A public health expert says a critical issue is being ignored by both sides of politics in the lead up to the federal election — COVID-19.

Professor Terry Slevin from the Public Health Association of Australia says neither party is talking about how they’ll cope with COVID-19 going forward or how they’ll plan for future pandemics, and it’s a serious problem.

“As less natural environment available to animals around the world, they’re coming more in contact with humans and there’s greater chance … for transfer of virus from animals to humans,” he told Neil Mitchell.

“All the experts are saying this will be far from the last pandemic we have to deal with. It’s a question of when, not if.

“The discussion about putting sensible planning in place to deal with finishing this one and dealing with future public health crises just hasn’t happened.”

Professor Slevin says Australia ranked fifth in the world for new COVID-19 cases in the past 28 days.

“In the context of our population of 25 million, that’s pretty extraordinary,” he said.

The fire is still raging and we’re not even thinking about it.

“The harsh reality is we have to talk about it because it’s still around and there’s more to come.”

Press PLAY below to hear what Professor Slevin says federal politicians must address