Milton Dick (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Following on from my colleague and friend the member for Chifley, who stole my thunder about the top 15—I was only going to do the top three IT bungles, so he's really filled the breach on exactly where this government sits—I will be really blunt about this issue. I think it is important that we put these concerns on the record, because 25 million Australians are relying on this parliament, and in particular this government, to get a pretty serious matter correct. While the wheels might be falling off this government more and more each day, really and truly we've got another policy patchwork quilt that is, in my opinion, falling to pieces. You only need to look at the speakers list today to see the concerns that Labor are raising on behalf of our constituents and the broader community. It is pretty damning when the government won't even get up and defend their position. They have zero speakers, which is pretty normal.

Whilst we support e-health and the concept of the My Health Record, I believe the government has overseen another appalling rollout, which has now seen almost one million Australians decide to opt out and, let's face it, we've barely even begun. This is a long list of stuff-ups that the government is trying to be proud of, but we know that e-health could deliver tangible healthcare improvements and save healthcare costs through fewer diagnosis, treatment and prescription errors if it weren't for this error-riddled government.

On this side of the House, we began delivering an electronic health record system when we were last in office. Our system was opt-in, and we thought that was the right approach, so that anyone who participated had to give informed consent. But the government, as we know, time and time again thought that they knew better. They thought they knew better than health professionals, the AMA and now the almost one million Australians who have decided they don't want to risk their personal data when they know that this government simply cannot be trusted with it. It was only under Labor questioning in a Senate committee last night that the Australian Digital Health Agency finally admitted that 900,000 people have now opted out. That is the first update provided since 20,000 people opted out on day one. With two months to go in the opt-out period, that number is likely to rise to well over one million people. But the truth is we are already likely over the one million mark of people who have withdrawn, with the head of the ADHA saying that the estimate was 'not comprehensive' and reflected only opt-outs via the website or call centre, as paper forms have not been reconciled.

The mass exodus is because Australians simply do not trust this government. They know their track record when it comes to things, as we heard from the member for Chifley, like the census and robo-debt calls and do not want to be caught up in the drama or, as I call it, the hunger games of the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison government. The government has completely botched the rollout of the opt-out period, undermining public trust in this important reform. Examples of this include that, under the original plan by the government, even if a patient asked for their health record to be deleted, some basic information would have been kept for up to 130 years—just extraordinary. Included in Australians who have opted out of the new system is the government's own member for Goldstein, who said that:

… instinctive position should always be as a Liberal that systems should be opt-in and people should be able to freely choose to opt into a system …

Not even the government's own members have faith in their system. What a complete and utter shambles. How can any Australian trust this government will keep their personal data safe and secure when their own MPs won't even sign up for it?

It is because of members of the government, who, like millions of Australians, are choosing not to place their personal data in the care of this government, that Labor, quite rightly, referred the My Health Record to a legislative inquiry in the Senate. The inquiry is hearing evidence from stakeholders across the board and will test whether this bill adequately responds to privacy and security concerns and develop possible amendments. This includes hearing from the Digital Transformation Office CEO Paul Shetler, who said:

… current access controls for the service are 'shocking', making sensitive medical data vulnerable.

He said:

In its current form I believe that the program will fail. Government should first pause and acknowledge what they are hearing from the public.

…   …   …

Even with the settings they've set up so far, people still can have wide-ranging access to data without having to hack it. It's just not set up in a secure way. The way the phrases are constructed, it's fairly broad who actually has access to this data …

It is the most intimate data about a person as possible. There is a problem there, and it has to be taken seriously. It's shocking how bad the access control is on it. It's a very real concern.

These are the experts in the field talking about exactly what the government is planning to do.

The bill responds to public anger over the scheme by making some changes that Labor welcome, including requiring law enforcement and other government agencies to get a court order to access records and permanently deleting the health information of people who opt out of the My Health Record. But we don't believe that these changes go far enough and so will do little to allay community fears about privacy and security. Workers have raised concerns that doctors who perform pre-employment or workers' compensation assessments may pass health information on to employers and that employers could use this information to discriminate against employees—for example, on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions.

Also, this bill does absolutely nothing to address the concerns the My Health Record may risk the safety of women fleeing abusive partners or children needing privacy from non-custodial parents. As reported in the media earlier this year, this includes a loophole in the system allowing a parent who does not have primary custody to create a My Health Record on their child's behalf without the consent or knowledge of their former partner. An abusive ex-partner can thereby gain access to details including the location of medical practitioners and pharmacies attended by the child with their primary caregiver, potentially narrowing down the locations of victims in hiding. An abusive ex-partner can thereby gain access to details where they may not have previously known that information.

