Community consultation on voluntary assisted dying laws in the ACT is to be invited next year following the lifting of a 25-year-old Federal ban that prevented the residents of the Capital Territory from making the laws.
Welcoming the passage of the Restoring Territory Rights Bill 2022 through the Federal parliament, ACT’s Minister for Human Rights, Tara Cheyne said the Bill removed the constraints the Commonwealth Government placed on the legislative powers of the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory in 1997.
“For too long, Canberrans have been treated like second class citizens, with the laws preventing the Legislative Assembly and ACT community from considering an issue that deeply matters to them,” Ms Cheyne said.
“This became increasingly unconscionable as all six States progressively legislated for voluntary assisted dying,” she said.
“The passing of this Bill is a victory for democratic rights and human rights, and the result of a campaign more than a decade in the making.”
Ms Cheyne said that with the Federal veto now removed, the ACT Government would begin a consultation process in February to help shape what voluntary assisted dying laws will look like in the ACT.
She said that in 2018, Canberrans were surveyed on their views of voluntary assisted dying, with more than 80 per cent of respondents supporting end of life support.
The Minister said Government would use the Christmas and New Year period to refine and finalise the public consultation process, “which will include a detailed discussion paper and questions on which all interested stakeholders and the ACT community will be invited to have their say”.
“We are in a position of being able to draw on experiences from the laws which exist in the States, several of which are operational,” Ms Cheyne said.
“We also want the legislation to reflect the views and values of the Canberra community.”
She said that following consultation, Government planned to introduce a Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill to the ACT Legislative Assembly in the second half of 2023.
