Kerry Rea (Bonner, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I too rise to discuss the Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority Bill 2008. I know that there have been many people on both sides of the House who have contributed to the debate on this legislation and many stories have been told. Whilst possibly most of what I will say in my speech has already been said before, I wanted to very clearly add my voice to support this particular bill because it does have such significance for our Australian community.

I should declare that I have been an organ donor since I was 17, when I first got my drivers licence. I guess the getting of the licence was a much more significant event for me, but I automatically, without even thinking, ticked the box to agree to be an organ donor. It was only in subsequent years, as I had many discussions with other people, that I realised just how sensitive an issue this is and how important it is that we as leaders of the community allay some of the fears and concerns out there so that we can encourage many more Australians to agree to be organ donors. I think the most significant essence of this bill is that it will encourage and enable a much greater capacity both for people to donate and for people to benefit from those donations.

It is quite clear that we always embrace and applaud medical science in its innovation, advances in technology, discoveries of new ways of relieving suffering and even, in some cases, postponing the inevitable which is coming to all of us—that, unfortunately, is our death. What is important about this bill is that these laws embrace advances in medical technology and bring us as a nation up to speed with those advances, enabling the whole country to benefit in a much more meaningful way. This bill will put Australia on the world stage as a leader in organ and tissue donation and transplantation, and I think that is a wonderful thing for all of us. It is clear that, whilst many discussions are occurring, whilst many people are taking up these options and whilst medical science is advancing, there is still a way to go. The deceased donor rate over the last 10 years has stagnated at around 200 per annum despite the incredible population growth that we have seen in this country at the same time. Sadly, there are over 1,800 Australians on the organ transplant list at any given time, so it is very important that this bill pass through the House so that this tremendous $151.1 million four-year package can become law and start to be used for this very important cause.

The $151.1 million includes an extra $136.4 million of new funding over four years. It is designed to create a national authority that will oversee the implementation of the details in this bill, oversee and support a national network of clinical specialists, oversee a national network of organ procurement organisations, manage and monitor national professional education, manage and monitor community awareness and education, introduce and manage a world-class national data and reporting system, administer funds to non-government organisations to provide essential services such as clinical analysis, and more.

As I have already said, there is provision in this bill—$64 million, in fact—for specialist hospital staff and systems dedicated to organ donation. This particular aspect of the bill is very important. Not only does it acknowledge—along with the $17 million of new hospital funding that is also included—that we cannot simply expect our current health system to pick up the cost and expenditure associated with this new legislation, but also it brings confidence to the Australian community. They can now be comforted by the fact that there are specialist medical doctors, specialist staff and dedicated units within private and public hospitals that will specifically be devoted to organ and tissue donation and transplantation so that donors and their families are cared for in a sensitive and appropriate way but, more importantly, so that recipients are given full medical attention and specialised care to ensure that they are nursed back to health and enjoy a much better quality of life.

It is also important that we acknowledge the $13.4 million in this legislation for the community awareness and education campaign. All the speakers on this bill have acknowledged that, while we have the medical expertise and technology, while we have the extra funding for the services in our hospitals and in allied health care, it is absolutely critical that we also bring the community along with us and encourage Australians to discuss with their families and friends the importance of organ donation and in fact to register as donors. Out of all the elements of this legislation, it is the most important. We need more people willing to donate their organs in what we would hope would be a very few tragic circumstances but, unfortunately, as the previous members said, is in reality many. An education and awareness campaign is important but not just for encouraging people to donate. As I said before, it is also about instilling confidence that, in tragic circumstances, if they donate their loved one’s organs, the grieving family will be cared for in an appropriate and sensitive manner.

It is also important to take the time, as everyone else has, to talk about personal stories. Although $151 million sounds wonderful, and although we have a national authority with all of its financial, administrative and medical expertise and we have an expert advisory committee supporting that authority, the personal stories bring it all home—stories of people who have benefited already in this country from organ donation. As a result of this debate in the public arena, I was contacted by a woman in my electorate. She wishes to remain nameless and I respect her privacy but at the same time I am happy to put her story forward as part of this debate. She is a 45-year-old mother and wife of one child who required a double lung transplant. As a 45-year-old wife and mother of three myself, I find the stresses and strains of life hard enough sometimes without even contemplating the incredible suffering and pain that that particular woman would have been going through and the emotional distress she would have been feeling for her family if she was unable to receive a donation, while struggling to deal with what was obviously a very serious illness with a prognosis that was not all that good. She was able to receive a transplant and is now living a much happier and healthier life. She wished me to pass on her story because, as she said, anything that enables other people to benefit in the way she did is important for many more families like hers.  I wish to put that personal story on record—just one story out of the many we have heard in this debate.

In conclusion, I thank the Prime Minister for this initiative. I think it is the first piece of legislation that he has had the opportunity to introduce into the parliament since being elected as Prime Minister. I think that says it all when it comes to his personal and very deep and passionate commitment to this issue and his encouragement of everyone to take up this matter, to discuss it with their families and hopefully to register as donors.

I would also like to pass on my congratulations to Senator Jan McLucas, who I know, both in her position as shadow minister and now as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, has worked tirelessly to develop this policy and to see it all the way through to being legislation put before the House. We need to commend her for her efforts in negotiations and discussions and for finding a path through what is a very sensitive issue in a way that we all know will result in much greater benefits for our country.

I would also like to congratulate the opposition. It is wonderful to be standing in this place to debate something that is unanimously supported. Of course, anything that will save the lives of Australians is something that transcends bipartisan politics and something that we can all feel very good about and very pleased to support, both as individuals and as leaders of this community. I commend the bill to the House.

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