Dave Sharma (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to rise to commend Senator Smith for introducing the Migration Amendment (Overseas Organ Transplant Disclosure and Other Measures) Bill 2023 on an incredibly important issue and taking forward elements of the recommendations of the recent joint standing committee report. As that report notes, there's evidence of the growing incidence of organ trafficking and harvesting around the world. It's becoming more preponderant, and there is increasing evidence of growth in the black market of unethical organ transplants to around 10,000 per year. As Senator Shoebridge said, it's hard to think of a more exploitative practice than the harvesting and trafficking of the organs of someone who's in a position of power imbalance, financial disadvantage or poverty. That's why it's important that this market is regulated and that Australia does all it can to strengthen its own safeguards in this area.

I think the amendments to the Migration Act that are provided for in this bill—the requirement to disclose, on the incoming passenger arrival card, if a person has received an organ transplant outside Australia within the past five years; and amendments to the character test to provide that someone will not pass the test if the person is reasonably suspected of having been involved in an offshore offence involving trafficking human organs—are both sensible amendments.

I note that members on the committee had the view that disclosure on the incoming passenger card was not a particularly robust method for enforcing the intent of the government in this respect, but I would point out that on the incoming passenger card we ask people to answer a number of questions honestly, and that provides valuable information to the government. There are offences attached to not providing honest answers to that. Senator Smith, as the person who's moved this bill, what offences are likely to attach if someone provides a false disclosure, on the incoming passenger card, about receiving an organ transplant outside Australia in the past five years? And how might that act as a deterrent to make sure that people do provide an honest answer in that regard?