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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-05-19 Daily Xml
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CRIMINAL LAW CONSOLIDATION (MEDICAL DEFENCES—END OF LIFE ARRANGEMENTS) AMENDMENT BILL

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 5 May 2011.)

Mr BIGNELL (Mawson) (11:24): I rise today to speak on this very important matter before the house, and I would like to begin by thanking all those people who have contacted me at my electorate office with their views on either side of the debate. I think it is very important that we respect both sides of the debate. It is a very passionate subject and one that people have very strong feelings either way on. I really feel very much for those people who have contacted me with some quite often heartrending stories of their own personal experiences.

It is one of those issues that has been at the forefront of most of our minds for the past few years with various bills before this place. Last year, we were looking at a bill that did not make it into this chamber but did make it into the upper house. I remember ebbing and flowing on what my vote would be on that matter. It seemed that the more people you spoke to the harder the decision became. I attended a briefing last year, organised by Tom Kenyon and some Family First members, and it was very good to hear from some palliative care specialists and of their experiences and put palliative care into context.

It brought home an experience I had 10 years ago with my own father when he found out that he had three months to live. His first reaction was that he did not want to go through the pain of the three-month dying process. I guess something that we all have within our hearts is that we fear death and the pain associated with it, so dad's immediate reaction was to get on the phone and ring the voluntary euthanasia helpline. They were quite good. They did not counsel him any particular way; in fact, he found them very encouraging in that they did tell him to explore palliative care options but said, 'You might also want to read a book called The Final Exit.'

I went out and bought the book for him. It is subtitled, The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying. Dad wanted me to buy it, so I went to the store and bought it for him. In the intervening week, he had actually reconsidered his views on it. It is still in its wrapping and sits on my bookshelf in my parliament office as a reminder of my own dad's thoughts on the matter because it is something that is pretty hard to understand until you have lived through it or had a close relative live through it.

When we spoke to the palliative care specialists last year in parliament, they mentioned to us that when you do have that three months there is the chance of a miracle recovery, but there is also the chance for some bonding. That experience of dying, when shared with relatives, can actually add a dimension to a relationship. I know my personal experience was that at that stage I was working at the ABC as a sports journalist. I worked every weekend and had Tuesdays and Wednesdays off. My dad was a stock agent who had sales on Wednesdays, so his Tuesdays and Wednesdays were flat out.

He was 61, and you think that your dad is going to be around forever. What that three months did was give us the opportunity to spend practically every day together. My son, who was three at the time, and his other grandkids, also got to spend a lot of time with him. So, we need to bear in mind that that period can be quite an important time for those who are dying and the loved ones around them. I do not think I would have supported the bill that did not quite come to our house last year, but I do have great respect for the people who deliver palliative care in this state.

I think we are one of the leading states in the delivery of palliative care and I would hate for any action to be taken against a doctor or nurse who may in some way assist someone in the relief of pain and the process of dying. I can only talk about the experience I had, but dad's doctor was fantastic, and I would hate for anything to have ever happened to him, in the legal sense, because I know—well, I do not know exactly what he did—that he knew my dad's view and the family's view that dad was to suffer as little as possible. I cannot say for certain whether dad's death was brought forward, but we knew that that doctor was making the best decisions and providing the best care for my dad.

A couple of days before he died—we grew up in the South-East—dad wanted to go back to Penola, to Mary MacKillop's church to say his final prayers. This doctor sort of said, 'Look, Trev, you're not fit enough to do it, but we'll try a blood transfusion.' So, we all gathered on the Saturday morning of the June long weekend, 10 years ago—my sisters were in town from interstate—and the doctor did the blood transfusion. Then he came back in and said, 'Look, Trev, I'm afraid the blood transfusion hasn't really worked. You're not going to be strong enough to go.'

The SPEAKER: Just a moment, member for Mawson. Member for Ashford.

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