Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Siewert for her question. I do understand that the swine flu is an important issue for all of the community. The government does have a robust plan in place to deal with influenza outbreaks for all Australians. The government introduced and announced a new Australian phase of response known as ‘protect’ on 17 June 2009. The government’s response to swine flu is now to target and treat those most vulnerable to severe complications from swine flu, and those can include groups of Indigenous people, who can often have high levels of chronic disease and therefore are more vulnerable to the severe effects of the disease.

It has been advised that a 26-year-old Indigenous man who had a number of serious medical conditions and had tested positive to the H1N1 influenza 09 died in hospital in South Australia last week. The man was a resident of a remote community in Western Australia of about 3,000 people, close to the Northern Territory border. On behalf of the Australian government, I want to take the opportunity to offer sincere condolences to the man’s family.

I am advised that WA Health is sending a public health team to these remote communities to support local health staff to assess the situation, undertake surveillance and testing for H1N1 influenza 09 and of course promote infection control and social distancing while minimising unnecessary community anxiety. Antivirals and personal protective equipment have also been deployed in those regions. Australian government staff in the Northern Territory have also undergone hygiene training and all precautions are being taken to limit the spread of the virus in those remote communities. (Time expired)