Teresa Gambaro (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is an honour to be following the member for Canberra, and I thank her for her wonderful contribution, as I thank the member for Braddon, the member for Solomon and the member for Kingsford Smith. It is not often in this place that we can come together on legislation that is agreeable to both sides of the House, but the No Jab, No Pay measure reinforces the Australian government's position that immunisation is a very important public health measure for children, their families and their community. The coalition is absolutely committed to making sure that every child in every home has a safe environment and has a safe educational environment as well.

As the member for Brisbane, I have a huge number of schools that I represent in my electorate as well as many child care centres, preschools and kindies. This policy will bring clarity to the rules, and it highlights the very importance of immunisation and of protecting public health, especially for those who are the most vulnerable in our community, children.

The measure aims to further increase the immunisation rates in the Australian community, because we know that the more that people are immunised, the safer that everyone is going to be. From 1 January 2016, the No Jab, No Pay measure amends the immunisation requirements for the family assistance payments, including the Child Care Benefit, the Child Care Rebate and the Family Tax Benefit Part A end-of-year supplement.

Currently, immunisation requirements only apply to children up to the age of seven for the Child Care Benefit and Child Care Rebate, and at ages one, two and five for the Family Tax Benefit Part A end-of-year supplement. This is simply not enough to encourage higher rates of immunisation.

From 1 January 2016, in order for an individual to be entitled to the Child Care Rebate and Child Care Benefit payments, their child will need to meet immunisation requirements up to the age of 20. This is very much a common-sense approach that not only will make sure we do not witness the return of some of those debilitating diseases, but also will reduce the burden on our healthcare system by keeping kids out of hospital.

Immunisation stops the spread of many harrowing and life-threatening diseases like diphtheria. The release of the diphtheria toxin in the blood can cause nerve paralysis and heart failure. In the early 1900s, diphtheria caused more deaths in Australia than any other infectious disease. I was hearing about that when I visited a historical photographic exhibition at the Royal Brisbane Hospital recently to mark the Anzac Centenary. It is absolutely incredible when you think about this—that the increasing use of vaccines has led to diphtheria's virtual disappearance. No vaccinated person has died from diphtheria in Australia in the last 20 years, and we must ensure that that statistic remains unchanged.

Measles is another very highly infectious, acute viral disease which can cause serious complications, particularly in very young children. Complications of measles include middle-ear infections and laryngitis, as well as more serious infections such as pneumonia and encephalitis, which can lead to brain damage and death. I know that today we have heard many stories of members having personal experiences. My personal experience was of a friend of the family who was not vaccinated when she was a child and who contracted measles. She had a lovely baby boy and unfortunately he suffered from deafness, and it was a terrible, terrible thing to go through. He is now contributing to society. But this could have been avoided if she had been able to have a vaccination and unfortunately she was unable to do that as a young child.

There is also meningococcal disease, one in 10 of the sufferers of which dies in Australia. Of those who survive, one in 30 has severe skin scarring or loss of limbs, and one in 30 has severe brain damage.

Finally, members have spoken today about whooping cough. It is an extremely contagious respiratory infection. The disease causes uncontrolled coughing and vomiting, which can last for several months and can be particularly dangerous for little babies under the age of 12 months. Patients have described the experience as if they were actually coughing up their lungs for months on end. It is clear, then, that we must act now to ensure that these diseases cannot spread any further.

In order for an individual to be entitled to the Family Tax Benefit Part A end-of-year supplement, their child will need to meet immunisation requirements from age one up to the end of the calendar year they turn 19. The changes do not impact fortnightly instalments of Family Tax Benefit Part A. The changes only impact the end-of-year supplement, which is currently $726.35 per year per child, as long as those conditions are met. Critically, this measure will remove vaccine objection, previously known as 'conscientious objection', as an exemption category. That measure is simply not good enough to protect the health of the broader community. Currently, if an individual makes a declaration that they have an objection based on personal, philosophical, religious or medical belief to being vaccinated, they meet the immunisation requirements.

According to the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register, more than 39,000 Australian children under the age of seven are not vaccinated because their parents object to vaccinations, which is an increase of more than 24,000 children over 10 years. This is a very dangerous trend that we must reverse. For every child who misses out on the chance to be vaccinated, the chance of infection increases. No child should be afraid to get the education they deserve simply because some parents decide to object to potentially life-saving vaccines.

This is a public health issue. The government has determined that, whilst parents have the right to decide not to vaccinate their children, if they are doing so as a vaccine objector their decision will mean that they will no longer be eligible for some government financial assistance. We have to take a tough stance for the good of public safety and the health of our youth. Children will meet the immunisation requirements if they are fully immunised, engaged in an approved catch-up schedule or have a valid exemption. We will allow for children who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons to be exempt so that they may not slip through the cracks financially.

Children with medical contraindications or natural immunity certified by a general practitioner will continue to meet immunisation requirements. Children are considered fully immunised when they have received the appropriate vaccines for their age cohort under the National Immunisation Program's early childhood schedule. A child will also meet immunisation requirements if they are a participant in a vaccine study approved by a Human Research Ethics Committee registered with the National Health and Medical Research Council. Additionally, the secretary will be given new legislative powers to exempt a child from immunisation requirements in a very limited range of circumstances—for example, where a non-parent carer does not have the legal authority to vaccinate a child in their care. Where a child cannot be vaccinated as required and the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer has declared that the relevant vaccines or all vaccines are temporarily unavailable, the child is considered to meet the immunisation requirements. This measure is compatible with human rights because it advances the protection of the right to physical health and, to the extent that it may also limit human rights, those limitations are reasonable, necessary and proportionate.

The bill for this measure is accompanied by a statement of compatibility with human rights, in accordance with the government's normal processes. In conjunction with these changes, the Minister of Health has introduced legislation to extend the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register to record immunisation information for children aged between seven and 20 years. This measure is expected to produce savings of roughly $508 million over four years.

This has been a very hotly discussed topic that is important to me and the community that I represent. Often the balance on this debate has been conflated and misconstrued. Hopefully this bill will bring clarity to people as well as piece of mind. Tough choices have to be made for the safety of the greater community. I support the bill.

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