Hundreds protest euthanasia bill, call for extra $247m for palliative care

The Queensland government must provide an additional $247 million for palliative care as an amendment to its proposed assisted dying bill to go to Parliament next week, a crowd of anti-euthanasia protesters demanded on Saturday afternoon.

About 400 to 500 people – a mix of Christians, academics, doctors, nurses and general families – protested outside Queensland’s Parliament House before marching down George and Elizabeth streets chanting, “Kill the bill, not the patient.”

Protesters against the Queensland Government Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill march quietly through the streets calling out “Kill the Bill, not the patient.”Credit: Tony Moore

The Palaszczuk government plans to debate its assisted dying bill into Queensland Parliament next week – pending a COVID-19 lockdown.

It is a major policy initiative of the Labor government and a key election promise of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk at the 2020 election campaign.

Both major parties have allowed the MPs to have a conscience vote on the issue, which comes to State Parliament as the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill, known as VAD.

The rally contained many overt pushes for pro-conservative politics and encouraged people to join a political party to oppose the bill and similar legislation.

About 450 to 500 people gathered to protest the Queensland government’s proposed voluntary assisted dying bill.Credit: Tony Moore

The rally, which hoped to attract 3000 people, was organised by the pro-life group Cherish Life Queensland, which has organised similar protests and debates against abortion law reform in Australia and Queensland.

Critics of the bill, including LNP MPs Christian Rowan and bayside MP Mark Robinson describe the bill as “assisted suicide” and on Saturday called for it to be significantly amended or withdrawn.

Dr Rowan, a former president of the Australian Medical Association’s Queensland branch, told the crowd the Palaszczuk government as a “socialist Labor government”, which was “constantly attacking individuals such as yourselves and the values that you believe in”.

“A government that detests the notion of family and faith-based organisations,” he said.

Shadow minister and former Australian Medical Association president Dr Christian Rowan spoke against the bill and argued extra palliative care funding was a sensible alternative.Credit: Tony Moore

Dr Rowan said it was vital palliative care funding was improved in Queensland.

“There is an appalling lack of palliative care funding in Queensland,” Dr Rowan told the crowd.

“If the premier was serious about this bill, she would as part of this debate she would introduce a universal service obligation for funding palliative care.”

This move would mean palliative care costs would be covered by the Queensland government.

“That should be a mandatory part of any debate on voluntary assisted dying in Queensland,” he said to loud applause.

Dr Rowan said he and other doctors had also raised concerns about the medical skills, credentials and experienced training of people whom the bill proposes to “sign off” on voluntary agreements to end a person’s life.

He said he was specifically concerned by the lack of reference by these signatories to the clinical medical teams overseeing a person’s life.

Kerri-Anne Dooley, a palliative care nurse, told the crowd she opposed the bill had cared for “thousands” of people through the final stages of their life.

Palliative care nurse Kerri-Anne Dooley, a member of the Nurses Professional Association, said the bill should be replaced by better funded advanced care at the end of life.Credit: Tony Moore

“I, too, believe we should be improving our palliative care, so ordinary Queenslanders have the right to palliative care,” she told the crowd.

Ms Dooley was an LNP candidate for the state seat of Redcliffe in 2014 against Labor’s Yvette D’Ath, who is now Labor’s Queensland Health Minister.

She questioned the situation where family members may feel coerced into persuading a loved one to agree to end their life.

The LNP’s Mark Robinson is on the Queensland government’s health committee which reviewed the legislation and wrote a dissenting report.

He told the crowd the Labor government had “lost its way” and “was no longer listening to the people of Queensland”.

Dr Robinson drew loud laughter and applause from the pro-life crowd, when he described the bill as “sad, mad, bad, VAD”.

“This isn’t a drunk Russian, but for sure it’s a government drunk on power.”

The Queensland Government announced $171m in additional funding for palliative care, a spokesman for Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said on Saturday evening.

“When announcing consideration of VAD legislation the premier was adamant she was interested in an overhaul of all end of life care.”

The bill will be introduced on Tuesday.