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D I S A S T E R BY LLOYD GORMAN Unlike his high profile and distinguishable federal counterpart WA’s chief medical officer would probably be unrecognisable to the vast majority of people in the West. Dr Brendan Murphy is a name - one we will come back to shortly - and a face most Australian’s will know from the many times he has stood beside and spoken at press conferences with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and other senior politicians. Dr Andy Robertson does not have the same kind of profile, but his role is exactly the same as Murphy’s. Dr Robertson is the Chief Health Officer at W.A. Department of Health. As such, Dr Roberston is to Premier Mark McGowan what Dr Murphy is to Scott Morrison. The premier has repeatedly said all his decisions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic are based on medical and public health advice. A lot of that advice would be coming from the state’s top doc.
What is a sound medical opinion - particularly in a time of crisis when good decisions need to be made quickly - based on? Knowledge and experience no doubt count, things Dr Robertson has in abundance. Before his career in public health Robertson had a very different occupation, having served with the Royal Australian Navy from 1984 until 2003, including completing three tours to Iraq as a Biological Weapons Chief Inspector with the United Nations Special Commission in 1996 and 1997. In October 2003, he took up the position of the Director, Disaster Preparedness and Management in WA Health. Just over 12 months later, he led the Australian Medical Relief team into the Maldives post-tsunami, and managed WA Health’s response to the 2005 Bali Bombing. He also, led the WA Health team into Indonesia after the Yogyakarta earthquakes in June 2006 and worked as the Radiation Health Adviser to the Australian Embassy after the Fukushima nuclear incident in 2011. He has also
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