Michael Johnson (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Capricornia for this very fine motion. Indeed, in my five years in the national parliament, this is one of the finest that I have read, and I commend it very much. Today, like the member for Capricornia, I had the great pleasure of meeting Alisa Camplin. She is, of course, an Olympic gold and bronze medallist. She is a very fine Australian sportswoman, but she is also a great Australian because of the cause that she has taken up. She has taken up the worthy position of ambassador to promote greater organ donation in this country.

I want to thank her on behalf of the Ryan electorate, which I have the great honour of representing here in the parliament. She is a champion for this initiative and I thank her for that. Australians Donate, the community organisation and peak national body seeking to promote organ and tissue donation for transplantation, have put out a brochure that quotes Alisa Camplin saying:

“I am registered as an organ donor and also the lucky recipient of a tissue donation.

As a result of the wonderful generosity of a donor, I was able to have an operation that enabled me to compete at the Turin Winter Olympics and win a bronze medal.

I know that many people in Australia are waiting for life saving transplants or for operations that improve their life and as a result of my good fortune I want to help others by encouraging Aussies to think about organ and tissue donation.

I am a donor, and I am sure that many of my colleagues in the parliament are also donors. I have been registered as a donor since I was able to indicate this on my drivers licence. Today in the parliament with the author of this motion, the member for Capricornia, I want to join in calling upon my fellow Australians to be generous of spirit and to register their name on the registry of Australians Donate to take up this cause. It is a very great gift one can give to one’s fellow Australians. Of course, you need to be 18 years of age to give your legal consent. You can do this through registering at a Medicare office. It is a pretty straightforward form. You just indicate your personal details and those will be held in confidence by the relevant authority.

In Spain 35 people per million are registered as donors; in the USA, 21 donors per million people; in the UK, 13 donors per million people; and, in our country, only 10 Australian donors are registered per million Australians. In 2005 there were some 1,600 people on the organ transplant waiting list. In 2006 1,700 Australians are on the waiting list. There are many more Australians waiting for the greatest gift one could give than there are organs available to them. Being an organ donor is all about giving someone the very special gift of life. It is about saving lives. So far in Australia there have been some 30,000 Australians who have benefited from the wonderful generosity of their fellow Australians.

I ask Australians who might be listening to imagine for a moment that they have a loved one—it might be their daughter, son, mum, dad, brother or sister—who needs a lung, a heart, a pancreas or a liver. In today’s wonderful world of medical technology, science and advancement, they can have the opportunity to survive if they have an organ transplant. Those who are fortunate enough to experience the generosity of their fellow Australians are enormously grateful. They consider it a great privilege that they have been able to have their lives extended by the great gift of someone else.

In the parliament today, again I want to express my thanks to Australians Donate, the organisation that promotes organ donation, and to thank the chair, Marcia Coleman, and the national manager, Stephen Bendle, for their commitment to expanding awareness in the Australian community of organ donors.

There is great potential for many more Australians to have their lives extended if Australians strongly consider registering their name on the relevant form with Medicare. I want to encourage the Ryan community to consider this if they feel that they can do it. Of course, you have to be 18 or over, but it is something that I encourage families to discuss. It is very important, as the author of this motion, the member for Capricornia, said, for people to discuss this in their homes and with their families. If people have the intention of registering— (Time expired)

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