Any Australian in such a position may contact the Australian Digital Health Agency and request that their child's personal identification number, which is linked to their Medicare account, be suspended immediately. The agency will then assess any requests by the respective parents to register as a person authorised to act on behalf of the child. If approved, this will give either parent the power to create, access and monitor the child's My Health Record with or without the parents' consent.

I want to read into the record comments by Angela Lynch, the chief executive officer of Women's Legal Service Queensland. I want to commend Women's Legal Service Queensland for the outstanding advocacy that they provide. I've had a little bit to do with them, particularly in their strong campaign against the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison government and their savage attacks on community legal centres. Ms Lynch warned that:

… any refusal of access by the Digital Health Agency could be contested in the Family Court, including by an abusive former partner.

In reviewing the submission to the Senate inquiry by Women's Legal Service Queensland, they stated that the failure by the government to consult with women's agencies was particularly concerning—not surprisingly, when you see the record of how this government treats women in its own ranks—and that this has caused confusion, anxiety and angst in the community as domestic violence victims are concerned what the rollout will mean for them and their children's safety. However, even more disturbingly, I read that the service holds concerns that the current approach may create situations where a woman may be fleeing a domestic violence situation and they may be forced to decide between either taking their child to a health professional and potentially identifying their location to the perpetrator or not necessarily seeking treatment. Put simply, they state that the My Health Record system, as it stands, places women and children who are fleeing violence at risk of serious injury and death.

This is not something where the government can simply say, 'Well, this is scaremongering'—or their normal method of operation, which is to somehow blame Labor in their warped, twisted alternative universe. These are real concerns by health professionals and also legal practitioners who are worried about the implementation and implications regarding the government's rollout. That's why today I join with my Labor colleagues and again call on the government to suspend the opt-out phase of the My Health Record rollout until privacy and security concerns such as the ones I have addressed today in the parliament are dealt with. When community organisations such as Women's Legal Service are repeatedly saying that lives are at risk, we cannot continually, blindly, as the health minister seems to be doing, simply say 'business as usual'. We must stop and reflect to investigate whether there is a better way. Despite these revelations and despite this updated piece of legislation, it is under the control of a health minister who said, as recently as last month, that he maintained, 'There were no real problems with the first incarnation of My Health Record' but said that he was happy to provide additional reassurances on privacy to doctors and patients.

Well, I'm not too sure who the health minister is speaking to—well, we know he's not speaking to his colleagues, because they don't support him either, when he runs for the leadership position. Maybe he's a little bit too busy trying to destroy the government that he is a part of, instead of listening to the one million Australians who beg to differ with the health minister. That's one million Australians who are very concerned that, when it comes to this government and their personal data, it cannot be trusted. As you can see, these are very serious issues in the hands of a government with a woeful track record on IT security and privacy.

As I indicated and as Labor speakers have said, the government's record on the rollout of IT is nothing short of scandalous. Time and time again, we've seen bungle after bungle. I had a situation in my own electorate last week, where 130 childcare educators, working through a wonderful organisation, simply were in danger of not getting paid for up to five weeks because the government has botched its new childcare IT system. Now, it might not mean a lot to members opposite when a couple of people miss a pay cycle or two. For those on the other side, let me tell you: it means a lot to front-line workers. It is because of this government's bungling of IT systems and this system in particular. We've seen a failed rollout of the NBN and the NDIS. They gave us the census fail and the robo-debt debacle. Quite frankly, they have now stuffed up My Health Record.

We must get this system right. Rather than pushing through legislation and patching it up as they go, quite frankly the government should suspend the opt-out period until these and other issues can be addressed. If the minister, his office or his advisers are listening to this, and if you don't take my word for it, listen to the one million Australians who are concerned and are voting with their feet. Talk to your constituents who are raising concerns. I have no doubt members of the government are getting the same sorts of phone calls, emails and stress out there in community from health professionals and from people in the legal profession. It is time that the government stopped fighting amongst themselves; stopped trying to grief, bully and undermine each other; and actually started doing their job in this parliament, which is to listen to the community and start delivering what the community needs and, more importantly, what the community needs to keep them safe and protected. Australia's sensitive health data is of the utmost of importance. I call on members of the government to support the amendments that we have moved in this place to get it right.

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