Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

At the request of Senator Moore, I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the Australian-led Eliminate Dengue Program, from Monash University, has just become the World Mosquito Program – this global health initiative has been working towards protecting the global community from mosquito-borne diseases, including Dengue and the Zika virus, which threaten the lives and livelihoods of over 40% of the world's population, many of whom are living in poor, vulnerable communities, with struggling health systems,

(ii) Dengue infects over a million people around the world each day, yet there is no effective treatment or cure, and conventional control methods, such as the spraying of insecticides, are proving less effective,

(iii) a world-leading Australian innovation in the World Mosquito Program's use of a naturally occurring bacteria (Wolbachia) is a safe, natural and effective way to combat the threat of disease – this self-sustaining method protects communities without posing a risk to natural ecosystems, and

(iv) the program to reduce the threat of mosquito-borne diseases was pioneered by Australian researchers, starting as a small research project in Cairns in January 2011, with the support received from the Queensland community – it has now become a major global health collaboration operating in 10 countries, including Australia, Kiribati, Fiji, Vanuatu, Sri Lanka, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Brazil and Colombia;

(b) acknowledges:

(i) the significant contribution made by the people of Far North Queensland who embraced this research, including thousands of householders, school students and teachers, small business owners and community groups, who volunteered to actively participate in the field trials – this enthusiastic local support has resulted in tens of thousands of people around the world now being protected and the program rapidly expanding across the Asia-Pacific and the Americas, and the method used has also been recommended by the World Health Organization for further pilot deployments, and

(ii) the funding support from the Australian and Queensland Governments and generous philanthropists; and

(c) calls on the Australian Government to consider ongoing support to enable a Queensland-born, community-driven, Australian innovation to develop, expand and ultimately protect millions of at risk people around the world.