Page 4025 - Week 13 - Thursday, 6 December 2007
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date, the Victorian, New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmanian parliaments have passed consistent legislation which applies the Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction and the Regulation of Human Embryo Research Amendment Act 2006 of the commonwealth as a law of the state. Relevant corresponding legislation has been introduced in the Western Australian and South Australian parliaments. The states and the ACT have undertaken to use their best endeavours to introduce corresponding legislation into their legislatures by 12 June 2008 and for all parties to maintain nationally consistent arrangements over time.
Mr Speaker, members will be aware that in 2005 the then Minister for Ageing, the Hon Julie Bishop MP, appointed a six-member commonwealth legislative review committee, chaired by the late John Lockhart, to independently review the Prohibition of Human Cloning Act 2002 and the Research Involving Human Embryos Act 2002. This was in accordance with a requirement in both acts that they be reviewed by an independent committee by December 2005.
The committee, known as the Lockhart committee, reported to the minister in December 2005 following comprehensive and extensive community consultation, making 54 recommendations. The commonwealth legislation amended the Prohibition of Human Cloning Act 2002 and the Research Involving Human Embryos Act consistent with the recommendations of the Lockhart committee. The amending legislation is also consistent with the ACT government’s response to the Lockhart review report recommendations.
The Human Cloning and Embryo Research Act 2004 established an appropriate balance between the need to enable potentially lifesaving research and the imposition of the oversight and sanctions necessary to ensure ethical research practice. Existing prohibitions have been retained on the placement of a human embryo in a human or animal, and it remains an offence to collect a viable human embryo from the body of a woman.
This amending legislation implements a number of recommendations from the Lockhart review, including allowing some somatic cell nuclear transfer, sometimes referred to as cloning for therapeutic purposes, provided such research has been approved by the NHMRC Licensing Committee and that such activity is undertaken in accordance with a licence issued by the NHMRC Licensing Committee.
Again, in accordance with the recommendations of the Lockhart review, certain types of research involving embryos, such as the creation and use of human embryos other than by fertilisation of human egg by a human sperm, will now be permitted, provided that the research is approved by the NHMRC Licensing Committee and that the activity is undertaken in accordance with a licence issued by the licensing committee.
This bill does, however, continue to absolutely prohibit the development of embryos beyond 14 days and the implantation of human embryo clones in the body of a woman for the purposes of reproduction. I commend the Human Cloning and Embryo Research Bill 2007 to the Assembly along with its explanatory statement on the bill.
Debate (on motion by Mrs Burke) adjourned to the next sitting.
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