Kristina Keneally (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I, and also on behalf of Senators McCarthy, Leyonhjelm, Anning, Hinch, Hanson, Molan, Patrick, Griff and Rice, move:

(1) That a select committee, to be known as the Select Committee on Stillbirth Research and Education, be established to inquire into and report on the future of stillbirth research and education in Australia, with particular reference to:

(a) consistency and timeliness of data available to researchers across states, territories and federal jurisdictions;

(b) coordination between Australian and international researchers;

(c) partnerships with the corporate sector, including use of innovative new technology;

(d) sustainability and propriety of current research funding into stillbirth, and future funding options, including government, philanthropic and corporate support;

(e) research and education priorities and coordination, including the role that innovation and the private sector can play in stillbirth research and education;

(f) communication of stillbirth research for Australian families, including culturally and linguistically appropriate advice for Indigenous and multicultural families, before and during a pregnancy;

(g) quantifying the impact of stillbirths on the Australian economy; and

(h) any related matters.

(2) That the committee present its final report on or before the second sitting Thursday of 2019.

(3) That the committee consist of six senators, as follows:

(a) two nominated by the Leader of the Government in the Senate;

(b) two nominated by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate;

(c) one nominated by the Leader of the Australian Greens; and

(d) one nominated by minor party and independent senators.

(4) That:

(a) participating members may be appointed to the committee on the nomination of the Leader of the Government in the Senate, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate or any minority party or independent senator; and

(b) participating members may participate in hearings of evidence and deliberations of the committee, and have all the rights of members of the committee, but may not vote on any questions before the committee.

(5) That the committee may proceed to the dispatch of business notwithstanding that not all members have been duly nominated and appointed and notwithstanding any vacancy.

(6) That the committee elect as chair one of the members nominated by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, and as deputy chair a member nominated by the committee.

(7) That the deputy chair shall act as chair when the chair is absent from a meeting of the committee or the position of chair is temporarily vacant.

(8) That, in the event of an equality of voting, the chair, or the deputy chair when acting as chair, have a casting vote.

(9) That the committee and any subcommittee have power to send for and examine persons and documents, to move from place to place, to sit in public or in private, notwithstanding any prorogation of the Parliament or dissolution of the House of Representatives, and have leave to report from time to time its proceedings and the evidence taken and such interim recommendations as it may deem fit.

(10) That the committee have power to appoint subcommittees consisting of 3 or more of its members, and to refer to any such subcommittee any of the matters which the committee is empowered to consider.

(11) That the committee be provided with all necessary staff, facilities and resources and be empowered to appoint persons with specialist knowledge for the purposes of the committee with the approval of the President.

(12) That the committee be empowered to print from day to day such papers and evidence as may be ordered by it, and a daily Hansard be published of such proceedings as take place in public.

I seek leave to make a short statement of no longer than two minutes.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Kristina Keneally (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is not my first speech. Six babies a day in Australia are stillborn. Those are six lives lost every day in Australia due to stillbirth. One in 135 births in Australia will be a stillbirth. Surely we, as a nation, can do better than this. Stillbirth is an often overlooked, underinvestigated and ignored public health issue. It has significant economic impact. Surely we, as a country, can do better than this? There are things that we know that we're not telling parents that could help them prevent stillbirth, and there are things we could know better with better data collection and more coordinated and better funded research. I'd like to note the strong bipartisan support this motion has, and I thank the Senate for its support in setting up the select committee inquiry.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government supports this motion and the establishment of a select committee on stillbirth research and education. This is an important public health issue, and we'll work cooperatively in a bipartisan manner with the committee.

Question agreed to.