Darren Cheeseman (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority Bill 2008 focuses on key elements of the Rudd Labor government’s health policy. This policy is a commitment to the Australian people that health resources are used efficiently and effectively and that priorities are set on the basis of the needs of patients. Applying these commitments has the direct effect of achieving the best health outcomes.

This bill is about boosting the number of lifesaving organ transplants and improving and providing quality of life for Australians currently waiting for organ or tissue transplants. In Australia there is widespread acceptance and support for these procedures, which provide hope for Australians who are currently on waiting lists for organ and tissue transplants. The Australian public support the idea of organ donation, with nearly six million Australians registered on the Australian Organ Donor Register. Included on the register are an additional one million registrations since 2002. This represents 37 per cent of the eligible population. Surveys show that over 90 per cent of Australians overall support organ donation. On paper, this groundswell of support is phenomenal.

In a climate of such support for organ transplants, it is easy to believe that the current system is an outstanding success. However, according to data on organ donation in Australia maintained by the Australia and New Zealand Organ Donation Registry, at any one time over the past few years, approximately 1,800 Australians have been on transplant waiting lists. This beggars belief. Even though an additional one million registrations have been accepted since 2002, the rate of organ transplants in Australia has been stagnant.

Let’s make no bones about this. This is an opportunity that has gone begging for some considerable time, and I believe that we should be looking to establish world’s best practice reform in this area. I do not wish to imply that the current systems have failed; we do have an excellent transplant record. The current and previous systems have provided for over 30,000 Australians who have gone on to have a better quality of life thanks to organ and tissue transplants. Our ability to facilitate transplants is second to none, and the technology and techniques we use are some of the most advanced in the world.

However, without detracting from the excellent work that has preceded the need for this new legislation, the fact of the matter is that there are six million potential donors that we should really have included on this list, with only 200 donations happening per annum at the moment. Despite the best efforts of government agencies, the organ and tissues sector and community and consumer groups, the current systems are not providing increased numbers of lifesaving transplants concurrent with increases of registrations for donorship.

We need a national body to coordinate efforts under a standard set of protocols to maximise the efficiency of the governing bodies and to build on them, expanding the ability to facilitate organ and tissue transplants across the whole nation. In observing the models of the world’s top-performing nations in organ donor rates, a common theme has delivered lasting improvements. Experiences of other countries point to a central coordinating agency that is dedicated to leading and driving change.

This is another example, I think, of this government getting on with the business of governing. Australia today has the opportunity to set a whole new standard in the delivery of organ and tissue transplantation. The establishment of the Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority is an essential part of the government’s strategy to facilitate coordination and provision of life-saving transplants. The new reform package will provide national leadership to the organ and tissue sector. The measures contained in the government’s reform package will drive, implement and monitor national reform initiatives and programs. The new reform package will include funding for more hospital staff to be dedicated to organ donation, including funding for hospitals to cover associated costs. The new reform package will provide funding for increased education and awareness campaigns and funding to support the families of deceased donors. I think this is very important work.

Through the national professional awareness component in this bill, the Australasian Donor Awareness Program will be extended to drive cultural and organisational change in public and private hospitals and the communities they reside in. The new reform package is significant because all Australian governments have signed up to the reform package through the Council of Australian Governments. It is also very pleasing that all parties within this place, I believe, will support these very worthy reforms.

To this effect, there has been a similar response from stakeholders in the areas that will be affected by this legislation. This support is mirrored by the organ and tissue donor sectors, and community and consumer groups, who agree that a nationally consistent and coordinated approach to organ donation is critical. The solid foundation that underwrites this support is that the Australian government is committed to providing $151 million for this fresh, new approach to achieve these goals.

The goodwill that is extended by the wider Australian community to organ and tissue transplants needs to be better focused and coordinated. There is an opportunity here to provide a real increase in the rate of organ and tissue transplants. In meeting the challenges of implementing an Australia-wide system of organ transplantation, the best system in the world is only as good as its facilitators. The fact of the matter is that we can improve efficiency through these measures. We can improve public knowledge through these measures. We can streamline the currently fragmented system that has evolved over the years and provide a nationally consistent process and system to facilitate more organ and tissue transplants and provide a better quality of life for all Australians on waiting lists. I commend this bill to the House.

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