Career leads to support for VAD

DALE Last’s 25 years as a police officer has led to his decision to support the voluntary assisted dying legislation.

The Burdekin MP said while he would vote based on the views of his electorate, it was the number of suicides he responded to as a cop that spurred him to support the legislation.

Mr Last said while not every suicide he responded to was of a person with a terminal illness, most were. “In many cases, the victims took their own life because they’d run out of options,” Mr Last said.

“There was no support, counselling services or medical treatment available, and as a consequence, many of these people died in the most tragic and horrific of circumstances.”

Mr Last said when people thought about the impact on loved ones, emergency services, and those who witnessed the event, having voluntary assisted dying (VAD) might have made a difference.

“Voluntary assisted dying is not about convenience or saving money, it is about reducing the pain and discomfort as much as possible and about retaining dignity.”

While he supported the legislation, Mr Last said he supported the amendments Deputy Opposition Leader David Janetzki put forward.

Mr Janetzki tabled 54 amendments to the Bill, including additional restrictions and measures that would allow faith-based healthcare facilities to block residents from accessing voluntary assisted dying.

Mr Last said that one of the amendments was for only people suffering from a condition that was incurable to be eligible for voluntary assisted dying. “Not only does this address the risk of voluntary assisted dying being seen as convenient, it also means that as medical advances come to the fore, the legislation will keep pace,” he said.

Mr Last said no matter what, palliative care would have a place in the healthcare system. He said that in his own electorate there were no palliative care beds and the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2021 could present issues for rural, regional and remote medical practitioners.

“Every person approaching the end of life should be provided with high-quality care and treatment, including palliative care, to minimise the person’s suffering and maximise the person’s quality of life,” Mr Last said.

“The majority of my electorate would be classed as rural, which presents its own problems in terms of access to medical practitioners and of course, palliative care.

“There are huge holes in the provision of health care in our rural communities and this Bill, if passed, will present a number of issues and problems for those residents and healthcare workers living and working in those areas.”