Senate to debate bill giving territories euthanasia rights

More than two decades after the Northern Territory brought in the world’s first euthanasia legislation – only to have it overturned – the Senate is preparing to debate a bill that would allow the Northern Territory and ACT to legislate voluntary assisted dying.

Go Gentle Australia advocate Andrew Denton. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Dylan Coker

More than two decades after the Northern Territory brought in the world’s first euthanasia legislation – only to have it overturned – the Senate is preparing to debate a bill that would allow the Northern Territory and ACT to legislate voluntary assisted dying.

The move comes as NSW begins the lengthy process of implementing the framework for voluntary assisted dying before it becomes accessible for terminally ill patients on November 28, 2023.

In order to oversee the rollout, NSW Health has begun advertising a role for a senior project manager to head up its team, with a stated aim of “(making) sure voluntary assisted dying is safe, accessible and follows the law”.

Offering a salary between $157,540 and $176,641, the public servant role will report to the office of the chief health officer, overseeing the project for as long as two years.

Among the key challenges listed are: “Acknowledging and working constructively with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders and interest groups, many of which are diametrically opposed, in the development, implementation of voluntary assisted dying framework”.

Other states are well versed in the procedures. According to Victoria’s Department of Health, implementing VAD was a four-year, $25m project.

After legislation passed in 2017, the department established an implementation taskforce to help support and prepare for the bill to come into law.

In the two years following introduction of the laws on June 19 2019, 836 people were assessed for eligibility, and 331 people died.

Tasmania, Queensland and South Australia are also in the midst of lengthy VAD rollouts, having passed laws legalising it in 2021.

The NT’s right to legislate on euthanasia was struck down a year after it was introduced in 1995, as a bill introduced by then-Liberal MP Kevin Andrews saw the federal government exercise its right to overrule any laws passed by the two territories.

A private member’s bill aiming to overturn it was introduced to the House of Representatives by two Labor members on August 1, Canberra’s Alicia Payne and Darwin’s Luke Gosling, where it passed through to the Senate within two days.

With the resumption of parliament on Monday, the bill’s supporters will make the fourth effort to get VAD passed, after previous attempts in 2008, 2010 and 2018.

Advocates of VAD have expressed disappointment over the 18-month implementation periods in NSW and some other states. The lengthy wait is designed to ensure administrators and doctors are fully compliant with the laws.

Go Gentle Australia advocate Andrew Denton said while implementing VAD required a number of significant changes, the laws across Australia tended towards over-scrutiny.

“Doctors need to be trained to participate, information needs to be made available to the public and you need to establish systems within the hospitals. If you’ve got to err on the side of one thing, err on the side of safety and education, that’s certainly better than the reverse.

“There’s so much paperwork, though, so many requirements that make it a bit onerous to do. Doctors I have spoken to in Victoria say, ‘this is by far the most scrutinised thing we have ever done in medical practice’.”

Mr Denton said NSW had the benefit of using the lengthy implementation period to learn from the laws and processes other states before them employed.

“Other states have looked at Victoria and Western Australia and they’ve tried to take some of the difficult edges off those laws for their own.

“In Victoria, for instance, doctors aren’t allowed to raise the conversation first. As far as I understand, it’s the only medical procedure a doctor is not allowed to bring up with their patient.

“I think it’s going to be a while before the systems work smoothly. Passing the laws is only half of it, there’s no point having a law if it’s not working for the people for whom it’s intended.”

Dying With Dignity NSW chief executive Shayne Higson said the safeguards, while necessary, would leave patients suffering while waiting for the laws to come into effect. “There are people who will die before the law comes into effect,” she said.