Ann: Appendix 4C & quarterly update, page-19

From Macrobusiness blog (macrobusiness.com.au)

The Federal Government apparently invite Mr Andrew Forrest to contact some organisation in China who obligingly supply us with a veritable cornucopia of test kits; either of the type that allows identification of the presence of the SARS CoV-2 virus antigen or else the type that allows identification of blood-borne antibodies to that virus. I’m assuming that it is the antigen test – that’s typically the specimen collected via a nasal swab rather than a blood test. If this is the case then I’m wondering whether the Federal Government is aware that an Australian company based in little old Newtown in the state of New South Wales – goes by the humble name of Genetic Signatures – makes one of the very best SARS CoV-2 antigen test kits available worldwide. Really! And they also supply the associated equipment needed to perform these high sophisticated tests en masse. Talk about covering all the bases! And they have actually sold their testing systems to some Australian path labs (and overseas too! Goodness gracious! So cool!) So did the Federal Government talk to them before instructing Mr Forrest to give his Chinese suppliers a rather significant free kick?

However, if I have got it wrong, and it is antibody test kits that are being imported on behalf of the Federal Government and courtesy of the aforesaid Mr Forrest – these are typically tests performed on a blood sample collected via either a fingerpick or else venesection – I would have thought that the Federal Government would have been aware that the Federal Therapeutics Goods Authority has already approved either the importation or supply of over a dozen different brands of SARS CoV-2 antibody test kits for trial use in Australia. Trial use because they are still uncertain of the reliability of these antibody tests and plan to evaluate the results of the tests down the track. (so-called cart before horse methodology, but you can’t really blame them in the circumstances I guess) So if it is antibody tests that are being imported by Mr Forrest on behalf of the Federal Government, it would be interesting to know whether they approached the established importers before approaching Mr Forrest. After all, they are supposed to be free marketeers aren’t they? Or have I got them all wrong.