Claire Chandler (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

The Restoring Territory Rights Bill 2022 presents a difficult and a complex mix of issues, principles and considerations. I've weighed and deeply considered these issues and the competing principles and concerns over the last few months. I do have sympathy for the argument that the citizens of our territories should have the same rights as the citizens of our states in regard to their parliaments being able to make laws in relation to the same issues that state parliaments are able to. I do have sympathy with that. However, there is no escaping the fact that, under our Constitution, the territories are not, in fact, directly equivalent to the states. Self-government is granted to the territories by acts of the federal parliament. That being the case, we in this parliament bear a level of responsibility for the governance of those territories. This is a responsibility that, for the vast majority of matters, we effectively delegate to the elected parliaments of the territories, but it is our responsibility nonetheless.

The responsibility we are asked to discharge in our consideration of this bill—the Restoring Territory Rights Bill 2022—is a heavy one. The inevitable impact of this bill before us, should it pass the parliament, is that another parliament will enact laws authorising the practice of euthanasia. I recognise that there are many divergent views on the practice of euthanasia and many legitimate concerns regarding its practice. One of those concerns, which is always at the forefront of my mind in the consideration of this issue, is the possibility of the misuse of such a scheme, whether it be by negligence, incompetence, ignorance or, even worse, deliberate ill intent. We here in this place are in a unique and invidious position. We are being asked to pass a law when we know that the effect will be the ending of human lives. Yet, unlike representatives of state parliaments when making the same decision, we here have no ability whatsoever to put in place, or have any oversight of, safeguards to protect citizens from the potential misuse of those laws. We would be, in effect, making a decision that will result in the ending of human lives but washing our hands of any responsibility for the consequences, and I do not find myself able to support any such action in good conscience.

This is, without a doubt, one of the more complex and troubling decisions that I have had to make in my time in the Senate to date, and I do not take it lightly. I've considered the principles behind this bill and weighed the consequences closely. After having done so, I'm not able to vote in the affirmative, so I will be voting against this bill.