Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I also rise to speak on the Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority Amendment (Governance and Other Measures) Bill 2021. Like the member for Fowler, I support the passage of the bill and encourage the federal government to do better in its response to the significant health challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But, moving to organ donation, this bill deals of course with a very important issue, an issue that yearly saves the lives of many, many Australians. The bill reforms the governance structure of the Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority, following advice from Dr Mal Washer, chair of the Organ and Tissue Authority board, to enable the board to have a more strategic advisory focus. I note that Dr Washer is a former member of this place. Even though I didn't know him personally, if the member for Fowler, who's a good bloke, says that Mal Washer's a good bloke, then that's good enough for me. This bill undoes the changes that were brought in by those opposite in 2017, taking the board model back to that introduced by Labor in 2008. As the member for Ballarat rightly said earlier today, 'Fancy that! We had it right.' Like so many things that the Labor government, the Gillard government, did, of course, they were the right and proper things to do; they were good policy. Of course, it was a particularly important issue for former prime minister Kevin Rudd, given that he had been a recipient.

As all speakers from both sides of the House have said, there is bipartisan support for organ donation and for those very important conversations with families that can lead to saving lives. I believe in it passionately. Last week—or was it the week before; I can't exactly recall—it was DonateLife Week, and I went out to Royal Darwin Hospital in my electorate and spoke with some of the organ donation and transplant team, those health professionals that do all that incredible work. I thank them for their advice and for being part of a slightly wacky photo shoot—but the idea was to capture people's attention because that's what we need to do to encourage them to make that life-saving commitment and gift of life.

Of course, with the COVID crisis we've seen a drop in the number of donor registrations. We've heard from the Organ and Tissue Authority national medical director, Associate Professor Helen Opdam, that life-saving organ donations were down by around 16 per cent in 2020. With 1,800 Australians on the organ transplant waiting list, as Professor Opdam told the NT News, 'We need more donors.' It's been a tough period. It's likely that people have had other health concerns at this time, also difficulties with employment, whether working from home or losing their jobs; educating kids from home; and navigating the lockdowns.

DonateLife's 2020 Australian Donation and Transplantation Activity Report reveals that donation requests were made to 1,170 families last year, but only 680 families said yes. The associate professor commented that that consent rate of 58 per cent, coupled with the May 2021 YouGov study, showed that just four in 10 Australians understand that someone's intention to become a donor can be overruled by next of kin. That, of course, as the member for Fowler just mentioned, makes a compelling case for families knowing in advance where their loved ones stand on the issue of organ donation.

The NT News also spoke with a DonateLife organ donor specialist, Guy Vanderkelen. He's with the families in that difficult moment of decision. He acknowledged that it is a very sensitive experience, made more challenging by the decision-making process that the families go through happening in the face of acute grief. He went on to say:

We try to share information with them about organ donation—how rare it is, the benefits through organ donation not just for transplant recipients but also the family of the potential organ donor, because we know they receive support from the ICU and organ donation specialists.

Also the benefit to them in supporting the wishes of their loved one …

For the record, Guy Vanderkelen is my brother-in-law, and I'm very, very proud of him and the job that he does. He has a wonderful nature about him. He has worked with all sorts of communities and he's very effective in supporting families, donors and recipients to try and achieve the best possible outcome. There has never been a more urgent time in Australia, with those rates of registrations dropping off, for us to be speaking to this legislation and to be encouraging Australians, because we really need people to register.

I want to share the story of a friend of mine, Robbie Dalton. Robbie is a great bloke up in Darwin. He and his wife, Carly, are good friends of mine. He's had a transplant. It's an incredible story. He went from being fit and healthy to fighting for his life. Robbie's is a remarkable story, in that five strangers each donated an organ to save a stranger, knowing that a stranger, in turn, would save the life of one of their friends. As well as generosity, it was a huge logistical and medical effort that was performed. There were five transplant operations in one day. But, of course, there was a great outcome, in that Robbie is still alive and with us, and it wouldn't have happened if that all-important box hadn't been ticked.

Again, I encourage every one of us to have a discussion with our families about whether we want to donate our organs should we pass away unexpectedly. So that it's in Hansard, for the record, I am registered. To my darling wife, Kate: I am happy for my organs to be used, should they be needed. The facts are very simple for my friend Robbie and Carly. He probably would not be with us anymore if those donors had not come to his assistance on that occasion. They've got three young boys. If not for those generous donors, Robbie and Carly's sons might not have a father today, so it makes a big difference in people's lives.

I want to sum up by saying that if you are not registered it's very easy to do so. Just go to donatelife.gov.au/register. You simply put in your Medicare card number, your name, your date of birth and your postcode and hit 'Submit'. Like the information that so many millions of Australians gave last night with the census, it's important information that will really assist and save lives in the future.

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