<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Almost 40 years after the first calls for Australia to establish a permanent Centre for Disease Control (CDC), legislation has passed in the Senate that will make it so.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) called it "most important piece of public health infrastructure in generations"; Health Minister Mark Butler said the CDC "will help protect Australia from diseases and public health threats".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But some are asking why it took so long.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/wa-dad-wearing-nothing-but-spongebob-underwear-takes-down-alleged-carjacker/44b6d21d-f9f8-4b61-9d8b-2a0b1b1ef709" target="_blank"><strong><span>WA dad wearing nothing but SpongeBob undies takes down alleged carjacker</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Australian Medical Association (AMA) first called for the establishment of an Australian CDC in 2017, before the COVID-19 pandemic.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen said the pandemic then "highlighted exactly how ill-prepared Australia was to respond to such events".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We are dealing with many complex issues right now including communicable diseases between people and animals, antimicrobial resistance and other emerging threats that require surveillance and monitoring," she said.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/australian-cdc-to-be-established-laws-passed/65c12bca-2e15-4eaa-9dcb-1fd059813822" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The AMA was hardly the first to advocate for the establishment of a permanent CDC.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/louisville-ups-plane-crash-update-death-toll-rises-to-nine/fde6a27a-6160-488f-9bf5-77fdb5d2418a" target="_blank"><strong><span>Death toll rises to at least nine in Kentucky cargo plane crash</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Back in 1987, Professor Bob Douglas raised questions about Australia's lack of such an agency.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Douglas, who later became foundation director of the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at the Australian National University, described Australian disease-control activities as "fragmented, inadequate and poorly coordinated".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But Australia didn't even establish an interim CDC until January 2024, almost four years after the COVID-19 pandemic began.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Prior to that, Australia was the only OECD country without a CDC or equivalent body.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The permanent CDC is scheduled to start operations on January 1, 2026, and will replace the interim CDC.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It will initially focus on preparing for public health emergencies and improving the national public health surveillance systems.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It will later expand into priority areas including chronic diseases, which account for nine out of 10 deaths in Australia.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Albanese government has already committed $251 million to establish the CDC over the next four years.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The commitment comes off the back of an almost 700-page report following an inquiry into Australia's response to COVID-19, which recommended Australia establish a permanent CDC as a priority.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/vending-machine-business-why-australians-are-buying-selling-snack-machines-for-extra-income/1999b07f-1822-400d-a5bb-e249b5728d6c" target="_blank"><strong><span>Why thousands of Australians are buying and selling snack vending machines</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Legislation passed yesterday outlined the agency's key functions and established its independence.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Now the focus is on who will run it: an as yet unnamed director-general appointed by the health minister.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>AMA President McMullen called for the appointment of a "politically neutral" leader.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The AMA is looking forward to continuing to work with the government and the new Director-General to ensure the CDC relies on strong, clinical and scientific expert leadership," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span> "The appointment of a politically neutral, highly qualified Director-General is vital to ensure the CDC becomes Australia's most trusted."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get 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