By Steven Deare in Sydney

AUSTRALIA’S peak medical body says the nation’s response to future pandemics must focus on listening to experts and not be influenced by politics.

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is among groups to have a say on the federal government’s COVID-19 Response Inquiry and argues Australia’s success in handling the virus in the first 18 months was due to government leaders listening to medical experts.

AMA president Prof Steve Robson said the inquiry could help Australia better prepare for future pandemics if governments learned to listen to experts and have consistent policies and communication.

He was concerned about how the response was handled in later stages of the pandemic.

“We saw the response take on a political nature, where state leaders actively undermined their chief health officers in public,” Prof Robson said.

“Not only did this undermine the public’s trust in policies, but it also undermined the medical profession’s faith in their politicians to make the right decisions.”

The AMA also called for failures in the aged-care system to be addressed, as well as having a properly resourced Australian Centre for Disease Control.

In another published submission, Amnesty International claimed vaccine suppliers monopolised the intellectual property rights of their products, restricting access to a life-saving product.

The social justice group also criticised Australia’s border closures that left people stranded overseas, and took issue with vaccine mandates.

Disability Advocacy Network Australia said people with a disability were at greater risk during a pandemic, and reiterated calls for more funding of the independent disability care industry.

The inquiry is in its early stages and will continue consultation with stakeholders next year.

It is chaired by Robyn Kruk, who led the review of the COVID-19 response by NSW Health, and includes epidemiologist Catherine Bennett and health economist Angela Jackson.