Natasha Stott Despoja (SA, Australian Democrats) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I table an exposure draft of a bill, together with a tabling statement and a draft explanatory memorandum. It gives me great pleasure to table the documents. I also seek leave to make a very brief statement of around one minute.

Leave granted.

I thank the Senate. Today I table an exposure draft of a bill to permit the ongoing development of medical and scientific research using stem cells, including the strictly regulated use of techniques such as somatic cell nuclear transfer. This legislation also seeks to allow the development of techniques for efficient training, research and improvements in clinical practice in assisted reproductive technology.

This bill is for information and committee use. It can be updated and improved. The aim is to put the recommendations of the Lockhart legislation review, which reported to the parliament last year, in a detailed and legislative form so that the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs can build on and benefit from my work on this issue. The bill enshrines the scientific recommendations of the Lockhart review that require legislative change to the current acts. The inclusion of all the Lockhart recommendations gives the parliament the opportunity to accept, reject or amend them, but to at least debate them. It is not my role to cherry-pick those recommendations. It is for the parliament to decide which ones become law.

This is an exposure draft. It will raise technical issues for debate. It offers ideas for the committee to examine. I thank those people who have been involved in this process, including the original drafter, my staff and my co-sponsor, Senator Ruth Webber. Like many in this place, I appreciate her preference for a cross-party collaborative effort on this issue. I must thank in particular the Clerk Assistant (Procedure), Mr Cleaver Elliott, and his staff—Dijana in particular. I thank them, and now I give this to the Senate to amend, reject, debate or clone.