HUMAN REPRODUCTIVE
TECHNOLOGY AND SURROGACYLEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 2018
224. Hon TJORN SIBMA to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Minister for Health:
I refer to the minister's
invocation of legal professional privilege in response to my question without
notice 202 asked yesterday about the nature
of legal advice he received from the State Solicitor's Office and the
Solicitor-General regarding the
state government's Human Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy
Legislation Amendment Bill 2018.
(1) Since the
minister refuses to table that advice, can he at least confirm whether that
legal advice fully accords with the minister's line of argument in his
second reading speech that the status quo of relevant legislation in Western Australia
is subject to ''unacceptable risk of litigation and the prospect of the
provisions of the relevant state legislation—the HRT act—being
held by a court to be invalid''?
(2) Is the minister aware of any
litigation of the kind he foreshadowed in his second reading speech?
Hon
ALANNA CLOHESY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. I am advised the following.
(1) The legal
advice is subject to legal professional privilege and the minister cannot
confirm whether the legal advice conforms with his line of argument without
waiving privilege.
(2) The minister
is aware of potential claims but it is his understanding that no legal proceedings
have yet been issued.