Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

For similar reasons to Senator Birmingham, I would also encourage senators to vote against this amendment. This amendment I accept on the surface seeks to increase transparency, but the risk is that it does the very opposite. Under Australia's Privacy Act any information provided about a cohort of less than 10 people, even if de-identified, does not achieve anonymity and therefore is not permitted. As a result, in the event that there are fewer than 10 live births in any given year, instead of receiving more information, as is suggested by the amendment, no report would be able to be tabled at all. So, again, I encourage senators to vote against this amendment.