Kay Patterson (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Colbeck and I have been discussing this for some time, and we have looked at various ways of trying to achieve what he wants to achieve. I am not sure that a Senate inquiry is really his goal. I think he wants an independent committee to look at tissue donation, in particular that of ova and sperm, and I have to agree with him. When you look at it, you have guidelines here and there that have developed as a result of legislation growing over time. If Senator Colbeck were to come forward with a motion calling on the government to set up an independent inquiry in conjunction with the states, I think COAG as well would need to look at it. Regulation really does need to be more uniform. It is quite difficult for either people doing research or people donating gametes or embryos to find their way around it. It should be clearer and more transparent. I agree with Senator Colbeck, and I am sure that those of us who are supporting the bill will support him in a move to ensure that. I suspect that others who are not supporting the bill would expect that we make sure that even the guidelines for ART are as crystal clear as possible. While I think Senator Colbeck has raised a very important issue, it is quite difficult—in fact, I think he has realised this—to try to address it through this bill, but there are other means of achieving the same goal.