Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to take the opportunity to say a few words in contribution to this debate on the Fair Work Amendment (Improving Unpaid Parental Leave for Parents of Stillborn Babies and Other Measures) Bill 2020, to note the importance of this legislation and to also thank all senators and all members of this parliament who have shared their stories, and particularly the members of the public who shared their stories during the Senate committee that we had into stillbirth. I particularly want to thank Senator Bilyk for her braveness and courage in speaking so openly about her experience, Senator Keneally for her work in initiating the inquiry and Senator McCarthy for chairing that inquiry, which I was very privileged to be part of.

I want to note the importance and the significance of the Senate process in getting to this stage—having that Senate inquiry that was initiated by hearing the stories of families right across the country and hearing that there were solutions. You cannot take away the tragedy of losing an unborn child, but at least there are things that can be done to support the families who are suffering the tragedy of stillbirth. There are things that can be done to reduce the frequency of stillbirths, and then there are things that can be done to support the families afterwards. These recommendations were made from that Senate inquiry, and it is so satisfying now to see some of them being reflected in legislation. So I want to note that this is a really good example of the Senate working well to achieve legislation that is really going to change the lives of families across Australia.