McAnulty Kieran; Mallard TrevorKIERAN McANULTY (Labour): Thank you very much Mr Speaker. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to speak on this bill—the first time I have been able to throughout its passage through the House. I'm a pretty private person. I don't really like to talk about things in my own personal circumstance. But throughout the process of considering this particular bill at the third reading I've reflected on a couple of matters which I wish to share with the House today.One of which is my Catholic faith. I don't talk about my faith because I was raised that your faith is your faith and no one else's—you can practise your faith and have your view with the expectation that no one else would judge you for it as long as you never pushed your views on other people. I was raised to believe that abortion is wrong. I was raised to believe that there is a fundamental issue with abortion; that it was a sin. I was raised to believe that life begins at conception. I've found my faith to be a great guiding light throughout my life particularly at hard times when I've needed to reflect and when I've needed to consider issues that confront me in my life. I'm certainly not suggesting that I am the best Catholic. I'm certainly not suggesting that I am even a devout Catholic; I have visited the confessional more than most. But it remains an important part of my life.I'm also adopted and that is not something that I have actually spoken about very often for one reason: that I often have to be reminded of the fact. I am very lucky to have been raised in a loving family by parents who love me and I love them back very dearly. I am truly very grateful and I also know that if I were conceived today statistically I would probably be aborted. That is a fact that has confronted me throughout my consideration of this particular bill. I suppose it's fair to say that due to my religious beliefs and due to my personal circumstances I should oppose this bill. But who am I to push my views and my personal circumstances on the choice of a woman? Who am I as a bloke who will never have to make this decision for himself to vote to prevent a woman making a choice for herself? I go back to the point I said earlier: I was raised that my religious views are mine only. So I will not use my vote today to impose any particular view that I may have to prevent the choice of a woman to make on her own body.Of course that is the position that one could take if this were indeed a debate on the morality of abortion. It is not. And it is a shame—and I echo the sentiments of my friend and colleague Michael Wood—that this is where this debate has gone at so many points. We as parliamentarians are tasked with making a decision particularly in a conscience debate on the bill that is in front of us. And the bill that is in front of us poses the question: should abortion be a crime? I say it should not. There is no reason why the 13500 cases of abortion last year should be treated in the Crimes Act and not as a health issue. This is a very clear decision for me for the reasons I have outlined but also for what this bill proposes.I want to quickly acknowledge those that have confronted this debate respectfully and have met with me and have put forward their views and have asked me not to vote for this. I appreciate the time they have given me because they themselves whilst they do not agree respect the decision that I have made. I think it is regrettable that some people have chosen to approach this almost with petulance and treat this as a trivial matter. This is a serious matter and a matter I believe about choice. I have faith in women to make a choice that is right for them and if they are making that choice within a system that is a farce where they have to pretend that there is a threat to their mental stability in order to get an abortion I believe that is wrong. I have absolutely no hesitation in supporting this bill. The question was posed by an earlier speaker Is your conscience clear?" My answer to that today is a resounding yes.SPEAKER: Chris Penk—five minutes."