Page 4602 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 27 November 2019
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grown and the urgency has grown. This motion marks the reignition of our campaign and the rousing of our determination.
In 1988 self-government was conferred on us, and our parliament was established in 1989. This year our parliament celebrated, modestly, our 30th anniversary. We might still be a comparatively young parliament, but that does not make us any less mature. On almost every issue we are given the responsibility for making laws, for debating and passing legislation. Despite constitutionally being able to make laws for us, the commonwealth rarely interferes, except, of course, when it comes down to social issues; human rights issues; basic decency, respect and fairness issues; equal treatment issues; issues where the commonwealth parliament’s view has been out of step with those of ACT citizens. That is where it has interfered.
The reasons for the insertions of these subsections relating to voluntary assisted dying are historical. To quote my federal colleague Andrew Leigh, the member for Fenner in his speech introducing a bill to restore territory rights last year—slightly paraphrased: back then, they said that the ACT and Northern Territory parliaments were too immature to be given the power of voluntary assisted dying. They said that no state had done it and a territory should not be the first. Today, those arguments are gone.
Through their continued operation those legislative provisions continue to mark an era of geographical discrimination where what we can determine for ourselves as Australians is decided based on our postcode. Doing so fundamentally undermines democratic principles, particularly in this representative democracy. It means we as parliamentarians cannot do our jobs and cannot genuinely act in the interests and desires of our constituents.
As much as I hate it, I reluctantly accept the rationale at the time for the insertion of the provisions. But I do not accept any argument put forward for these provisions to continue to exist, to persist, especially now. It makes no sense for a parliament that is now 30 years old. It makes no sense for a territory with a strong jurisdictional identity. It makes no sense to our community, which has a reasonable expectation that their elected, local representatives—all of us in this place who take our jobs and our roles very seriously—should and will be able to decide on issues that matter to the community. And it makes absolutely no sense when states are now exercising their democratic rights and legislating in this area.
Victoria was first in 2017 and now, despite their opposition’s pathetic attempts at filibustering, Western Australia looks to be just days away. The federal parliament—it is incumbent on all of those parliamentarians—should not allow to persist this democratic discrimination simply based on our geography and our status as citizens of a territory rather than a state.
In an ideal world what is happening in the states—like Victoria, like Western Australia and even Queensland—would make the federal parliament realise how ridiculous they are being and take the responsibility themselves to identify and make this change for our territories without a concerted campaign from us. But we know we cannot rely on that, and that is exactly why we are redoubling our efforts.
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