Sunshine Coast MPs reveal where they stand on voluntary assisted dying vote

A Sunshine Coast MP said his decision on the voluntary assisted dying bill would likely disappoint some of his supporters. See where each of the region’s MPs stand.

Despite knowing it would disappoint some of his voters Buderim MP Brent Mickelberg is supporting voluntary assisted dying legislation.

Sunshine Coast MPs have revealed where they stand on the emotional debate ahead of Thursday’s vote. 

Mr Mickelberg was the only Sunshine Coast Liberal National Party MP to declare his support for the bill.

Maroochydore’s Fiona Simpson, Ninderry’s Dan Purdie, Kawana’s Jarrod Bleijie and Glass House’s Andrew Powell confirmed they would vote against it.

Independent Noosa MP Sandy Bolton, and Labor MPs Jason Hunt for Caloundra and Robert Skelton will vote in support of it.

The bill would allow people expected to die within 12 months from an incurable condition the option for voluntary assisted dying.

It would not be available to someone because they have a disability or mental illness.

It was expected to pass on Thursday and be in effect from January 2023.

Buderim MP Brent Mickelberg said some may be disappointed by his decision to support the voluntary assisted dying bill.

Mr Mickelberg said he met with many people for and against the bill throughout the consultation process.

But he said none of those discussions convinced him to vote against the legislation.

“I know many of those who I trust and respect will be disappointed in my vote on this bill … but I believe every Queenslander deserves to live and die with dignity,” he said.

While he wanted to focus on the specifics of the bill he said his views were coloured by his mother’s death from breast cancer while in palliative care at Nambour General Hospital.

Noosa MP Sandy Bolton said parliamentarians should vote in accordance with their constituents’ wishes, not their personal views. Picture: Josh Woning

“I think you have to acknowledge that personal experience does colour how you view these things,” he said.

“It drives home to me that they should not suffer unnecessarily.”

Ms Bolton urged parliamentarians to vote on behalf of their constituents’ wishes not their own views.

She said there was something worse than death, intolerable suffering.

“To those who needed this legislation but it came too late, you may not be with us now but we have heard your pleas and you can now rest in peace,” Ms Bolton said.

Maroochydore MP Fiona Simpson will vote against the voluntary assisted dying legislation. Picture: Dan Peled

Mr Purdie said he could not support the bill because it would be delivered before Queensland had “adequate palliative care”.

Ms Simpson held a similar belief and said she would continue to advocate for early access to quality palliative care.

“This bill does not guarantee equal access to quality palliative care services which are only available a few weeks or months out from death and not in all parts of Queensland,” she said.

Mr Hunt delivered an emotional speech detailing how the death of his parents influenced his views on voluntary assisted dying.

He said his mother’s battle with cancer ended four months after she was diagnosed and it was “brutal and short”.

“She was as gentle as a lamb, as resilient as stone ... Yet the end of her life was not what she deserved,” he said.

He said during her final weeks and days he and his three brothers took turns in caring for her.

“In the final days at Caloundra Dove Cottage our duties as sons entailed spraying a fine mist of water into her mouth to stop it drying out and reaching in to scoop out the excessive phlegm that pooled in her cheeks,” he said during his speech at parliament.

“It was not the end she deserved and certainly not the ending she would have chosen.

“I commend this bill as a genuinely transformative and beautiful step that will ensure the last days of terminally ill queenslanders are filled with peace and reassurance and the last memories they give to their families will be happy ones.”

Mr Hunt said he considered the bill to be “very civilised” because of the eligibility requirements in place.

“How can the ultimate delivery of mercy and compassion to a newly empowered individual be anything but civilized?,” he said.

Speaking about the death of my parents is never easy, doing so in detail in Parliament is even harder, as this video...

Posted by Jason Hunt MP on Wednesday, September 15, 2021

Mr Powell said his vote was influenced by his Christianity and views from experts including Palliative Care Queensland.

He acknowledged “a few published polls” into the issue showed support for voluntary assisted dying.

“I have been asked by some to ignore my faith … I am sorry but I cannot help let those teachings, that belief and my efforts to be more like Christ influence my decision here today,” he said.

“Given the shortfall in palliative care funding, the warnings from doctors regarding the inadequacies from a clinical perspective … given the current state of where we are – why are we embarking on this now?

“Though it pains me to disappoint many in my electorate of Glass House – when my moral compass and the experts align, I cannot possibly support this legislation.”

Former Attorney General Mr Bleijie said he would have supported the bill if it was formed in a more bipartisan way.

“One can not help but be moved by the personal stories…they have a profound impact on you not just as a local member but as a human,” he said.

However, he said he was concerned about the “self administering process” and was concerned about the vulnerable and elderly Queenslanders ”being taken advantage of”.

“A lot of people have been given false hope that this Bill is going to be their dying with dignity ticket, it‘s not, because it’s restricted,” he said.

He said if the Premier had worked in a bipartisan way on amendments to the Bill he would have voted yes.