In 2014, when the Abbott government slashed funding to the CSIRO, one of the affected research bodies was the Australian Animal Health Laboratory in Geelong, the country’s only facility capable of working with live samples of some of the most deadly diseases, including Ebola and MERS.
At the time, experts warned that this short-sightedness posed a great risk to Australia.
Director of Queensland University’s Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre Mark Walker said “Funding cuts will leave the nation exposed to new and emerging infectious disease agents. The country requires this type of expertise, as we don’t know which new virus will be a major health threat. It could be Ebola, or it could be something completely different.”
Former Australian of the Year and Nobel Laureate, Peter Doherty, described the AAHL as “an absolutely unique facility in south-east Asia,’’ and warned that Australia’s ‘‘scientifically illiterate government’’ risked losing talent to other countries, such as Singapore, which were investing in research.
A 2017 review of Australia’s biosecurity system said “the efforts of biosecurity agencies are hampered by eroding biosecurity budgets, declining and uneven capability and expertise across the jurisdictions, leadership churn (ministerial and executive), patchy coverage by formal institutions and a lack of codified practices.”
And now we are witnessing the consequences of the arrogance of politicians who ignore expert advice, be it action on climate change, water management, bushfire preparedness or global pandemics.
The Coalition government does not deserve praise for belatedly reacting to disasters that could have been foreseen or prepared for. We must not forget the part that their hubris has played in placing this country at grave risk.
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