Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I also rise to speak on this urgency motion on the Ebola epidemic. I have to say up-front that, listening to the speakers opposite, all I could think was: never let the facts or the public interest get in the way of a good political scare story. It completely appals me that those opposite have used this very grave international issue to try to score some very cheap political points. Without question, the primary responsibility of our government is the protection of Australians. No matter how much those on the other side assert that that is not the case and that this government has been sitting on its hands, it has not.

Last week many of those opposite, including Senator Di Natale, sat there and heard very clear evidence from the chief medical officer and also from the secretary of the Department of Health that Australia is very well prepared domestically. A lot of work and a lot of action have gone into ensuring that our primary responsibility is protecting Australians. Even those opposite acknowledged that that testimony was correct.

It is also very appropriate that, once we ensure that we have the proper controls and response mechanisms in place in a public policy sense, we then turn to our region which, interestingly, Senator Lines just acknowledged is in the areas of Papua New Guinea and elsewhere in our region. It almost defies logic that we would, first, be looking to send our health professionals not only whom we need here in case of an outbreak here but, as she acknowledged, who might be required in our region because they do not necessarily have sufficient primary health care to deal with those issues. Therefore, I think it is entirely appropriate that this government, after making sure that we are as prepared as we can be, help those in our region in the event of an outbreak.

It is also very important to take a look at the facts, absolutely none of which I heard from those opposite. The facts on Ebola are yes, it has great lethality. About 50 per cent of those who contract it do die. However, what we have not heard is the nature of the disease. This is not a highly contagious disease and it has very specific times when people can get sick. It is not a new disease, we know how to treat it and we know how to—