Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) increased immunisation of children, which is essential for protecting them against diseases including pneumonia, polio, rotavirus diarrhoea, meningococcal and measles now saves the lives of 2 to 3 million children per year globally but, nevertheless, 1 million children globally still die each year from vaccine-preventable diseases;

(b) in 2017, 85 per cent of children globally received the full course of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine, a key measure of vaccine coverage, however, this left nearly 20 million children not covered by this vaccine;

(c) globally, 85 per cent of children receive the polio vaccine, however, gaps in polio vaccine coverage allow some children to contract the disease, with 15 cases in 2018 so far in Afghanistan and Pakistan;

(d) Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to which Australia has been a consistent contributor, has supported the vaccination of more than 640 million children, and saved an estimated 9 million lives; and

(e) in December 2018, Gavi will hold a mid-term review to assess what changes to its strategy are needed to achieve increased and equitable access to vaccines;

(2) recognises that:

(a) Australia co-sponsored a resolution at the 2017 World Health Assembly to accelerate access to vaccines, calling for the extension of immunisation services beyond infancy, increasing domestic financing, and strengthening international cooperation to achieve global vaccination goals; and

(b) current funding by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), to which Australia contributes, is due to decline significantly as polio nears eradication—this funding covers one fifth of the World Health Organisation's costs, and accounts for a high proportion of the health and vaccination workforce in several countries; and

(3) calls on the Government to:

(a) participate in planning to accelerate progress in making vaccines available to all children, including through the Gavi mid-term review; and

(b) work with countries now receiving polio support and multilateral agencies to ensure that transition from GPEI funding results in increased resources for other health and vaccination programs.

This is a motion that will save millions of lives, and I can say that without hesitation. Immunisation and vaccination have saved many millions of lives in the 20th and 21st centuries and will continue to do so provided we are vigilant. In this day and age, there are still between 1½ and two million children every year who die from vaccine-preventable disease. Many more suffer from the long-term sequelae of vaccine-preventable disease. It is an issue that, in a developed country like Australia, has bipartisan support, and I thank the member for Bennelong in particular for seconding the motion and also the member for Batman and the member for Lindsay for speaking in support of this motion.

I am a member of the first generation to have population-wide polio vaccination. I can still remember children a little older than me who had caught polio and were just ahead of me at school, suffering the sequelae of polio. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, of which Australia is a long-term member, has markedly improved vaccine coverage over the last decade or more in the developing world, and it is in countries where children are most at risk and most vulnerable that Gavi has done its best work. It's vaccinated over 600 million children so far and aims to vaccinate over 300 million children over the five years between 2016 and 2020.

One challenge that Gavi faces as it rolls out vaccination in countries that are developing is that, as countries' per capita income increases, Gavi gradually withdraws its funding, and it's found that there is a slip in the number of children being immunised in those countries that are transitioning from Gavi funding. So they need to be ever vigilant in that area, and they are working with the World Bank to see if funding can be obtained to cover the shortfall in countries as their per capita income increases.

Vaccine-preventable disease, to me, is a real issue. I've seen many of the diseases that are now prevented by vaccines, such as measles, mumps and chickenpox. I worked at the children's hospital in 1977-78 in Sydney, when we had the last huge measles outbreak in Australia. I saw some children die and many suffer the long-term consequences of severe measles. I have seen many children with mumps and chickenpox, all of which are now vaccine preventable. I've seen children with congenital rubella. Unfortunately, even in Australia, we're still seeing children with congenital rubella in Australia, although thankfully very rarely now with widespread vaccination. These children are often left severely handicapped, with blindness, deafness, intellectual disability, cardiac disease and seizures. Luckily we don't see them. We still see the occasional child with Haemophilus influenzae and pneumococcal meningitis. Very rarely, we see children with epiglottitis, which is a severe airway obstruction due to Haemophilus influenzae, which is completely vaccine preventable. I have even seen people with polio and diphtheria in my working career. So these are diseases that still have the potential to recur, and we must be ever vigilant. In New Guinea, recently they've had 13 cases of polio, and this could have been prevented by population vaccination.

I want to make the point today that immunisation is a victim of its own success, because these diseases are out of the common knowledge. Many of the general practitioners, and even many of the younger paediatricians working in Australia these days, have never seen many of these diseases, including a disease that was very common when I was training, which is measles. We just don't see those diseases anymore. It's out of people's consciousness, and it's very easy for people to forget about the importance of immunisation. It's also very important we make sure that we promote immunisation programs through Gavi and others in our near neighbours, particularly in developing countries, because what occurs in developing countries comes to Australia in this era of rapid transport. I commend this motion to the House. I thank the members for their support.

Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there a seconder for the motion?

John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion. Thank you to my friend and colleague for raising this important issue today. We are lucky to live in a country that places a strong emphasis on the health and safety of its citizens. Our vaccination rate for five-year-olds is at 94 per cent. The coalition government has been highly successful in offering free vaccines for people aged 65 and over under the National Immunisation Program. The benefits of immunisation are undebatable. Its practice has saved millions of lives worldwide and has protected individuals, their families and their communities from some of the most damaging diseases on this planet.

