Melissa Parke (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I was pleased to join with colleagues in the all-party group for dying with dignity—my colleagues Alannah MacTiernan, the member for Perth; Andrew Leigh, the member for Fraser; Senator Richard Di Natale; Senator Nova Peris; and Senator Katy Gallagher—to advocate for legislation to restore powers to the territories to make laws on the subject of dying with dignity. It is outrageous that the federal parliament two decades ago passed legislation to prevent voluntary euthanasia even being discussed in the territory parliaments. In addition to restoring to the territorian parliaments the capacity to legislate as their communities would wish, we see this legislation—which will be subject to a conscience vote—as an indicator of how this parliament will vote on federal dying with dignity laws.

The parliamentary group has been inspired to continue the advocacy on this issue by the example of the indefatigable and courageous Peter Short, who campaigned for the right to die with dignity until shortly before his death from cancer. Peter had been illegally provided with the means to end his life if he so chose, but in the end he did not need to resort to those means. However, he stated that it brought him enormous comfort to know that if the pain became too great in his final days he could choose the timing of his death. It is long past time that we accorded to terminally ill Australians dignity and choice in the manner and timing of their death.