Australian community and how it's a critical health issue from the Australian Family Physician. It says:

Ideally, governments formulate their health policies and regulations more broadly, and are concerned with the national interest. They take into account the risks to individuals, including vulnerable groups such as children. Parents, on the other hand, are primarily concerned with the wellbeing of their child.

…   …   …

In accordance with legislation and case law, it is in a child’s best interest to be protected against vaccine-preventable disease. It is also in the community’s best interest that children are protected against outbreak and spread of disease. To date, this is best achieved through programs that are accessible, well communicated and supported by law …

In closing, it's the responsibility of each of us in this chamber, perhaps as parents but certainly as parliamentarians, to reinforce, at every opportunity, now and in the coming time in our roles, the validity of vaccination science to the Australian public and to promote the public health benefits of achieving full immunisation.

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