I am proud to represent an electorate that is leading the charge in developing the very vaccines that go on to save people's lives, with Bennelong playing host to a wide range of pharmaceutical research and manufacturing companies, including Sanofi, who provided the over-65s—a very important age group—with Fluvax this year. Its social benefits for our community are matched with the economic benefits it has provided, with Macquarie Park the fastest growing business district in New South Wales. Despite this, more work needs to be done to ensure that no person in our communities, or in our wider communities globally, is left unprotected against these deadly diseases.

The rates of immunisation worldwide are impressive, especially considering the extent to which medical knowledge has advanced over a relatively short period of time. However, in a population that is growing at an exceptionally fast rate, it is easy to disregard the seemingly small percentage of the population that is still not able to access this protection, with the number often being labelled as immaterial. I do not see how the deaths of 1.5 million children each year from diseases like pneumonia, polio and meningococcal are immaterial. I do not see a lack of vaccination coverage for tetanus or pertussis for 20 million children globally as being immaterial. Yes, we have come a long way and, yes, we are protecting more communities than ever before, but it is still unacceptable that so many children each year are falling victim to diseases that are so easily preventable. I think we would all be in complete concurrence here when I say that 13 cases of contracted polio in 2018 is still 13 too many.

Thanks to organisations like Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Australia is able to actively contribute to the access and delivery of immunisation services to people living in the world's poorest countries. In June 2014, the Gavi board improved the implementation of a five-year strategy which, through emphasising the access, efficiency and sustainability of immunisation delivery, will see the vaccination of 300 million children in developing countries, saving five to six million lives long term. Through cooperation between the private and public sectors, we can ensure that the health and wellbeing of people comes first, in our own and broader communities, and that our people are able to prosper and live healthier lives. Australia is also proud to be a co-sponsor of the 70th World Health Assembly, which places an emphasis on global cooperation to meet vaccination goals. Our involvement in these initiatives sends a clear sign that we are prioritising the health of our national and global citizens to ensure that a person's socioeconomic status does not have an impact on the health services they receive.

If we wish to continue being a nation that encourages strong and safe communities' participation in global initiatives, promoting the availability of vaccines to children is imperative. Supporting their strategies and working closely with these initiatives will deliver immeasurable rewards, and providing education on how to carry through these strategies for generations to come will surely lead to the decline and potential eradication of these diseases. Therefore, I urge this government to continue and advance its participation in global vaccination schemes to ensure that every child, regardless of background, is given the same opportunity of survival as everyone else.

Ged Kearney (Batman, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to support this motion. I thank the member for Macarthur for his work on this issue, and I thank the member for Bennelong for seconding the motion. As a registered nurse, the importance of this motion—moved by a doctor—is not lost on me. It outlines the success that vaccines have had in preventing disease and saving lives. As a mother of four, I feel incredibly fortunate, as indeed all of us should feel fortunate, to live in an era where vaccines now save the lives of two to three million children worldwide every year.

Immunisation support is one of the most proven and cost-effective investments in global health, human security and international development. Vaccination represents an excellent access point for strengthening health systems, based on the goal of universal coverage. While it's easy to get caught up in the meta when talking about this topic, it's worth remembering that those two to three million children who receive life-saving vaccines are more likely to have the opportunity to grow up, follow their dreams and live a long and productive life.

Australia has a successful story to tell when it comes to vaccination. We were among the first countries to introduce vaccines against polio and measles. As a nurse, I have cared for people who have lived in iron lungs for decades, for years and years—all their adult lives well into their 50s—as a result of polio. Not many people would be able to experience meeting someone who's lived their entire life in an iron lung, but I have. I guess I should be grateful that not many people have had that experience—because of vaccinations we don't see that very often anymore—but as the member for Macarthur said, things like that that are out of sight are also out of mind, and we need to be ever vigilant. My own father suffered terribly from tuberculosis, another disease that is extremely preventable by simple vaccinations and, as we heard, has often in very recent times raised its ugly head here.

Our First Nations community also has a fantastic story to tell. Five-year-old Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have higher immunisation coverage than non-Indigenous children of the same age. Coverage for these five-year-olds is on track to meet the 96 per cent immunisation goal set in the implementation plan for the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2013-2023, and one-year-old children have coverage rates also exceeding the 88 per cent goal in the plan. That is a fantastic outcome.

Globally, Australia has played a significant role. We are consistent contributors to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, who have supported the vaccination of more than 640 million children and saved an estimated nine million lives. Australia also co-sponsored a resolution at the 70th World Health Assembly in 2017 to accelerate access to vaccines, calling for the extension of immunisation services beyond infancy, increasing domestic financing and strengthening international cooperation to achieve global vaccination goals.

On a more personal note, I am in awe of the way vaccines have developed in my lifetime and career. When I was a little girl mums used to have chickenpox parties so the kids actually got chickenpox over and done with. I got chickenpox so severely I was almost hospitalised. Pustules were in my throat. I couldn't swallow. I was dehydrated. They were in my ears and on the inside of my eye cavities. It was terrible. They were so dense in my hair it became a bloodied, matted mess. I was only five years old, and I remember it well! My poor mother set up a camp bed in my room so she could observe me during the nights. Why would any mother want their child to be that sick when there is absolutely no need? Chickenpox of course is not life-threatening, but so many preventable illnesses are. We never again want willingly to see a situation where parents put their children through experiences like that.

