Thursday, 9 September 2021

 Mr GUY (Bulleen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:33): My question is to the Minister for Health. Minister, both the federal and New South Wales governments are already ordering thousands of rapid antigen testing kits for delivery now and orders for delivery in the future. Why isn’t Victoria?

 Mr FOLEY (Albert Park—Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services, Minister for Equality) (14:33): I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question, and I am very happy to compare much of the activities in New South Wales with those in Victoria when it comes to the public health system in many, many ways. The honourable member specifically brought into the question the issue of ordering and rapid antigen testing. Rapid antigen testing is a part right now of how we go about our testing regime in Victoria. That has been the case, whether it is saliva testing or whether it is other arrangements in place in hotel quarantine, for many, many months. It has been part of the serial testing in industry settings in high-risk industries for quite some months as well. So the premise on which the honourable Leader of the Opposition asked his question is suitably flawed. In that respect, rapid antigen testing has been and will increasingly be a part of Victoria’s and indeed the commonwealth’s response to this global pandemic. It does need, in terms of how it is applied, particular approvals from the federal regulator, the TGA—the Therapeutic Goods Administration. Many are restricted through the processes whereby you have to have a clinician of some standard or another apply—not all of them, but a lot—and we are waiting through the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee and other engagements with the commonwealth for the approvals for that loosening of the system to allow that to happen.

In regard to how more broadly we are engaging with the commonwealth around all of the elements of the public health system and the ordering that the commonwealth has, the main thing that holds us back in that regard is not so much rapid antigen testing or testing more generally, given the great job that is being done by all of our pathology teams in turning around the many, many thousands of tests—over 50 000 in the most recent 24-hour reporting period—it is actually vaccines. And to hear today that in fact Australia passed up the opportunity to be at the front of the queue when it comes to Pfizer in particular—just think where we would be if we had taken up not just rapid antigen testing but the Pfizer offer for mRNA—

Mr Guy: On a point of order, Speaker, my question was very specific and only went to rapid antigen testing—

Mr Merlino interjected.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Deputy Premier will come to order.

Mr Guy: and I wonder, on relevance, if the minister has finished answering that question, he might be able to conclude his answer, otherwise if he would prefer to answer the question that I asked.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! I will not have members talking over me when I am trying to rule on a point of order. The Minister for Health should come back to answering the question.

Mr Wells: On a further point of order, Speaker, I am sorry, but in the past when there have been people talking over you when you have been giving a ruling people on this side have been thrown out of the chamber. I would ask you to apply the rules fairly, especially when it comes to the Deputy Premier and his persistent talking over the top of you when you are giving a ruling.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! I warn all members of the house because as I was about to rule on that point of order members on both sides of the house were yelling across me. The Minister for Health to come back to answering the question.

Mr FOLEY: Thank you, honourable Speaker. Rapid antigen testing has been and will increasingly be part of the armoury the public health team bring to our public health response as we seek to deal with this particularly nasty outbreak of the delta variant, in the context of our main tool being a vaccination program. And just think how good it would have been if we had had millions more Pfizer doses.

 Mr GUY (Bulleen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:38): The federal government is saying publicly they expect the Therapeutic Goods Administration to soon fully approve rapid antigen testing even for home use. What has the state government done to ensure there is adequate supply?

 Mr FOLEY (Albert Park—Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services, Minister for Equality) (14:38): Can I thank the member for his supplementary question. The whole issue of supply chain throughout this global pandemic has been an extraordinarily complex one in a global environment where pretty much everybody wanted everything all at the same time. Having said that, despite the promises of national stockpiles on many issues—be it PPE, ventilators, swabs, consumables, associated reagents and indeed vaccines, like mRNA vaccines from Pfizer for instance—the commonwealth has sought on many occasions to intimate to the states and territories that it is happy to coordinate that process. Twenty months in there has been no evidence of that coordination of supplies, especially when it comes to Pfizer mRNA technology. Each state has had to establish its own, and this state will when it comes to rapid antigen testing.