Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to also make a contribution on Senator Dean Smith's Migration Amendment (Overseas Organ Transplant Disclosure and Other Measures) Bill 2023. I know he is very passionate about this particular issue, and on human rights issues he has for many years stood up very proudly in defending the rights of individuals, and I know this is an issue that is very close to his heart. I just want to acknowledge that, as a fellow senator in this place.

On behalf of the Australian government, I just want to make a short statement about the proposed bill before us today. The government has no tolerance for human trafficking, slavery and slavery-like practices, including the abhorrent crime of organ trafficking. This bill is very well intended; however, there were a range of issues and challenges raised as we went through the Senate inquiry Senator Chandler just referenced that would render this bill ineffectual. I want to run through why the government believes that it's not in a position to support this bill.

In relation to the proposal to amend the incoming passenger card for data collection, owing to the covert nature of organ trafficking, recipients and organisers are highly likely to obfuscate and to fail to declare accurate information via self-declaration. During the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee's inquiry, the submission from Anti-Slavery Australia observed:

… it is unlikely that persons entering Australia will honestly answer the disclosure question given the potential for them to be investigated for a crime. This will have an impact on the accuracy of the data captured.

Other stakeholders also noted that personal medical information may be best coordinated and collected by medical professionals in a clinical setting, thus ensuring accuracy of the data and the health privacy considerations. On the proposed new cancellation power, the Migration Act already provides the minister and departmental delegates with a range of cancellation powers in circumstances where there is a concern about the visa holder's character. The Department of Home Affairs also stated during the inquiry that a person who has either facilitated organ trafficking or participated in organ tourism as a recipient of a trafficked organ will be captured by the existing broad cancellation powers in the Migration Act.

I want to re-emphasise some of the recommendations made by government senators as part of the inquiry earlier this year. The first recommendation from government senators was:

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government commit to delivering one or more public awareness campaigns:

The second recommendation that government senators proposed as part of the committee process was:

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government redoubles its efforts to implement the recommendations agreed to in its 2021 response to the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade's report Compassion, Not Commerce: An inquiry into Human Organ Trafficking and Organ Transplant Tourism.

I think it's worth referencing that because I know this is an issue that has been debated in this place and had extensive inquiry in a range of committees before in both the Senate and the House of Representatives and on the joint committee. I implore colleagues in this place to also look at the recommendations that came out of the joint standing committee's inquiry back in 2021.