Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Hansard source

Before the Senate at the moment is a very necessary, timely, practical and least intrusive method to improve Australia's ability to interrupt the illegal organ harvesting trade throughout the world. Many in this place, including government senators, pride themselves on their commitment to advancing human rights throughout the world. As someone who's been in this chamber for 12 years now, I make this observation: human rights issues are canvassed, supported and advocated for more broadly across the Senate than they have been for a long time. Senators from the Left and senators from the Right now make advocating for the improvement of global human rights issues part of their business.

As we heard from Senator Scarr and other senators in their contributions last week, we have the most grievous abuse of human rights happening not just in our region but throughout the world—that is, taking ethnic and religious faith minorities and taking political prisoners of conscience and forcibly removing organs for trade from them. Once upon a time, this would have been unbelievable, but, as the United Nations and government's own Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has said, there is now credible evidence that this illegal activity—the most egregious attack on someone's individual liberty—is happening and is increasing throughout the world. This parliament can sit idly by and do nothing, or it can embrace, like I said, a practical, timely, necessary and least intrusive way of starting to collect some valuable information, anonymity protected, that will allow Australia to do its part to disrupt the trade.

The government had two points of opposition with regard to this bill. One was that people might lie on the incoming arrival card. Actually, unfortunately, people might lie on a whole range of issues that they're asked to disclose on the existing passenger arrival card. I suspect that concern is actually not very real. Secondly, the government's objection was that it thought that schedule 2 of this bill was unnecessary because the character test arrangements, requirements and powers that already exist in the Migration Act will be sufficient. That's a fair point, and it's a point that I have listened to. That's why, in the committee stage of this bill, we'll be asked to deal with two amendments—just two. One is to follow Senator Scarr's advice about a statutory review mechanism that would be in place that will allow an independent person to report to the minister on the operation of the scheme after three years. That is just good public policy. That's not revolutionary. But, having looked closely at the evidence that was provided to us in the Senate Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Legislation Committee, and having listened closely to Senator Ciccone's contribution in the second reading debate just recently, the second amendment will be to remove schedule 2. The existing arrangements in the Migration Act more than adequately deal with matters around character and cancellation.

So, after a long time, after having people visiting this parliament, talking about this issue—Uighurs, Tibetans, the Falun Gong, just to name a few—the Australian parliament in the next short while might be able to put its hand up and say that it doesn't just talk about these things; it also acts in a responsible way. I'll leave my remarks there. As I said, I foreshadow that I'll talk to two amendments. I understand that arrangements have been made so that other senators might make a contribution before the committee stage.