Territorians deserve same rights that 97 per cent of Australians already enjoy
TERRITORIANS, unlike more than 97 per cent of Australians, are being denied the right to even discuss making voluntary euthanasia legal, as the federal government continues to snub the wishes of a vast majority of Territorians
Northern Territory
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TERRITORIANS, unlike more than 97 per cent of Australians, are being denied the right to even discuss making voluntary euthanasia legal, as the federal government continues to snub the wishes of a majority of Territorians.
The NT News has today launched a campaign to repeal the Commonwealth Euthanasia Laws Act 1997 that would allow Territorians to decide for themselves if they want euthanasia to become legal.
An NT News poll of about 500 respondents shows 90 per cent of voters want voluntary euthanasia legalised in the NT.
Both sides of Territory politics have expressed a need for the NT to have self-determination on the issue.
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Euthanasia advocate Philip Nitschke told the NT News it was time the Territory was able to join the rest of the nation in making a decision regarding legalising euthanasia.
“The duplicitous actions of the federal government in overturning ROTI (Rights of the Terminally Ill Act) and preventing Territories from ever passing similar laws set the nation back by 20 years, and now Australia has to play catch-up with the rest of the world,” Mr Nitschke said.
Judy Dent, whose late husband Robert ‘Bob’ Dent was the first person to die under the laws, said it was insulting to have politicians in power who refused to listen to the wishes of the public.
“I thought there was supposed to be a separation of church and power but it appears the church is a bigger part of the federal government then it was back then,” Ms Dent said.
Now known widely as voluntary assisted dying, the practice of someone who is terminally ill taking medication to end their life was controversial in the 1990s and is still a hot topic today.
Under the leadership of then NT chief minister Marshall Perron the bill, Rights of the Terminally Ill, was tabled and eventually passed after a 14-hour debate.
On July 1, 1996 it became legal and for a fleeting nine months the NT was ahead of its time, becoming the first jurisdiction in the world to allow terminally ill people to die with dignity.
Four people died by euthanasia before it was banned – not through the will of Territorians but by southern federal politicians with their own personal views on the practice.
The Andrews Bill, named after Victorian MP Kevin Andrews, took away the rights of territories to legalise euthanasia.
Mr Perron said it was absurd to think Victoria and Western Australia had legalised it and Tasmania, Queensland and South Australia were set to debate it while the NT and Australian Capital Territory were stuck in the last century.
“The fact that Australians will have access to voluntary assisted dying this year and the 600,000 people in the territories will not have is significant and highlights the absurdity of the retention of the voluntary euthanasia laws act,” Mr Perron said.
“Simply because a person decides to reside in the Northern Territory or ACT and in doing so would lose democratic rights, is simply unacceptable.”
Mr Perron said pressure needed to be put upon the federal government, especially with three states likely to progress the agenda this year. “I would hope that that momentum gathers more following and people start to badger their member of parliament and say, ‘enough is enough’,” he said.
It’s not to say efforts haven’t been made to rectify the issue – private member’s bills have been tabled many times over the years seeking to repeal the Euthanasia Laws Act 1997.
Mr Perron, who now lives in Queensland, was critical of the Northern Territory government’s handling of the issue.
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He said the NT and ACT needed to band together to push the agenda.
“What we have is four senators and five members of the house of representatives, two chief ministers who are calling for a change in the law so they can address the issue, if they could co-ordinate they could be a powerful political force,” he said.
Mr Perron said the right to decide was intrinsic in the bigger issue of democratic equality.
While Chief Minister Michael Gunner and Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro both support the changing of laws, very little has been done since 2018 when Mr Gunner and former CLP leader Gary Higgins joined forces to pressure the federal government when Senator David Leyonhjelm’s euthanasia bill was tabled.
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Mr Gunner has written to both former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and current Prime Minister Scott Morrison on the issue but the position of the commonwealth has not changed.”
“This shouldn’t even be controversial. At the end of the day it’s not just about euthanasia, it’s about Territorians having the right to decide important issues for themselves, just like the rest of Australia can do,” Mr Gunner said.
“In the past year we’ve crushed COVID and helped out the rest of the country with the Centre for National Resilience at Howard Springs. We’ve done Australia proud and acted in the national interest.
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“But on a fundamental issue like our right to make laws for ourselves, we are treated as second-class citizens
Ms Finocchiaro echoed Mr Gunner’s calls for self-determination. “I have written to the Prime Minister to express our views that the time has come to end this imbalance and restore the right of full self-determination to the people of the Northern Territory,” she said.
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