So many Gold Coasters have experienced the incredible pain of watching someone they love suffer and endure those last days, weeks and months.

I’m no different.

I lost my Dad to cancer when I was in early high school.

His battle with Melanoma was a long and taxing process from diagnosis, radiation, chemotherapy, drug trials, surgery, one side of his face becoming permanently paralysed through to relapse and back and forth.

Compared to some cases his final moments could be considered a relatively good death.

When you watch someone you love go through that it can’t help but frame your understanding and empathy for those who are suffering.

During the parliamentary committee process Peter, who has motor neurone disease and bowel cancer and living in a nursing home, gave evidence at the Rockhampton hearing saying, “The very thing that has brought me to speak here tonight is that I no longer fear death; I fear living.”

Frontline health worker Phil who has 33 years experience as a registered nurse (including seven years in a large palliative care facility) and seven years as an advanced care paramedic shared his experience saying, “I attended two suicides where it was known that the person killed themselves because they had either a terminal or an advanced progressive incurable debilitation condition. Both patients were men with self-inflicted firearm blasts to the head. Reading one man’s suicide note was awful. He spoke of his love for his family and how he could no longer tolerate the symptoms he was experiencing in his terminal decline.”

Anyone of us could find ourselves with a terminal disease or condition where our last months, weeks or days are excruciating.

We should all have a right to choose to end our suffering if it just gets too much.

No one is disputing that we need and deserve a good palliative care system.

It’s why the Palaszczuk Government has already announced $171m of new funding.

But that doesn’t take away from the fact that not all suffering can be alleviated by palliative care, no matter how professional and skilful our health staff are.

Health staff do all they can for terminally ill patients through sedation, withdrawal of treatment or intensified pain relief to help those with unbearable pain and suffering even if this may ultimately cause death.

Sometimes this provides sufficient relief and for some it doesn’t.

This legislation will finally regulate Voluntary Assisted Dying by giving medical practitioners a guide and families an answer.

I appreciate that people hold different views to me on this issue.

That’s OK, because ultimately this is about respect for people’s views.

This Bill has not been drafted by politicians. It’s been extensively considered and written by the independent Queensland Law Reform Commission and ensures stringent safeguards are in place to protect patients.

For many Gold Coasters – myself included – it’s reform that has been a long time coming.

For too long, the overwhelming majority of our city’s politicians have put this issue in the “too-hard basket” and refused to indicate their view.

That’s not the type of politics I practise.

Research and polling shows the vast majority of Gold Coasters support this reform.

This Bill, which will be debated throughout the week is one of the rare circumstances where all members of parliament can make up their own mind with a conscience vote without interference from their political party.

I’ve been upfront about my support for Voluntary Assisted Dying.

The question is, will other Gold Coast MPs vote with their community and those who are suffering or will they let people down once again?