Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for External Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was just amused by that comedy. Last week I was honoured to visit the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre at its dedicated facility at Darwin airport and later at its Howard Springs operation. The centre had previously been hosted at Royal Darwin Hospital, and it still has an important presence there. It was established, you'll recall, Mr Deputy Speaker, after the dreadful and horrific 2002 terrorist bombings in Bali, in which so many Australians lost their lives. Funded by the Australian government, the centre is focused on enhancing Australia's capacity to provide clinical and academic leadership in disaster and trauma care.

The centre provides an internationally unique crisis and disaster response capability. It has been coordinating our COVID response for Australians who are overseas. A team from the centre looked after the Australians evacuated from China's epicentre at Wuhan in February 2020, as well as the evacuated passengers off the Diamond Princess cruise ship after the coronavirus outbreak on board off Japan. The centre has had staff deployed on 21 occasions in a range of international operations, principally through South-East Asia and the Pacific and locally in Australia. It is a strategically important asset. It looks after those repatriated Australians arriving each week for quarantine at Howard Springs. The centre is by any measure a unique national gem which all Australians should be proud of. It's a fantastic tribute to the brilliance, professionalism, commitment and knowledge of Len Notaras and his magnificent team of clinicians, administrators, researchers, logisticians and the many other skill sets that are engaged. I can't go past the need to acknowledge Michelle Foster, who has been on the ride with Len from the outset. We owe them all a tremendous debt of gratitude.

The second part of my visit was to the Centre for National Resilience at Howard Springs under the care of the Australian Medical Assistance Team, or AUSMAT, which is coordinated by the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre. It has been 12 months since our first COVID evacuees arrived at the Howard Springs facility. Since repatriation flights to the Northern Territory began on 23 October 2020, 3,780 international arrivals have undertaken quarantine at the Howard Springs Centre for National Resilience. Sixty-five positive COVID-19 cases have been reported among those repatriated there. It is through the exceptional management under the leadership and guidance of Abigail Trewin, who has directed the disaster preparedness and response—a true international star—that there has been not one case of community transmission. The professional facilities are an absolute credit to the Territory team involved and the clinicians who have come from around Australia to undertake this important work—people such as Dr Alex Swann, a specialist from Western Australia who I had the great pleasure of meeting during my visit. I learned a great deal and was overawed by the depth of knowledge and expertise that has been developed at Howard Springs. They clearly are the gold standard. The fastidiousness and professionalism shown by the team in dealing with those in their care have made a significant contribution to the protection of all of us from the spread of this insidious virus.

An absolute bonus of the trip to Howard Springs was meeting with the indefatigable Karen Sheldon and her wonderful catering team, who are providing meals for the Australians returning and in quarantine. Karen's team of largely First Nations staff, including chefs and cooks, are serving up three meals a day to over 800 people plus staff. As you would expect if you know Karen, these meals are inspired by the Territory but seek to cater to the tastes of those in quarantine. All are prepared on site. I can personally vouch for their quality, having sampled one last week. But most telling was the pride shown by those First Nations employees, who, thanks to the training they are receiving, are doing such great work for the whole community. They make a significant and not-to-be-underestimated contribution to the success and reputation of the Howard Springs quarantine facility.

All Australians should be proud of the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre. It's done fantastic work for all of us and for many of our neighbours.