Qld election 2024: Candidates urged to declare position on VAD laws

Candidates at this year’s Queensland election should reveal their position on a hot-button issue that is now law, advocates say.

Clem Jones Group chair David Muir

Candidates at this year’s Queensland election should reveal their position on voluntary assisted dying, advocates say.

VAD has been legal in Queensland since last year, with laws passing with cross-party support in a conscience vote in 2021.

But with the LNP expected to win the October election – and most who voted against the laws from the conservative side – the pro-VAD Clem Jones Group said the only way to ensure the laws remained enshrined was for a majority of candidates to support them.

The LNP has said it will not change the laws.

Clem Jones Group, which has campaigned for VAD laws across Australia, commissioned a poll of 2200 Queenslanders that found 70 per cent wanted their candidates to declare their stance on VAD.

Over 40 per cent said a candidate’s stance on VAD would likely influence their vote.

Clem Jones Group chair David Muir said: “The polling is not designed to tell voters which party or individual to support, but is aimed at making them aware of the need to determine where their representative in the next State Parliament stands on VAD.

“That’s important because the current VAD laws – passed with bipartisan support in September 2021 and effective from the start of 2023 – are best guaranteed to remain in place only if a majority of pro-VAD MPs are elected to the next parliament.”

Mr Muir said the poll showed 73 per cent of respondents wanted political parties to commit to maintaining VAD.

“In terms of voting intentions, more than 80 per cent of Labor and Greens voters and almost 70 per cent of LNP and One Nation voters want political parties to commit to keeping VAD legal and accessible in Queensland, with roughly the same levels of support for the state government to use its resources to maintain the availability of VAD,” he said.

Mr Muir said as with previous VAD polling, most “so-called Christian voters” supported voluntary assisted dying.

“The poll identified 20 per cent of all respondents would consider supporting candidates whose views supported the Christian faith,” he said.

“Of those respondents, almost 60 per cent want to see political parties commit to keeping VAD legal and accessible and want the state government to maintain the availability of VAD.”

Mr Muir said if there was any significant political message in the poll results, it was that any Queensland government that tried to reduce or eliminate the VAD program – either through a repeal or watering down of the VAD Act or by reducing funding and resources – would be treading a very electorally risky path.

Originally published as Qld election 2024: Candidates urged to declare position on VAD laws