Page 3054 - Week 08 - Thursday, 16 August 2018
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a more contemporary context in Australian parliamentary history, as it indeed reflects a similar motion moved in the Northern Territory parliament in 1996.
The motion:
(1) recognises that Australia’s democracy is one of the best in the world;
(2) recognises that Territory rights are of paramount importance to citizens of the Australian Capital Territory;
(3) resolves that subsections 23(1A) and 23(1B) of the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 are unwarranted restrictions on the democratic rights of residents of the Australian Capital Territory;
(4) notes that the abovementioned subsections form legislation that the Commonwealth Parliament could not, and cannot, constitutionally enact for the States; and
(5) determines that the Remonstrance will read as follows:
REMONSTRANCE
The Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory respectfully addresses the President of the Senate and Senators of the Commonwealth Parliament.
Preamble
With other States around Australia actively considering and passing laws on voluntary assisted dying, the fact that the Australian Capital Territory cannot even consider its own legislation is unjust.
The ACT community wants this issue debated. The Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory established a select committee on 30 November 2017 to examine issues around end of life choices, including palliative care and of life choices. The Committee is due to report by end November 2018.
The ACT government has stated repeatedly and in a variety of forums that there is no voluntary assisted dying scheme being actively considered at this time by the ACT government. This has been made clear in the media, in the Hansard of this place and in the statement that the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory and I made publicly earlier this week. The remonstrance continues:
Restoring Territory rights would simply give ACT citizens the same rights to decide on the issue as other Australians.
The grievances on behalf of the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory to the Senate would be as follows.
(1) the Federal Parliament should never determine the rights of Australian citizens based on their postcodes;
(2) during the debate on the Restoring Territory Rights (Assisted Suicide Legislation) Bill 2015, numerous Senators did one or more of:
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