This is no longer the stuff of science fiction-rapid advances in genetic science and technology are greatly expanding the range of DNA tests available, and dramatically reducing the costs. These developments were foreshadowed by the ALRC in its landmark 2003 report, Essentially Yours: The Protection of Human Genetic Information in Australia According to ALRC President Professor David Weisbrot, this area is moving even faster than expected: 'Just five years ago, no one was advertising medical DNA testing over the internet. We will be using the feedback we receive at this Public Meeting to provide advice to Government which will help shape these policies into the future.'.

Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, the Hon Duncan Kerr SC MP today welcomed recognition by Australia of Indigenous Peoples' rights. 'This is a great occasion not only for Australia's Indigenous community, but for Indigenous Peoples around the world, including in our immediate region,' said Mr Kerr, who represented the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon Stephen Smith MP at the ceremony today. Australia is also now home to many Indigenous peoples of our region.

Australia's Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, Hon Duncan Kerr SC, has today met with the newly elected President of the Autonomous Bougainville Government, Hon James Tanis, during a visit to Bougainville. Mr Kerr is the first member of the Rudd Government to visit Bougainville. Following meetings in Port Moresby with Parliamentary Secretary for Bougainville Affairs, Hon Fidelis Semoso MP, and national government officials responsible for Bougainville, Mr Kerr travelled to the capital, Buka, to meet President Tanis and discuss Australia's significant program of assistance to Bougainville.

Australia's support to Bougainville received a boost during the visit of Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, Hon Duncan Kerr SC, with the announcement today of additional funding to services for women and children through the work of local identity, Sister Lorraine Garasu, and her rehabilitation centre. 'The work here is a microcosm of the Millennium Development Goals focusing in key areas such as health, education and gender - all of which are part our development program. 'Australia is working to assist the PNG and the Autonomous Bougainville Governments in key areas such as education to get more children into school and provide them with a good education which is well supported by resources and infrastructure', he said.

Australias Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, Duncan Kerr SC, has officially welcomed the first group of Pacific seasonal workers to arrive in Australia under the Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme.. The idea of a Pacific seasonal workers pilot scheme enjoys the support of many in the Australian community, and, of course, the Pacific island countries themselves, said Mr Kerr.. By helping to address identified labour shortages in the horticultural industry while providing opportunities for Pacific workers, the seasonal workers scheme will benefit local growers and communities as well as Pacific islanders..

Australia's Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, Duncan Kerr SC, has delivered the keynote speech at a regional consultation on human rights for Pacific parliamentarians being held in Brisbane this week. Australia supports regional human rights through a range of targeted development assistance programs as well as through initiatives such as formal Human Rights Dialogues with Pacific nations. We as elected parliamentarians ought never to cease promotion of basic human rights like the right to a fair trial, to free speech, and to equality of opportunity and freedom from discrimination on grounds of race, gender, disability or religion.'.

Australias Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, Duncan Kerr SC, today reaffirmed Australias commitment to human rights for all Pacific Islanders. On Human Rights Day and the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Mr Kerr focused on Australian Government assistance to four human rights projects in Pacific Island countries. By investing in the institutional and social architecture supporting human rights in the Pacific, Australia continues to work with our partners in the region to not only protect human rights but fulfil international obligations to which we are all signatories, Mr Kerr said.

Australia's Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, the Hon Duncan Kerr SC MP, has welcomed the participation of Pacific Island countries in the 2008 Pacific School Games. This includes funding for a wide range of sports-focused projects in the Pacific. The Pacific School Games began as a test event for the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane and has been held regularly in various Australian locations since.

Australias Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, Duncan Kerr SC, and representatives of the Kiribati, Tonga and Vanuatu governments have signed the first inter-governmental agreements to establish the Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme. In a ceremony held yesterday in Canberra, Mr Kerr joined the Hon Lisiate 'Akolo, Minister for Labour, Commerce and Industries of the Government of the Kingdom of Tonga the Hon Ioteba Redfern, Minister of Labour and Human Resources Development of the Government of the Republic of Kiribati and Mr Lionel Kaluat, Commissioner for Labour of the Government of the Republic of Vanuatu, in signing bilateral Memoranda of Understanding setting out arrangements for the pilot. The Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme, announced by the Government in August, is a three-year trial program to allow up to 2,500 seasonal workers from Kiribati, PNG, Tonga and Vanuatu to work in the horticultural industry in regional Australia for up to seven

Following his first visit to New Caledonia, Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, the Hon Duncan Kerr SC MP, has encouraged the French Pacific collectivities to further strengthen their engagement in the region. 'I would like to see New Caledonia and the other regional French collectivities, French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna, take on a greater role in our region,' Mr Kerr said. 'In my role as Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs in Australia, I look forward to working closely with New Caledonia as it realises its future.'.