A bill to overturn a 25-year ban on the ACT and the Northern Territory that legislates assisted voluntary death could be brought before the federal parliament in a few weeks.
Key points:
- All Australian states have now legalized assisted voluntary death
- Two Labor MPs will try to remove a Commonwealth ban on NT and ACT legislation for euthanasia
- The question of territorial rights will be put to a vote of conscience
Labor MPs Alicia Payne of Canberra and Luke Gosling of Darwin are scheduled to introduce legislation at the next parliamentary session to remove the Commonwealth veto.
However, the Albanian government will allow Labor MPs a vote of conscience instead of directing them to support the bill.
The Coalition also allows its members a free vote on euthanasia, which means the success of the project is not guaranteed.
In May, New South Wales became the last Australian state to allow terminally ill adults to choose how to end their lives.
However, the so-called “Andrews Bill,” passed in federal parliament in 1997, still prevents the NT and ACT from making similar laws.
In 1995, the NT established the world’s first legal euthanasia regime.
The following year, Darwin’s man, Bob Dent, who had terminal prostate cancer, became the first Australian to die from state-sanctioned voluntary euthanasia.
His controversial death prompted then-Liberal MP Kevin Andrews to gain the support of the federal parliament to invoke the Commonwealth’s little-used constitutional power to overturn territorial laws.
“The Senate has changed now” after past failed attempts to abandon Andrews Bill
Bob Dent was the first person to use the NT’s short-lived voluntary euthanasia laws in 1996. (Supplied)
Minority parties have tried to repeal the Andrews bill three times (in 2008, 2010 and 2018), but votes of conscience saw every attempt defeated in the Senate.
The last bill, sponsored by then-Liberal Democrat Senator David Leyonhjelm, had two votes left to pass.
However, Ms Payne told the ABC that she believed opinions among senators and within her own party had changed since then.
“This time I will have more hope,” he said.
He said the historic loss of former ACT Liberal Senator Zed Seselja in May — he became the first senator in the territory to lose his seat in an election — was a measure of the strength the voters.
“It resonated so much with the Canberans that they had a senator who didn’t want to support them having a democratic right just like our Queanbeyan neighbors. [across the NSW border]”she said.
“And I think it was a really key issue in the last election.”
Conscience voting is not necessary for federal lawmakers, Pocock says
David Pocock argues that removing the Andrews Bill is a simple matter of territorial rights. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)
Over the weekend, ACT Independent Senator David Pocock, who ousted Mr Seselja in this year’s election, urged Labor to withdraw the Andrews bill without a vote of conscience.
Senator Pocock, who defended the rights of the territory in his election campaign, said no further protracted federal debate was needed.
“Now all states have legislated on assisted voluntary death,” he told ABC’s Insiders program.
“If people feel very strong about assisted voluntary death, they should go to the legislatures of the territories to stop it.”
However, Ms Payne said Labor was applying a vote of conscience because Andrews’ bill concerns only euthanasia, rather than territorial rights more broadly.
“And I respect very deeply the right of my colleagues to have a clear vision on this issue,” he said.
Ms Payne said she and Mr Gosling believed there was strong support for the bill within the Labor Party, but would discuss it with all MPs before the debate.
Posted 2 hours, 4 July 2022 at 20:44, 2 hours ago, updated 2 hours ago, July 4, 2022 at 20:54