NATIONAL BLOOD AUTHORITY BILL 2002: Second Reading

Dr WASHER  (Moore) (11.32 a.m.) —The purpose of the National Blood Authority Bill 2002 is to establish a National Blood Authority to have responsibility for the overview and management of the supply of blood and blood products across this country. The National Blood Authority will be responsible for coordinating safety, quality and information systems on behalf of all governments in Australia. The bill is an integral part of the new national blood sector arrangements agreed to by Australian health ministers in November 2002 and, together with the new national blood agreement, represents the new national approach preferred and supported by all states and territories.

The endorsement of the bill has been the culmination of consideration and cooperation by all governments to bring about necessary reforms to Australia's blood sector. However, the new national arrangements seek to preserve key principles that have served the national interest well to date. Two fundamentals that will remain unchanged are the voluntary giving of blood by donors without remuneration and the provision of blood and blood products from donated blood free of charge to patients.

The reforms outlined in the National Blood Authority Bill 2002 have been arrived at as a result of two major reviews of Australia's blood and blood products system. The first, conducted in 1995—the McKay Wells review—led to the establishment of an Australian Red Cross Blood Service and a forum which aimed to strengthen national policy coordination.

However, administrative arrangements across jurisdictions varied greatly, which severely hindered that coordinated process. As a result, a second review was undertaken in 1999. The review of the Australian blood banking and plasma product sector, the Stephen review, was released in March 2001. The review committee was chaired by the Rt Hon. Sir Ninian Stephen and consulted widely with industry, health agencies, government departments, professional organisations, service providers, researchers, interest groups and consumers. The purpose of the review was to advise on principles and directions for the blood supply sector in light of new and emerging challenges to the safety of blood and blood products and the adequacy of supply.

Among the new challenges facing the sector is the threat of new infectious agents which could compromise the safety of the blood supply. You will recall that a couple of years ago the Australian Red Cross Blood Service instituted a ban on donations of blood from people who had resided in the UK for more than six months between 1980 and 1996. This was in response to a growing concern that the human equivalent of mad cow disease, a variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, may be transferable through blood. The risk is extremely small and may not even exist. One hundred and twenty-two people have died from the variant CJD in the UK, out of a population of six million. Nonetheless, it was perceived that there may be an element of risk.

In my electorate of Moore, 24 per cent of the population are expatriate British or of British descent. Whilst they might not all have resided in the UK for more than six months between 1980 and 1996, a large proportion of them probably did. So that effectively precludes almost a quarter of the people in my electorate from donating blood. There would be other electorates in Australia with a similar demographic. So the reduction in numbers of people able to donate blood must have had a knock-on effect for the sector. One of the key elements of this bill is to oversee and coordinate an adequate supply of blood and blood products across the whole nation.

The Stephen review also looked into the rising demand for certain blood products and concerns about product shortages in some areas. It looked into the availability of new technologies, such as a new test to enhance the safety and quality of the blood supply, and new products and treatments. There have been dramatic changes in the blood supply sector in the past 20 years or so with the advent of AIDS and the plight of many haemophiliacs who were infected with HIV before adequate screening of donors and heat treatment of blood products was introduced. The Stephen review also recommended that self-sufficiency in blood and blood products should remain an important national goal for Australia. Australia's achievement of near self-sufficiency in its supply of blood and plasma products ensures that continuing high levels of safety and quality should be achievable, as long as careful national policy measures and strong regulatory oversight is maintained.

It is therefore critical that uniform national standards for donor selection and for the collection, testing, processing, storage and transport of blood and blood products be applied and maintained to ensure the safety and quality of Australia's blood supply. Achievement of this and other recommendations in the Stephen review will be made possible by drawing the sector together and taking a national approach by establishing a National Blood Authority, as outlined in this bill. As the tragic events in Bali demonstrated, we face a national and international environment that is fast changing and uncertain, posing significant public policy questions. The National Blood Authority will ensure that Australia's needs are met by coordinating a national approach to the supply of blood and blood products. It will oversee the delivery of efficient and effective services and will respond promptly to new and emerging developments.

The National Blood Authority will plan and budget for the supply of blood and blood products and ensure that appropriate supply is maintained to all states and territories. The current approaches to financing and information management will be enhanced. It is in the interests of every state and territory, and the nation as a whole, to establish the National Blood Authority to provide best practice management of Australia's blood and blood product supply and to develop responsible and responsive policies. An example of past failures of best practice is the frequent failure of states to fund their 50 per cent of the cost of recombinant Factor VIIa for sufferers with inhibitor factor haemophilia. It is now hoped that the federal government arrangements with the states and territories, whereby the federal government funds 63 per cent, to their 37 per cent, will improve their enthusiasm to overcome past difficulties. I commend this bill to the House.