Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Hansard source

I'm rising to speak in support of the Privacy Amendment (Public Health Contact Information) Bill 2020, because from the start of this crisis we in Labor have called for sensible, practical measures to help Australia overcome the challenge of the COVID-19 virus. I think the response of regular Australians has been excellent. Individuals, through their actions, have flattened the curve. But of course the pandemic is far from over. Had regular Australians not heeded the call and taken the actions they did—sometimes ahead of government—I think we would be in a much worse situation than we are today. Our hospital system, particularly intensive care, could have been overwhelmed, as we've seen in other jurisdictions and other countries.

Having flattened the curve, Australians seek to assemble and step out again in greater numbers. It is important therefore, that our health system has all the tools in the public health system to be able to prevent and detect the virus. A tracing app that assists health authorities to determine the extent, location and spread of outbreaks is a critical tool. Tracing, tracing, tracing will be part of allowing Australians to step back from the lockdown provisions that we've seen. Labor has consistently supported the concept of the tracing app, as our health spokesperson and our leader have said. Again, we support the legislation, which will protect privacy and safety. I congratulate the Labor MPs and the government MPs who've managed to fashion a satisfactory set of privacy laws.

This is part of Labor's approach to being in this all together and leaving no-one behind. Labor has not provided an obstacle to the government's plans on this app. Labor has removed hurdles by seeking to improve the legislation. Labor is giving the government a clear runway to do its job. Now it is down to them to make this app work. So far, the performance hasn't been satisfactory enough. My opposite number, the minister responsible for the Digital Transformation Agency, is my old friend, Minister Robert, affectionately known in some quarters as the 'master of disaster'. In an interesting interview on Sky After Dark he said that if we're ever to go skiing again—no doubt a thought that most struggling Australians have straightaway in this virus—we have to download the app. He also said that the app works 'fantastically well' on all smartphones, whether they're locked or unlocked. The only problem is that like many of the decrees that emanate from the minister the facts are different to what he says.

There have been real issues with the functionality of COVIDSafe that could have been fixed quickly—fixed rather than denied, dealt with rather than papered over by the minister. The fact of the matter is that there are functionality and bluetooth issues on Apple iPhones. This should ring alarm bells, because iPhones account for more than 50 per cent of smartphones in Australia. The older the smartphone and its operating system, the less effective the app is. When the app is running in the background it competes with other apps for the limited amount of bluetooth functionality. This is a problem. In addition, it has created its own health concerns. People with diabetes who need to have continuous glucose monitoring—CGM apps, for instance—have been warned that they might be compromised by the COVIDSafe app being on the same device. Pick your poison! Experts and users alike have reported that the app's bluetooth functionality works best when it's in the foreground of the iPhone. This means, though, that when the phone is locked, as most of our phones are most of the time, it does not work properly.

Now, this isn't just some people on the internet talking down or talking poorly of the minister or the government. I listened very carefully to the submission to the Senate committee hearing on 6 May by the CEO of the Digital Transformation Agency, Mr Randall Brugeaud. He said:

What we can say is that the quality of the bluetooth connectivity for phones that have the app installed running in the foreground is very good, and it progressively deteriorates and the quality of the connection is not as good as you get to a point where the phone is locked and the app is running in the background.

This is a problem. I suggest that the minister request a briefing from the DTA Chief Executive on how his app works—or, as the case may be, doesn't work.

We support this app in principle. It requires public trust. The thing needs to work in order to help instil the trust. It needs to have sufficient uptake. The government has said at different times that the aim is to have it taken up by 40 per cent of people. Now we've found out—the Prime Minister has said—that it's 40 per cent of adult Australians and indeed 40 per cent was a number from Singapore and the government didn't really mean 40 per cent. This is not designed to engender public confidence. Will the app work, or won't it?

I also have to raise what a lot of constituents have raised with me. Why has the data been stored with the US company Amazon? Surely there are Australian companies who could have done the work. If we've learnt one thing about this virus and global supply chains it's that the more we can do things locally, the more that we can rely on Australian know-how, the more independence and greater control we have. And why hasn't the government been able to get the app to work properly on iPhones?

But I speak in this debate on the basis of hope, and there is reason to hope. Since the recent conversion of the government to Keynesianism, the Morrison government makes me believe that they're capable of coping with other changes from initial positions. It is said that there are no atheists in a foxhole. It turns out there are no small-government libertarians in the current government, in a pandemic. But I believe that a recurring problem for this government is a lack of willingness to listen to outside experts and to make sure that they can build the public trust to the sufficient level to take this app up.

The app does have issues; some are being fixed and others can be fixed. What we don't need is a Napster app for the iTunes age. We don't need a Blu-ray in the age of Netflix. We cannot have the usual approach from this particular minister of saying: 'Everything's fine. Nothing to see here. Move along.' We don't need to have a minister who blamed imaginary hackers—before the parliament rose—for the myGov crash. What we need to do is just take responsibility.

Labor has been cooperative with the government. It is providing it with the environment in which it can pass its legislation. But I think the quid pro quo from the government to the Australian people is to make sure that the app works. I'm indebted to the work of the members for Chifley, Hotham and Gellibrand for helping to educate me and Labor about how to make the system work properly. But I say to the government: 'Where there is a problem, just fix it.' This should not be a situation where they resort to type and criticise imaginary enemies and imaginary problems when they can actually deal with the issues themselves. This is what Labor does with this legislation: no obstacles, no hurdles, no barriers, no Labor to blame. What Australians want from the government is just to make it work, like Australians have flattened the curve.

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