Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

When it became clear in the last sitting week that this bill was going to be debated, my initial view was this was a matter of territory rights and that it would be a relatively simple for issue for me to deal with. But, obviously, in the winter break, with the opportunity to engage with more people and to talk about the issues at stake in this matter, it became a more complex decision for me to make. I want to put on the record that I appreciate those people, from both sides, who have come and spoken to me about this. They've done so in good faith; they believe in their case. I very much valued the opportunity to discuss this issue with them. It would be fair to say that I am uncomfortable with euthanasia, without being outright opposed to it.

I keep coming back to this being an issue of territory rights, which I strongly believe in. A couple of things have influenced this more than others. Since the right of territories to legislate on this issue was taken away, we have seen state parliaments debate euthanasia legislation. Recently, we saw Victoria become the first state to pass that legislation, and that will begin in approximately 12 months time. And it is likely that, in other states throughout Australia, this legislation will be debated in coming years as well.

Some people opposed to this legislation have argued that the unique unicameral nature of the territories makes them unsuitable to deal with such complex issues. As a Queensland Labor senator, that's not an argument that I can sustain, given the make-up of the Queensland parliament, which has only one chamber. The thought that it would be able to deal with this in an adequate manner also gives me the confidence that the territories would be able to do so as well.

So, given that the debate has occurred in Victoria and other states and will likely occur in the future, I believe that territories deserve that same opportunity. I obviously urge them to progress that carefully, but I will be voting to support this bill, the restoring territories' rights bill, when it comes to a vote.