I support the Crimes Amendment (Female Genital Mutilation) Bill 2014 because it is an important amendment that needs to be adopted. As a Parliament and as community leaders we must send the strongest and clearest message that anyone who wants to engage in this kind of disgraceful activity will face serious consequences for their actions.
The bill proposes that the maximum penalty for performing female genital mutilation be raised from seven years to 21 years imprisonment. The bill will also introduce an offence of taking a person or arranging for a person to be taken from New South Wales to have female genital mutilation performed on them.
Female genital mutilation is an abhorrent offence. Anyone who undertakes such an activity is a disgrace. Today we will send the clearest message possible that it will not be tolerated. No matter if a person is a doctor holding a scalpel or a parent buying a plane ticket, the penalty will be the same. As we know, female genital mutilation is a horrific crime because it has a profound effect on women's health. It causes problems such as infertility and childbirth complications, and the list goes on. Female genital mutilation is a disgrace that must be stamped out. We need to send a message that it is unacceptable in Australia.
Through the implementation of these new penalties the Government is making clear that the practice will not be tolerated. New South Wales will now have the toughest penalties in the Commonwealth, which will be equal to Tasmania. That is a vital step in the process of sending a clear message. I will limit my remarks today, but I place on record that there is no excuse for anyone who performs or facilitates a female genital mutilation procedure. I am delighted to be part of the bipartisan voice in this Chamber that condemns genital mutilation and all forms of violence against women. We must all stand united to make sure that such practices are eradicated.
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