Page 4780 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 1 November 2017
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euthanasia due to the Commonwealth Euthanasia Laws Act 1997, brought forward as a Private Member’s bill and commonly referred to as the Kevin Andrews Bill; and
(c) that the Canberra community and Assembly have grown and matured since 1997, with significant population growth, a stronger jurisdictional identity, and a higher expectation that elected, local representatives will be able to debate and decide upon key health and legal issues; and
(4) calls on the ACT Government and each Member of the Legislative Assembly:
(a) to raise with Federal political colleagues and counterparts, as appropriate, the increasingly paternalistic and unreasonable curtailment of ACT Legislative Assembly legislative powers, and how poorly this reflects on the Commonwealth Parliament’s understanding of the ACT’s capacity to govern itself;
(b) to convey to the Commonwealth Government and Opposition, at every available and appropriate forum, the need to repeal the Euthanasia Laws Act 1997 and restore to the Territories the right to make laws in respect of voluntary euthanasia and voluntary assisted dying; and
(c) to consider as soon as practicable, upon the passage of a scheme in any Australian State to allow voluntary assisted dying, whether and how the ACT community can have input on a possible model for such a scheme in the ACT.
Twenty years ago the federal parliament introduced and passed paternalistic legislation. It passed legislation which reduced us as a jurisdiction. It passed legislation which rendered and renders the ACT and its residents second-class. By restricting the ACT’s ability to consider, and potentially make, its own laws on voluntary assisted dying, the Euthanasia Laws Act 1997 patronises us and hamstrings us.
The act’s continued operation is disrespectful to the ACT and its citizens, and to the institution of this Assembly, made up of people our ACT citizens have elected to represent them. It is 20 years since the Euthanasia Laws Act came into force and it is 20 years too long.
Now, in 2017, the need for it to be abolished has never been greater. Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia: what do they all have in common? They are all actively researching, discussing and debating voluntary assisted dying. And what else do they have in common? They are states. They have the rights to make their own legislation.
In the context of all this, time and time again polls are showing Australians overwhelmingly support voluntary assisted dying. But, thanks to that federal legislation, while debate is occurring on a national scale, while it is in the news every single day, while in some states legislation is even potentially going to pass, we in the ACT cannot genuinely participate.
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