Page 2920 - Week 09 - Thursday, 18 September 2014
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Today’s motion seeks to build on these representations through a collective vote of the Assembly and at its core it is about territory rights. Our community is no less mature or able to consider euthanasia than any other. Further, as our population ages, far from going away, this issue is most likely to become more acute with a growing number of voices arguing for change.
The euthanasia debate, as with some other social policy debates, seems to be an area where political institutions find it hard to keep in step with community attitudes. News polling conducted in 2012 shows clear evidence that the community wants elected leaders to engage with this issue. Typically, 80 per cent plus of adults support the principle of doctors being able to assist in the death of a terminally ill person suffering intolerable pain, and this level of support is consistent across age groups and political views.
This is the common reaction amongst those who have experienced the death of someone close to them. However sad, this time is made easier if someone is free of pain and if their wishes are known and able to be carried out. It is the prevailing sentiment across Australia and, I believe, in the Canberra community. Whilst it does not translate into straightforward legislation, it should be able to be picked up and discussed openly by governments. We should have debates in this place which can then be translated into legislation that our community supports and understands.
Every time I get a letter from somebody, usually in the weeks following the death of a loved one, who is seeking some engagement by the ACT on this issue I have to write back to those individuals and say, “I am sorry. Because of the legislation that remains in place in the commonwealth the ACT is not allowed to progress this issue within our legislative ability or capability.” It is a very difficult letter to write. It seems a very heartless response to what are very emotional letters written in desperation after just witnessing the often traumatic death of loved ones.
We would all like to believe that when someone dies, particularly from a terminal illness, their pain is able to be managed and their death is as peaceful as possible. For the large part, many people dying from a terminal illness are able to be managed in that way but let us not pretend that it is that way for everybody, particularly those who have strong views about how their life should end and how traumatic that is for both them as an individual and for their family.
When responding to those letters that I get—and I read every one of them and I reply—there is no easy way of telling those residents of Canberra that because of commonwealth legislation we are unable to even look at legislation that might address some of the issues for those individuals. And it puts us in stark contrast to a letter, I imagine, that could be written by a member of parliament in New South Wales to someone who lives in Queanbeyan and who raised the same issues with their state parliament on options for improving access or improving an individual’s dignity around their death or their loved one’s death. It is something I feel very strongly about in terms of our ability to even debate legislation in this place.
The trickier issue for all members here is—and it is certainly a conscience vote for members of the Labor Party—if you were allowed, what you would do with any
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