Christensen Private Members Bill: 

The Human Rights (Children Born Alive Protection) Bill 2021

This Private Members’ Bill was introduced by the outgoing MP, Mr George Christensen, on 9 August this year.

While Mr Christensen introduced his bill over two months ago, it has not been progressed by Mr Christensen or the Government he is part of since then. In this context I note that a spokesperson for the Minister for Health in the Morrison Government has said in relation to Mr Christensen’s proposal that “access to termination services is a state and territory responsibility and the Australian government has no constitutional powers in this area.”

If you are interested in the Morrison Government’s position on Mr Christensen’s proposal, I suggest you contact the office of the Prime Minister or the office of the Minister for Health.

Mr Christensen’s bill does not appear to have any support from medical professionals, and serious concerns have already been raised about the lack of factual basis for the central claims Mr Christensen has made to justify the bill.

However, if the bill is scheduled for debate in the Parliament Labor will treat it like any other legislation and rigorously examine what it is proposing before determining our position.