Vote on NSW assisted dying Bill delayed

A vote on voluntary assisted dying in NSW has been unexpectedly delayed until next year.

NSW Independent MP Alex Greenwich. Picture: Joel Carrett

A vote on voluntary assisted dying in NSW has been unexpectedly delayed until next year, as the controversial bill’s author, Independent MP Alex Greenwich, warns that “dragging the debate on will only prolong ­people’s suffering”.

The bill was referred to an upper house committee on Tuesday, dashing the hopes of supporters that NSW would quickly come into line with other states on the issue.

NSW is now the only Australian jurisdiction without the right to die enshrined in law.

Mr Greenwich, who introduced the bill last week, was taken by surprise by the move, describing it as “a bit of a last-minute process in the Legislative Council.”

“I’ve been consulting widely on the bill and colleagues had not raised the need for an upper house inquiry but that is a matter for the Legislative Council,” he said.

The proposed legislation is still expected to be debated in the lower house this year. If it passes, the bill will then be examined by the upper house’s Committee on Law and Justice, which will report back by the first sitting day of 2022.

However, the government has yet to confirm when that debate will take place, and is not giving consideration of the bill any priority.

Mr Greenwich said he welcomed the chance for his parliamentary colleagues to hear from experts and the community but warned “the government urgen­tly needs to set a time frame for lower house debate this year so we can get on with the process”.

“Consecutive Labor and Coalition governments have always set timetables for matters of conscience that ensure every member of parliament can contribute to debate, and this parliament deserves the same respect.

“Dragging debate on will only prolong people’s suffering.”

Other supporters of the bill denied the move was intended to avoid a controversial debate during the early days of the new ­Perrottet government. Both the Premier and Labor leader Chris Minns have indicated they will vote against the bill, but will allow a conscience vote among party members.

Mr Greenwich, who pushed abortion reform through the state parliament two years ago, sparking a backbench revolt in the Liberal partyroom, introduced the private member’s legislation for voluntary assisted dying on Thursday last week.

One of the Labor co-sponsors of the bill, Adam Searle, supported the move to send the bill to a committee and said it would not slow down its passage.

Mr Searle said the move did not mean that the bill’s supporters in the upper house did not have the numbers to pass it.

“This was not a proxy vote on VAD”, he said. “This is a perfectly orthodox mechanism used by the upper house, and was used in abortion law reform to provide an even-handed resource for members. It didn’t slow down or stop that bill, and it won’t have any material bearing on the fate of this legislation.”