Voluntary Assisted Dying

The Hon. S.W. KEY (Ashford) (15:23): I understand that there is work being done in Victoria with regard to voluntary assisted dying. I was very impressed to read about the work being done by the Victorian government's Ministerial Advisory Panel on Voluntary Assisted Dying. The panel consisted of the following members: Professor Brian Owler, who was the chair, is a neurosurgeon and immediate past president of the AMA; and Professor Margaret O'Connor AM, who was the deputy chair, is Professor of Nursing, Monash University, with a palliative care background.

Members were Ms Mary Draper, who has a background in health administration and clinical governance; Mr Julian Gardner AM, a lawyer and immediate past Victorian Public Advocate; Dr Roger Hunt, a palliative medicine consultant and also well known in South Australia; Emeritus Professor Ian Maddocks AM, first Chair of Palliative Medicine in Australia and first president of the Australian Association for Hospice and Palliative Care, another well-known South Australian; and Ms Tricia Malowney OAM, who is a health advocate for women with disabilities. The panel came up with recommendations to try to assist with the legislation that I understand the Victorian parliament will be considering.

It was also interesting to note that Premier Daniel Andrews accepted 66 of the panel's recommendations, and the panel published a 257-page report. Premier Andrews argued that, regardless of an individual's view on end-of-life choices:

The time has come to make some profound change and to no longer deny to those who want a more dignified end to their life, or at least want to know that that option is available to them. The time has come to stop denying them that.

He went on to say:

I've come to the conclusion that whether you would avail yourself of this option isn't really the point.

My advice is that the panel used the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 as a basis for its report and that seven human rights contained within that act were considered to be relevant to the voluntary assisted dying proposed legislation. They include:

the right to recognition and equality before the law, section 8;

the right to life, section 9;

the right to protection from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, section 10;

the right to privacy and reputation, section 13(a);

the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief, section 14(1);

the right to protection in the best interests of the child, section 17(2); and

the right to liberty and security of the person, section 21(1).

It is interesting to follow the different path taken by the Victorians, and there are a number of recommendations about what the legislation should look like. Some of the principles that are part of what is being proposed include:

every human life has equal value;

a person's autonomy should be respected;

a person has the right to be supported in making informed decisions about their medical treatment and should be given, in a manner that they understand, information about treatment options, including comfort and palliative care;

every person approaching the end of life has the right to quality care, to minimise their suffering and maximise their quality of life;

the therapeutic relationship between a person and their health practitioner should, wherever possible, be supported and maintained; and

open discussions about death and dying and people's preferences and values should be encouraged and promoted.

These are some of the points that have been taken into consideration by the Victorian government.