As a nurse working in the 1980s and 1990s we did not have to deal with seeing huge numbers of children being struck down by or dying from preventable diseases. Now, as the motion states, there is more work to do: 1.5 million children die each year from vaccine-preventable disease. That is why we are calling on the government to participate in planning to accelerate progress on making vaccines available to all children, including through the Gavi mid-term review and work with countries now receiving polio support and with multilateral agencies to ensure the transition from global polio eradication initiative funding results in increased resources for other health and vaccination programs.

Australia has a great story on supporting global vaccination programs, and this should continue. It is something we can be proud of.

Matt Keogh (Burt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise momentarily to speak on this very important motion moved by the member for Macarthur. I am surprised that in my own electorate a number of constituents continue to raise the issue of immunisation with me based on a preponderance of ill-informed misinformation. This is gravely concerning to me. Listening now to the member for Batman talking about how her mother used to throw chickenpox parties reminded me of how my mother did exactly the same thing for us. As the eldest of five children it was a case of not only inviting our friends around to ensure they could contract chickenpox at the earliest possible age to avoid its detrimental effects at later age but also playing closely together with all of our siblings. Well intentioned though it may have been, the further development of Australia's immunisation processes has meant that that is no longer a necessity. That was occurring only a little over 30 years ago. I think this motion stands in great stead about the progress that has been made and the importance of not only the government taking the action that is called for in part 3 of this motion but also continuing to spread the good word about immunisation not just in Australia but globally. I support the motion before the chamber.

Emma Husar (Lindsay, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's my privilege to rise today in this chamber to acknowledge the motion moved by Dr Freelander, my colleague, about the importance of vaccines and immunising children. The motion notes that two million to three million children per year are saved by vaccines and talks about our country's incredible vaccine program, but also that 1.5 million children still die each year from vaccine-preventable diseases. Our strong immunisation program is critical to eradicating life-threatening diseases. Failure to vaccinate is a threat to public health. As leaders of this country we need to do everything possible to ensure that parents, family members, carers and the general community know about the deadly risks of failing to vaccinate children—1.5 million children die every year of preventable diseases. Immunisation is one of the most cost-effective public health inventions to date, averting the deaths of two million to three million people per year globally. That is a phenomenal number. It's something we should all be supporting and not taking for granted.

Immunisations have directly affected the eradication of polio, with only three polio-endemic countries remaining. I put on record my thanks to Rotary, who do a great job with their polio eradication program. I also recognise the great work of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which has managed to bring together the public and private sectors with the goal of creating access to new and unused vaccines for children living in the world's poorest countries, something we can and should help with. Gavi has saved an estimated nine million lives and supported the vaccination of more than 640 million children in those countries.

I know firsthand the effects of meningococcal disease, how horrendous it can be and the cost to a family. My only sister contracted the deadly disease 17 years ago. She spent weeks and weeks in an overseas hospital and was actually in a coma. The impact of what she went through has left its mark on my family. The possibility of not bringing her home was very real. The meningococcal B vaccine was not available at the time. I notice that we've had some very critical developments in managing and vaccinating against meningococcal, and we have not seen as many outbreaks as we had previously seen before the vaccine was more widely available. I note that the recent shortage of that meningococcal B vaccine has been resolved, and I'm pleased that that action has now been taken to protect children from this devastating disease.

Any steps that undermine our population's health always should and need to be called out. We need a national education campaign that delivers the message that vaccines are safe, effective and absolutely save lives. This should be included in advertising and information based on reliable science, not Dr Google or opinion. The government needs to do more to ensure that strides are made in making vaccines readily available and accessible to all children, rather than cower to the voice of a minority in the Senate as a sap for a vote, including saying that vaccines lead to autism. I would still rather raise a child on the autism spectrum than face having to bury that child.

It is vitally important that our public hospital system is not placed under any more duress. Out in Lindsay, where I live, our hospital is always under-resourced and under pressure, and there are no plans to put more staff in the hospital currently. So an outbreak from unvaccinated people would certainly cause that hospital to go even further onto its knees.

It's now up to all of us in here to make sure that vaccines, which are a preventative health strategy that supports our health system, are continued. The importance of them is that they save us money as a country and they save lives. A strongly supported vaccine program results in herd immunity. That's where strong members of the community who can be vaccinated are vaccinated in order to help those who are weaker and unable to be vaccinated because they're vulnerable—they're either too ill or too young or they're immunocompromised.

We have seen that this government has been unsupportive, in the past, of the Gardasil vaccination program, which was designed to support girls and women against human papillomavirus, most notably because they said it would lead to promiscuity among girls. However, we now see that it's prevented 70 per cent of infections that can cause cervical cancer. I note, though, that those same MPs weren't out in an a chorus of opposition to Gardasil when we extended it to the boys. I place on the record my support for this private member's motion, and I do so knowing that vaccines are important.

Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

Sitting suspended from 12:56 to 16:00