Motion: Attempt to Introduce: Corrections Amendment (Assisted Reproductive Treatment) Bill 2024

MOTION

‘ATTEMPT TO INTRODUCE: CORRECTIONS AMENDMENT (ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TREATMENT) BILL 2024.’

Thursday 28, November 2024 

Mr NEWBURY (Brighton) (10:18):

I rise in support of the Member for Berwick’s move on the Corrections Amendment (Assisted Reproductive Treatment) Bill 2024 and its introduction.

The debate now and the debate earlier are about the moral compass of this Chamber. The divisions on both of these items have been about the moral  compass of this room and the Members in it, because both of these Bills seek to correct things that are wrong and need to be corrected.

The Government speakers have spoken about the need for experts only to draft Bills, and I will leave out for a moment that the Government drafters have drafted
these Bills. But if the Government was moving an alternate Bill that did the same thing or fixed these problems, I would look at it and say perhaps they had an argument that we on this side of the Chamber should listen to.

But what has happened today is our side of the Chamber has sought to move two Bills, to fix things that are wrong. They are not just wrong in practice but also morally wrong, and for the Government to be voting against them is at the very least disappointing. I would hope that the Government could stand up and say that they will look into these issues and seek to solve those same problems, and if they did, they would have some standing.

The first Bill would have empowered women and their loved ones with knowledge – how could you possibly vote against that? – and what this Bill seeks
to do is say that the rights of the victim should always be put ahead of the rights of the criminal, and what this Government is saying is that the criminal, who in this certain circumstance committed one of the most egregious crimes by murdering a mother of three, has more rights than the victim and the victim’s family and is fit, as a murderer, to bring a child into jail. So, we on this side of the House have said the system as it stands is wrong.

I would say to the Government: if you are going to vote against this Bill – and speakers have suggested they will – why not at least commit, both on this and the
former matter, to making a similar reform? The community would expect the rights of a victim to be put ahead of the rights of a criminal, which should always be the case, and that has been lost sadly in the state. But also, the earlier matter would have empowered women with knowledge. That is something that other states do, empower women and their loved ones with knowledge, because to solve the broader issue you need the broader community, and you need people’s loved ones to be part of the knowledge base to help solve these broader issues.

I would say to the Government, as they stand and say they have a busy legislative agenda: do not simply just vote this down, but do so committing to similar reforms, because otherwise a vote against these Bills is not just a political vote, it is also a vote that is morally wrong, and that goes to the heart of the character of every single Member who votes against these Bills, and frankly, Members of thisplace should do better.