Prime Minister (PM) Scott Morrison has shown support for granting the World Health Organisation (WHO) greater powers to assist countries in managing pandemics.
However, minor parties have expressed concerns that this would amount to compromising Australia’s health sovereignty.
This comes after the World Health Assembly, consisting of 194 member countries, agreed in December 2021 to set up a global process to draft and negotiate a convention or treaty under the Constitution of the World Health Organisation to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.
Included in the potential framework of the convention is to “mobilize collective international efforts necessary to prevent, rapidly detect and effectively respond to outbreaks of disease with pandemic potential” and  “support global coordination through a stronger WHO, as ‘the directing and coordinating authority on international health work,’ including for pandemic preparedness and response”….