Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk puts brakes on euthanasia laws until after election

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk puts brakes on assisted dying legislation until after state election.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Picture: Liam Kidston

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has pushed the legalisation of euthanasia onto the backburner, ordering a law reform review that won't report back until after the October state election.

Labor policy is for the legalisation of voluntary assisted dying, and a parliamentary committee reported back on March 31 recommending draft legislation be enacted, following the models of laws in Victoria and Western Australia.

But Ms Palaszczuk told parliament that she would not rush the process, and said more work needed to be done to balance the views of experts and the protection of the elderly.

She will ask the Attorney-General to refer the matter to the Queensland Law Reform Commission (QLRC), which won't report back until March next year.

“Voluntary assisted dying is a very complex and deeply personal issue, in which competing interests and views of Queenslanders and experts have to be carefully balanced, and the lives of our elderly and most vulnerable people protected,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“There are also a number of operational issues to work through before we can implement any kind of voluntary assisted dying scheme in Queensland at this time. For these reasons, I believe law reform in this area requires further careful consideration. We did this for the Termination of Pregnancy Bill.”

Voluntary assisted dying advocate David Muir — the chair of the Clem Jones Trust — said Ms Palaszczuk’s decision would lead to more suffering.

“The aim of VAD laws is to give another option at the end of life to those with terminal illness causing intolerable suffering, so it is especially disappointing for them that action on law reform is now deferred to the next term of state parliament,” Mr Muir said.

“The timetable outlined by the Premier also risks making new laws a party political issue at the October election when they are meant to be decided on a conscience vote regardless of any party’s policy. The Premier and LNP leader promised their MPs a conscience vote, but we have no idea if such guarantees will be repeated by whoever leads the government and opposition after October.”

Greens crossbencher Michael Berkman asked why the Premier had not referred the matter to the QLRC 18 months ago, rather than wasting time by referring it to a parliamentary committee she would later ignore.

In Victoria, VAD is legal in limited circumstances, and it has been legislated in Western Australia to begin in the middle of next year.