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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 8 Hansard (31 August) . . Page.. 2733 ..

MR STANHOPE (continuing):

the practice of Artificial Reproductive Technology involves social issues of eligibility, surrogacy, consent for posthumous use, genetic diagnosis and selection and gene therapy, and storage of gametes and embryos. These are issues beyond the remit of the Australian Health Ethics Committee in relation to medical research. The need for all States and Territories to introduce comprehensive legislation was recommended in a number of submissions. In revising these guidelines, the Committee resolved these social issues should be addressed by complementary legislation in all States and Territories.

Mr Speaker, the current bill is not complementary to legislation in all states and territories. We here in the ACT are essentially going it alone. The advice that I have received shows that the Chief Minister's decision to legislate in this area may have some social and ethical consequences that may not be intended or foreseen. It is therefore essential that any proposed legislation is independently scrutinised and subject to community debate.

The Attorney-General referred the question of the operation of assisted reproductive technology laws to the ACT Law Reform Committee some 20 months ago. The chairman of the committee advises me that any report is still more than 12 months away and that, essentially, it has not even commenced its work. That is work on a reference that was granted 20 months ago that has not yet commenced. Sources indicate that the delay is largely because the government has not given the committee any resources to do what the Attorney has asked of it.

I would prefer to wait for the outcome of that inquiry before legislating further in relation to surrogacy. But in the meantime there are a number of sets of parents-both genetic parents and birth parents-who have a very direct interest in addressing the issue of the parentage of children that have been born in the ACT as a result of surrogacy arrangements. In addition to those parents and their children, I understand that the Canberra Fertility Clinic has approved another 36 surrogacy arrangements and arranged another 25 embryo transplantations.

The Labor Party is prepared to simplify the arrangement for existing parents, but wishes to put on notice through the amendments which I will be moving and which the Chief Minister has accepted that any person considering entering or facilitating a surrogacy arrangement should be aware that the legislation may change in the future. Persons contemplating or actually entering surrogacy arrangements on the supposition that parentage orders under this act will be available into the future should be aware that the current proposal will, as a result of amendments to be moved today, be subject to a sunset clause.

Genetic and birth parents need to acknowledge the fact that they may have to pursue a directed adoption rather than count on parentage orders being available forever, subject to the outcome of the inquiry, which the Chief Minister assures me will now be pursued vigorously and will be now appropriately resourced. In relation to that, I have written to the Chief Minister asking her to provide those resources to the Law Reform Committee immediately. I have also asked that the terms of the reference to the Law Reform Committee be reviewed and, if necessary, revised to ensure that they are broad enough to encompass all aspects of surrogacy arrangements.

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