NATION Assisted death in next step
VICTORIA has become the first state in Australia to pass euthanasia legislation in its Lower House, with a final vote on legalising the scheme likely in mid- November.
The Andrews Government’s Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill will be considered by 40 Upper House MPs from October 31.
Opponents of the scheme, which would allow terminally ill Victorians to apply for lethal medication up to a year before their expected death, are now aggressively targeting Legislative Council members to vote “no” and stop the laws being enacted in 2019.
It is expected to be a tight vote, although there appear to be at least 19 rusted- on supporters and up to six other MPs who have expressed some level of support for voluntary euthanasia in the past.
A marathon 26- hour Legislative Assembly session that began on Thursday at 9.30am and culminated in a vote at 11.20am yesterday, saw the Bill pass to the Upper House 47 votes to 37.
State MPs who voted for the laws clapped and cheered, while emotional MPs who had not slept all night hugged and wiped away tears as they left the chamber.
Mr Andrews said he was proud of the way the debate was handled and praised Health Minister Jill Hennessy for the work she had done.
But the epic debate at the end of an emotional week saw tensions in the Labor Party boil over, with revelations a crude text message was inadvertently sent to James Merlino by Ms Hennessy as the Deputy Premier spoke against her Bill.
The text said: “He is a C U next Tuesday”, which is a colloquial phrase for c---.
Apparently realising her mistake, Ms Hennessy then added “or Wednesday next week”. The minister then said she would have her office organise a meeting, to which Mr Merlino wrote: “nice recovery”.
Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said there were clearly issues within the Government and the comments were “quite extraordinary”.
Former prime minister Paul Keating was quick to condemn the move.
He said it was a “truly sad moment for the whole country” and he hoped the Upper House would “beat this deeply regressive legislation”.
“What this means is that the civic guidance provided by the state, in our second- largest state, is voided when it comes to the protection of our most valuable asset,” Mr Keating said in a statement yesterday.
“To do or to cause to abrogate the core human instinct to survive and live, for the spirit to hang on against physical deprivations, is to turn one’s back on the compulsion built into the hundreds of thousands of years of our evolution.” A MAGISTRATE who admits he’s “very much a fan” of Masterchef has dished out a $ 1000 fine to the show’s celebrity judge George Calombaris for assaulting a man at the A- League grand final.
Magistrate Peter Miszalski was unsympathetic to the chef yesterday, convicting him and admonishing his aggressive behaviour.
Calombaris pleaded guilty in August to assaulting a 19- year- old fan at May’s season decider between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory at Allianz Stadium.
He was convicted of common assault and fined $ 1000 in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court. AN AUSTRALIAN man has spent 2 ½ months behind bars in Bali for allegedly stealing a pair of $ 425 Gucci sunglasses at Bali airport, claiming he did it unconsciously because he was a nervous flyer.
Thomas William Harman, ( pictured) a 31- year- old from Perth, is on trial in Denpasar District Court on stealing charges which carry a maximum five years in jail.
Harman was at the airport on July 30, about to fly home after a five- day holiday with a friend, when he tried on the glasses and walked from the shop wearing them without paying. He apologised and tried to pay for the glasses but the shop insisted on charging him.