I rise to speak in very strong support of the Australian Centre for Disease Control (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2025. This is by no means a dry, technical bill; it's a vital piece of foundational architecture that will underpin our nation's capacity to protect lives, manage public health risks and ensure that Australia is better prepared for the next pandemic or health emergency. And why wouldn't every government in Australia want to be on a path of continuous improvement? That is the ambition of the Albanese Labor government. It is true: the Morrison government didn't get everything right. I'm sure there are governments at all levels across Australia that have reflected on the time of the global pandemic, and it is precisely a centre for disease control which many experts from Australia asked for.

I'll come to that a little bit later on. But let's begin by acknowledging that the time for complacency is well and truly over. The lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic remain fresh in our mind, and the recommendations of the COVID-19 response inquiry are unequivocal. Australia must build institutional capacity and clarity in public health decision-making so that we are never again caught without a playbook. The inquiry noted several significant gaps in dataflow, in coordination across jurisdictions and in public trust. This consequential and transitional provisions bill is a key bridge between where we stand now and a more robust, resilient future.

Some may regard this bill as a mere technical fix to the principal Australian Centre for Disease Control Bill, but, in fact, these supporting provisions that I just spoke of are utterly essential. Without them, the legislative framework would be incomplete, roles and responsibilities would be unclear, statutory functions would remain stranded in legacy legislation and the transition to the new Centre for Disease Control would be chaotic. So this bill ensures that the existing public health functions now in the Department of Health, under the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer or under other bodies are properly migrated to the Centre for Disease Control director-general, that the machinery-of-government changes proceed smoothly, with documents, records and responsibilities transferred in an orderly way, including preserving continuity of existing arrangements while the new agency is bedded in, that conflicting overlapping of legislation is reconciled and that appropriate exemptions and protections are preserved—for example, in the Freedom of Information Act—so that protected information under the Centre for Disease Control bill is handled carefully.

These are not mere housekeeping matters; they are important scaffolding upon which a trusted, effective and legally coherent centre for disease control will stand. Let us not lose sight of the ultimate goal here. The establishment of the standalone statutory Australian Centre for Disease Control is a transformational reform. It's one that a Labor government will very, very proudly stand up to defend in this parliament. Until now, Australia has lacked a truly national expert public health agency with clearly conferred powers and independence. Indeed, prior to this, Australia was the only OECD country without a centre for disease control style national body. Let me repeat that: Australia was the only OECD country not to have a centre for disease control style national body.

This gap has hampered coordination across the state and territories, its limited agility in response and it's made central leadership in health and medical agencies less effective. If ever we needed an example of where we needed to have that kind of national leadership, it was during COVID. Those of us in the national parliament at the time remember very clearly the need for such leadership.

Under this bill, the new Centre for Disease Control will have functions to: collect, analyse and share critical public health information and data; advise and communicate with governments, health agencies and the public; develop and publish guidelines, statements and standards; conduct or commission awareness, education and prevention campaigns; and serve as a conduit for Australia's obligations under international health law. In short, the Centre for Disease Control will be the nucleus of public health leadership. It will be accountable, transparent and expert driven.

So it'd be astonishing for anybody in this House to stand up and oppose this bill, to vote against such an important, critical, transformative legislative framework that will deliver good public health leadership and outcomes. I really call on members opposite to think carefully, to remember what it was like in this national parliament at a time when we needed to be able to pull all of those levers together. Let's not be caught next time there is a pandemic without a national body like the Centre for Disease Control. This is a time for this parliament to really show some good leadership from all sides and stand behind important public health initiatives in the national interest. It's a bill that everybody in this parliament should be getting behind

In supporting the Australian Centre for Disease Control Bill and the Australian Centre for Disease Control (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill, I want to acknowledge several legitimate concerns and show how legislation is structured to address them. The CDC must be seen by the public as an independent, objective and evidence driven institution. The draft legislation includes: mandatory publication of advice and underlying evidence; an advisory committee appointed based on expertise to provide challenge and perspective, though without decision-making powers; and that at least one member of the advisory council be Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, to ensure that First Nations perspectives are included. In short, transparency is baked into this legislation, not retrofitted.

Another concern is how data will be handled, particularly sensitive health information. This legislation ensures that the use, sharing and disclosure of data will be consistent with the Privacy Act and tightly controlled. The CDC cannot compel government entities to release data. The legislation explicitly prohibits any overreach, including data power grabs. Protected information under the CDC Act is exempt from freedom-of-information requests under the FOI amendments in this bill.

An institution without resources is just an aspiration; it's not a reality. The Australian Medical Association has welcomed this legislation but emphasised the importance of sustained funding and expert leadership for the CDC to command credibility. The Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases has also endorsed this bill and called for continued support and partnership with the research and clinical community. Thus we must commit not only to the passing of this legislation but also to the funding, staffing, infrastructure and oversight mechanisms, including transparent reporting, parliamentary scrutiny and community engagement.

As the member for Newcastle I understand how local health infrastructure, trust in public health advice, and preparedness for outbreaks matter deeply to people's lives—in our schools, workplaces and aged-care homes and in our urban and regional centres. In recent years our nation saw how fragile continuity can be when systems are overwhelmed. As the COVID-19 response inquiry highlighted, Australia wasn't prepared for a pandemic. Because of the lack of planning, Australia's pandemic response to COVID was slow and confused and lacked authority. Our community, like so many others, lived with the uncertainty of changing rules, supply shortages, school disruptions and the heartbreak of isolation from loved ones. These were not abstract policy failures; they were lived experiences.

Communities want certainty that when the next outbreak or emerging threat arrives we will be ready. The new CDC, supported by this bill, provides that assurance. In our region, and right across Australia, this reform will streamline responses and ensure that emerging infectious threats, whether pandemic or endemic, receive a national backbone of leadership, not fragmented responses.

There are many Australians who have long advocated for this, but I want to take a moment to recognise two Novocastrians who really worked hard to ensure that this was on the Labor government's agenda and part of our national conversation. One is a fantastic local constituent of mine, Sue Wood, and the other is my predecessor, the former federal member for Newcastle, Sharon Grierson.

Let me summarise the case for supporting this bill, because I heard a lot of mischief-making last night in some of the debate on the bill. There is a strong case for supporting the bill before the House. It is foundational. Without these provisions, the CDC cannot function coherently. This bill enables clarity and certainty by legislating the roles of migration of powers to prevent legal vacuums and confusion. It respects federated responsibility; it doesn't try to usurp the states or territories. It complements, cooperates and coordinates. It safeguards rights and balances powers. Transparency, accountability, privacy protections and limitations on coercive powers are built into this legislation. It demands continued investment, so passing this bill is only the beginning. We must resource the CDC properly and ensure it remains responsive, credible and well governed.

And, above all, it is people focused. This is about protecting Australian lives, restoring trust and making sure Australians, no matter where they live, can rely on a system that is going to respond swiftly, transparently and effectively when it matters most. This bill is a solemn promise to the Australian people that we will not drift into wilful unpreparedness again and that we will build institutions that are resilient and capable of safeguarding life. In doing so, we honour the lessons from the past, from COVID and outbreaks of influenza to other health shocks. We equip our nation for the future. I commend this bill to the House, and I sincerely urge all members to support it.