Sam Dastyari (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to provide a few brief comments regarding the Community Affairs References Committee's inquiry into the growing evidence of an emerging tick-borne disease that causes a Lyme-like illness for many Australian patients. I will be very brief and won't keep the Senate waiting too long. This inquiry commenced almost two years ago and was re-adopted at the start of the current parliament. In that time, it attracted significant public interest, with over 1,200 submissions received, many of them from Australians who are experiencing chronic, debilitating symptoms that they associate with a tick bite. The committee included coalition, Labor and crossbench senators and tabled its final report on 30 November 2016. The government was required to respond to the committee reports within three months of their tabling. This response has taken 12 months—four times the allowed period. This follows the six months that it took the government to respond to the committee's interim report, after which the government provided a two-page response. At long last, Labor looks forward to having an opportunity to review the government's response. This response, on face value, appears more substantial than its previous attempts. I hope that this does justice to the many issues that have been raised by many people as part of this inquiry. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.