The campaign to restore voluntary assisted dying (VAD) rights in the Northern Territory has taken a step forward, with the current inquiry opening for public consultations until August 15.
When the Northern Territory Voluntary Assisted Dying Independent Expert Advisory Panel released its final report last year, it strongly recommended VAD again be made lawful. It made 22 key recommendations and provided a framework based on extensive consultations, including public hearings across multiple locations over eight months.
Justine Davis, Independent MP for Johnston, moved in May that the Country Liberal Party support the report’s recommendations to expedite a draft bill. Instead, the CLP referred the report to another inquiry, this time by the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, which was tasked with reporting back to the NT Legislative Assembly by the end of September.
That committee released a Consultation Paper and Short Consultation Guide on July 14, calling for submissions by August 15.
Key questions for response are: whether or not respondents support making VAD legal in the NT; what the eligibility criteria should be; how to ensure safe access for those eligible, including in remote areas and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders; and how best to monitor the program’s safety and effectiveness.
Northern Territory News reported on July 15 that depending on community interest, the inquiry will host hearings in a number of locations, including Ali Curung, Alice Springs, Ampilatwatja, Borroloola, Darwin, Galiwinku, Maningrida, Ngukurr, Papunya, Santa Teresa, Tennant Creek and Wurrumiyanga.
Having previously been criticised that the current inquiry into VAD was “reinventing the wheel”, the committee said the locations were chosen to supplement the work already done by the 2024 Expert Advisory Panel report, which held community consultations in Katherine, Alice Springs, Wadeye, Tennant Creek, Darwin and Palmerston.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro steadfastly refuses to state her personal position on VAD, but she has confirmed that Legislative Assembly members would have a conscience vote on any VAD law.
Dr Tanzil Rahman, chair of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, said they were making progress. “We look forward to consulting widely across the Territory in August, listening to the voices of Territorians and receiving submissions from everyone interested in VAD.”
Advocacy groups working to restore VAD rights to the NT include NT VES, NT COTA, as well as Dying With Dignity, Go Gentle Australia and Christians Supporting Choice for Voluntary Assisted Dying.
The NT was the first jurisdiction in the world to legislate VAD, with the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995. It is now a legal end-of-life option for eligible adults with a terminal illness in every other state and, from November, the ACT.
Now, in the only jurisdiction without it, terminally-ill Territorians will be hoping the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee will recognise it is time the NT’s world-first VAD rights are returned.