Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

In March of last year voluntary assisted dying legislation passed both houses of the Tasmanian parliament, becoming the third state in Australia at that time to legislate voluntary assisted dying. It was the fourth time assisted dying laws had come before the Tasmanian parliament since 2009, and after a number of years of advocacy from Independent legislative councillor Mike Gaffney, who put forward the bill, and months of careful consultation with the community from MPs and MLCs of all sides, all members had a conscience vote and the bill passed the Tasmanian Legislative Council unanimously, with MPs in the lower house voting 16 to six in favour.

As with all social issues, the issue of voluntary assisted dying was contentious. But, regardless of how an individual may feel on the issue, the fact that the issue could be considered by Tasmanian parliamentarians is a right that our fellow citizens in the Northern Territory and the ACT are denied. For a territory to be denied the ability to make a decision on such a critical issue and one deemed important by many in their communities, no matter which side of the argument they fall on, is to deny the right of each and every citizen to participate in what is a democratic process simply because of where they live.

So how do we find ourselves here, having this very debate? Over 25 years ago, the Northern Territory were leading the world with their groundbreaking laws on medically assisted dying. On 25 May 1995, the then Chief Minister, Marshall Perron, introduced the Northern Territory's Rights of the Terminally Ill Act, allowing for someone in their last months of life to apply for a medically assisted death. The law came into effect on 1 July 1996. Still, the road for those seeking to put the law into practice was not easy. Taxi driver Max Bell, who was suffering from stomach cancer, became well known for driving 3,000 kilometres from Broken Hill to Darwin to use the Territory's euthanasia law. He was unable to carry out his wishes after medical and psychiatric professionals in the Northern Territory refused to provide the required information necessary as part of the process and he eventually returned back to Broken Hill. Bell eventually succumbed to stomach cancer, and the media coverage of his case sparked greater cooperation from medical professionals and paved the way for a 66-year-old carpenter, Bob Dent, who was suffering from prostate cancer, to become the first person in the world to take his own life under legally sanctioned voluntary euthanasia laws. For Bob's wife, Judy, there was comfort in Bob leaving the world on his own terms after watching him battle his terminal illness. She said:

The worst thing about looking after somebody who is very ill and in pain is that you can't do anything about it …

I would have taken some of his pain for him if I could have, but I was even afraid to hug him.

Tests had shown his bones were ready to crumble because the cancer had moved into his bones, so hearty hugs were not in the picture anymore.

She told the Guardian Australia in 2016:

Naturally I didn't want him to die but I didn't want him to live the way he was having to live …

When he got his paperwork signed, the palliative effect was greater than everything everybody else had been trying to do for him. The mental anguish was gone …

Just nine months later, the former member for Menzies, Kevin Andrews, introduced a private member's bill successfully overturning the Northern Territory law while also amending legislation to prevent the Territory reintroducing it. The bill was supported across political lines, including by the now member for Watson, then director of the Euthanasia No! group. Dent was one of only four Territorians who were able to undertake voluntary euthanasia before the law was overturned. Judy, like so many Territorians, saw the federal government intervention as treating them like second-class citizens. Indeed, by overturning the law, it's hard to argue that the message is that democratically elected legislators of the territories cannot be trusted to make laws responsibly and appropriately.

I don't stand here and seek to criticise either the former member for Menzies or the current member for Watson, or anyone in this House for their views on euthanasia. It is a deeply complex and sometimes deeply personal and sensitive issue that holds many shades of grey. However, I agree with the member for Solomon that although this legislation should be about the sole issue that territory rights should be the same as people living in every state across Australia, for many this issue is tied to that of euthanasia. However, it is also the job of an elected representative to consult and advocate and ultimately vote on issues in line with community expectations. And the point that must be made is that the majority of us making a decision on this legislation do not represent these communities and, as such, should not have the power to stop the territories making a decision that's right for their own community.

We've come a long way as a society since the Northern Territory laws were first enacted in 1996. The act caused an uproar nationally and internationally, from politicians to healthcare professionals, religious groups, pro-life and pro-choice pressure groups, academics, the media and members of the general public. But as pointed out by Go Gentle Australia, surveys show that around 85 per cent of Australians support the legislation of voluntary assisted dying to allow for a better choice at the end of life.

As mentioned previously, in Tasmania the End of Life Choices (Voluntary Assisted Dying) Bill passed last year—the fourth attempt at passing such a law after previous efforts in 2009, 2013 and 2017 failed. Each and every attempt saw passionate advocacy from both sides of the issue, but, year after year, community expectations have changed. And thanks to the tireless work of Independent MLC Mike Gaffney, Tasmania has laws now that, by and large, meet the community's expectations. As pointed out by Mr Gaffney, the end result is a good indication of how parliament should work. The legislation will allow people who are suffering from advanced, incurable and irreversible conditions, which are expected to cause their death within six months, to end their own lives. The law will come into effect in October, and I hope will bring relief and peace for those who may seek to exercise this right.

Should it pass, the proposed legislation before us today rightly gives the territories their democratic powers back, which were taken from them 25 years ago, allowing them to consider the issue of voluntary assisted dying in their respective jurisdictions. While not reinstating the Northern Territory euthanasia laws that were previously in force, this bill, at its core, allows territory parliaments and their communities to decide what is right for them, just as Western Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia have the legislative powers to do. I note that the Northern Territory Attorney-General has stated that their current voluntary dying legislation does need to be rewritten and modernised to meet best practice standards.

Every elected representative, whether local, state or federal, is elected to represent the views and wishes of their community on a whole range of issues, and to be denied the opportunity to carry out that role on such a significant issue is, in my view, undemocratic and inequitable.

Efforts to overturn the 1997 federal government legislation have failed twice in recent years. A 2018 bill introduced in the Senate by former senator David Leyonhjelm saw a number of senators on both sides vote against it. In 2021, former Northern Territory coalition senator Sam McMahon attempted to introduce a territory rights bill to restore euthanasia powers in the Northern Territory, but it did not come to a vote. So the time is now. With this legislation we have a chance to deliver to the territories what is rightly theirs. The Commonwealth must ensure those in the territories are not treated as second-class citizens, and must step out of the way by handing these legislative powers back. Territorians deserve the right to the same self-determination as all other individuals across the country, and I wholeheartedly support this bill.

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