More than 20 Australian volunteers are already in region

It's believed up to 16 Australian health care workers have been trained and are on stand-by to go to west Africa if the policy changes

Government officials say Australia has two primary concerns - domestic protection and regional concerns in the case of any Asia-Pacific outbreak

The U2 front-man said government's response is 'not the Australia I know'

The Prime Minister's office has fired back at renewed criticism of Australia's commitment to the fight against the Ebola virus in west Africa, labelling any call for deployment of aid workers 'reckless in the extreme', without proper evacuation protocols.

The government has provided an official response to Daily Mail Australia in the wake of a verbal attack from the U2 front-man and noted humanitarian Bono, who blasted Tony Abbott for not joining the global fight against Ebola.

He said the government's decision not to send medical workers to west Africa was 'outrageous' and 'not very Australian.'

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Not seeing eye-to-eye on the Ebola crisis. 'To think Australia's very far away and you can protect yourself by protecting the airports and the docks, it's not very smart,' Bono (right) said of the position taken by the Tony Abbott (left) government

The singer criticised the Prime Minister's failure to respond to the outbreak of the deadly disease 'at the source' during an interview on 60 Minutes.

'(Politicians have) got to account for their actions, including your Prime Minister,' Bono said.

'I thought it was outrageous, the idea that you wouldn't send medical workers to west Africa.'

'This is just not the Australia that I know.'

But a spokesman for Mr Abbott made it clear on Monday that protecting Australians comes first.

'Our primary concern is around our domestic protocols and the secondary is about our regional concerns, to make sure there is readiness should there an outbreak in a country which does not have certain capabilities,' he said.

He confirmed the first focus would be on protecting Australia at the borders and assisting should Ebola ever grip the Asia-Pacific region.

The Prime Minister's office also took issue with Bono's claim that 'to think Australia's very far away and you can protect yourself by protecting the airports and the docks, it's not very smart'.

'You have to protect it at the source of the problem. These diseases do not respect borders,' Bono claimed.

'Our domestic protocols are in fact, world class and if there are cases, as has been demonstrated with the three of four false starts, we are prepared,' the PM's spokesman added.

Health workers suit up in protective clothing before taking people suspected of having Ebola to a re-opened Ebola holding centre in the West Point neighbourhood in Monrovia, Liberia. The World Health Organization says that more than 4,500 people have died due to the Ebola epidemic in west Africa

The British are sending up to 750 people to help in Sierra Leone, while the US has dispatched more than 3000 to Liberia to assist in the fight against the Ebola virus

A World Health Organisation map depicting the rapid spread of Ebola in parts of west Africa, with hundreds of new cases now in Liberia and Sierra Leone

As for deploying Australian aid workers or doctors in future, he added that 'we are of course of a mind to help where we reasonably can in the situation that is happening (but) what we need is to have strong evacuation plans in place for any official or health worker should something occur, that’s a fairly reasonable position'.

'For anyone, including the Labor Party, to say that we should be sending people to west Africa without these precautions in place if they were to get sick, is reckless in the extreme.'

The United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon called on Bono to help raise awareness of the dire situation.

The Federal Government says the UN has recognised Australia's 'fast and effective response'.

'We have provided another $18 million on top of the $40 million we already have provided to the World Health Organisation and that has and that has resulted in strong praise from UN.'

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop (pictured with the Prime Minister) has defended Australia's decision not to send aid workers or doctors, saying the advice provided by both Australia's health and defence departments shows that there could not yet be a safe evacuation from west Africa under current protocols

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the Australian Health and Defence Departments have both advised that Australian health workers, as yet, could not be safely evacuated back home.

'The Australian government is not about to risk the health of Australian workers in the absence of credible evacuation plans that could bring our people back to Australia,' Ms Bishop said.

A position echoed by Health Minister Peter Dutton on the ABC Radio's AM program this morning.

'We are providing financial support and providing support through NGOs (non-government organisations),' Mr Dutton said.

'We're assessing whether or not health care workers could receive adequate medical attention on the ground if they contracted the virus from the patients they're treating. We have 20 or 30 health workers volunteering in the region at the moment and we're providing what support we can through consular assistance to those people.

'I think it's prudent for the Government to make sure we have every scenario covered and that's a process we're going at the moment before we take any decisions at the next step.'

Music legend Bono (left) was sought out by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to raise awareness and funds for the fight against the Ebola virus in west Africa

The WHO reports that 'the Ebola virus was first reported in 1976 through two simultaneous outbreaks in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo'

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated that unless 70 per cent of infected people were treated in the next two months, there will be 10,000 new cases each week, potentially affecting 1.4 million people across west Africa

Bono is founder of the ONE foundation, which campaigns to end extreme poverty and preventable disease.

'I think we all saw this (picture of) this young kid lying in her own excrement and a load of people just standing around watching her die because they didn’t, they just knew not to touch her and she’s lying there dying,' Bono told 60 minutes.

'These are very dangerous moments.'

Bono is the founder of ONE foundation, which campaigns to end extreme poverty and preventable disease

Bono also took the Prime Minister to task for slashing the funds dedicated to proving foreign aid.

'I know you've got difficulties, every country does, and I respect them but I think the aid budget got 20 per cent of the cuts, so that's a lot of lives,' Bono said, speaking about the Australia's 2014 Federal Budget.

'It just doesn't strike me as being very Australian.'

Australian Medical Association president, Associate Professor Brian Owler, is also among those calling on the government to develop and announce a plan to help deal with the Ebola crisis

Bono's comments come after the head of the country's medical association implored the government to formulate a plan, labelling Australia's response to Ebola 'a shambles.'

Associate Professor Brian Owler called on the Commonwealth to develop and announce a plan to help deal with the crisis.

While Australia has not committed to sending workers into the region, it's believed up to 16 health care workers have been trained to go to west Africa and do the 'dangerous work' with Ebola patients, should the government position change.

But adding to the frustration, neither the AMA nor the Chief Medical Officer know who the people are or what sort of training they've received.

'It's not the AUSMAT (Australian Medical Assistance) teams that you would expect would be trained to do this work,' Professor Owler said.

'People should be reassured that the risk of transmission of that infection is very, very, low, but obviously it is a concern,' he said.

The US and UK asked for assistance from Australia a month ago, Professor Owler added.

The British have committed 750 people to help in Sierra Leone, while the US has dispatched more than 3000 to Liberia.

The World Health Organisation last week estimated that unless 70 per cent of infected people were treated in the next two months, there will be 10,000 new cases each week, potentially affecting 1.4 million people across west Africa.







