Liberal MLC Nick Goiran has defended his epic 22 hour 2019 speech against surrogacy reform saying he was holding the government to account.
Goiran has told the parliament that the blame for his epic speech lues with then health minister Roger Cook, who is now the state’s premier.
The Liberal MP, who is considered a political heavyweight in the party, was the first member to speak about the revised bill that is now before the Upper House, but this time round he’s not the opposition’s official lead speaker.
The MP said it was important to revisit the previous debate on the issue because many of the members of the house were not involved in the previous discussion six years ago.
Goiran said it would be understandable if people saw the reports of his epic speech and considered it to be a “giant delay tactic” or a “disrespectful” approach to the issue, but argued that his approach was justified.
The conservative MP said he was holding the government of the day to account, and was frustrated that they had pushed forward with the 2019 legislation prior to the release of the Allen Report which had been commissioned to look into the issue.
Goiran said he’d warned the McGowan Labor government, “I said to the government of the day, I’m not going to stop talking until such time as you release this tax payer funded report.”
‘It’s simply not true”, Gorian said of media reports that his epic speech had derailed the 2019 iteration of the bill, arguing that the government had put forward a bill that was significantly flawed.
When it came to the new version of the bill Goiran said there were still legal and ethical considerations that need to be considered.
Concern was raised over potential parents using surrogacy who might separate prior to a child being born, creating a situation where neither party may want to take the child born of surrogacy, or potentially a custody dispute over an unborn child.
“What happens if the intended parents or parent dies?” Goiran asked, arguing that there were many situations that could leave an unborn.
“What will happen if the surrogate mother changes her mind? What will happen if the intended parent is unhappy with the child that is the product of this arrangement? These are serious matters that need to be considered, and that is why there are protections under existing laws.”
Goiran also raised concern about the abolishment of the Reproductive Technology Council, argued that children born via surrogacy may later experience trauma when they become aware of the circumstances of their birth, and also noted that while the bill bans commercial surrogacy – it does not have clear limits on the amount of compensation that can be given to a surrogate.
Concern was also raised about the removal of jail sentences for people who break the laws, the lack of screening of prospective parents regarding their suitability to access surrogacy, the age of potential surrogates which would be lowered from 25 years to just 18, and the ability for posthumous egg donation.
The bill is currently being debated in the Legislative Council, and while its passage will not be known until its put a vote a significant number of Labor membeers, The Greens, and Dr Brian Walker from Legalise Cannabis have all voiced support.
