Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would also like to make a contribution on the Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority Amendment (Governance and Other Measures) Bill 2021. As you've heard, from our side of the House we are supporting the passage of this bill. It introduces very sensible changes to the governance structure of the Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority, the OTA. In saying it's sensible—of course it is. It moves the governance structure back to where it was initially, when Labor first instigated the transplant arrangements back in 2008.

This bill actually follows the recommendation of Dr Mal Washer, the chair of the Organ and Tissue Authority board. For those who've been around a while, we know Dr Washer, the former member for Moore, very, very well. He is a friend to everybody in this place and a person whose advice we would always take, quite frankly. He is a person who always was focused on the best outcomes of most things he was associated with. For me and many here, before the arrival of the member for Macarthur, if we had ailments, Dr Washer was our go-to person. He was the doctor in the House. As I said, he was a very good friend to everybody and a person whose advice we respect. Dr Washer conducted an internal review of the OTA and made recommendations about the government structure, concerned that it wasn't delivering on the effective and efficient governance of the authority. If that's his view, we should all be at least cognisant of it.

I think the appointment of Mal Washer one of the best government appointments that has been made. He is a person of absolute credibility and, as I say, a person who we respect and dearly love on this side of the House. His advice and recommendation was to return the authority to a more common governance structure, with the CEO being the accountable entity, and for the board to take on a strategic advisory role. Despite this, we're glad that the government is now choosing to act on the board's advice and is changing the governance structure of the OTA.

In effect, this bill will transition the accountability of the entity from the board back to the CEO. Furthermore, it will replace the existing governance board with an advisory board under the Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority Act 2008. The advisory board will provide mentoring and leadership to the CEO on organ and tissue donation and on transplantation matters. The advisory board will have a skill based membership, like Dr Washer, and will harness expertise, experience and knowledge from a wide range of members on the board across areas of the organ and tissue donation sector.

Putting aside the technical aspects of the bill, this debate also calls for an important discussion more generally about organ and tissue donation and its ability to transform the lives of many. While there has been a 12 per cent decrease in the number of people receiving transplants and a 16 per cent decrease in the number of donors, in 2020, compared to the year before in 2019, we know that the pressures of COVID-19 certainly played a significant role in this statistic. Putting aside the pandemic and its impact on donation rates, the fact is it is pleasing to know that organ donation rates have almost doubled in recent years.

Since the national program began in 2009, there have been 4,352 organ donation recipients from 5,029 deceased organ donors. That is 4,352 people who have received the gift of life. However, we know that there's much more to be done in this space. There are around 18,000 Australians currently on the waiting list for a transplant and more than 12,000 additional people on dialysis who will need some time in the very near future a kidney transplant. Despite having one of the highest rates of success of transplant operations in the world, Australia, regrettably, has one of the lowest rates of organ donation in the developed world. Given that Australians generally acknowledge organ donation as a good thing—I think that if we go to any of our electorates, mobile office meetings or anywhere we talk about the issue of organ donation, people always say that it's a very good thing and that they support it—regrettably, it doesn't translate into a significant increase in our donation rates.

Considering the well-known Australian spirit of lending a hand in times of adversity, it's safe to think that the reason that there isn't a higher incidence of organ donation rates is because there's a lack of awareness about the matter and not enough discussion taking place between families and friends, with people indicating what their attitude is to organ donation. Probably like most people in this House, I know that I have filled out the form, and for those in New South Wales it's actually displayed on our drivers licenses that we are organ donors. But whilst you may consent to being an organ donor that doesn't mean, in respect of sudden loss of life, family aren't consulted about their attitudes in relation to a donation.

In approaching this issue I guess it's really critical to understand that many Australians just don't know what their family members think in this regard. I certainly do for my mother and others who have actually told me on many occasions—and apart from filling the forms in—what their attitudes are. I think that's one of the first things that we have to deal with. When someone dies, an organ donation is not the first thing that comes up with the bereaved. It's certainly not front of mind for grieving families.

Organ donation is the gift of life, yet so many people just don't know how to give it. And so many families in bereavement are probably less inclined to. So, despite an individual deciding to become an organ donor, their family is still asked to give consent to a donation when the situation arises. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense for someone who intends to make an organ donation, to provide the gift of life, to discuss this with their family so they feel comfortable with the decision. The discussion will certainly make saying yes much easier on the family members and will minimise that sense of doubt and possible regret. It's much easier for family members to have a discussion now rather than waiting until a tragic time of loss.

This issue is very close to me. I have a very close friend, Debbie Roberts, who I have spoken about in this House on a number of occasions. Debbie was faced with this very tough decision when she lost her daughter, Rebecca. Her decision was made a lot easier because Rebecca had made her intentions about organ donation very clear. As a result, her family honoured Rebecca's wishes. The result was that two people benefited from receiving Rebecca's kidneys and another two benefited from receiving Rebecca's corneas. Their lives have been profoundly enriched because of Rebecca's wonderful gift. It is the gift of life that all Australians should consider giving.

That said, I support the passage of the bill before the House. I call on Australians to continue to engage with the issue of organ and tissue donation with their families and loved ones. Your decision can mean the difference between life and death for another Australian.

I also acknowledge the great work that is taking place by the member for Mallee and the member for Macarthur in co-chairing the Parliamentary Friends of Organ Donation—what they are doing amongst our parliamentary colleagues in ensuring greater awareness and making sure that organ donation really comes into the general vocabulary of how we engage and deal with our constituents. I think the Parliamentary Friends of Organ Donation are doing a sensational job, and we should all at least support their activities in and about the House.

I support the passage of this legislation. I do acknowledge the second reading amendment and, certainly, I also subscribe to the view that the government's got to be doing better for the health outcomes of all Australians, particularly through the management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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