Danger of euthanasia ‘criteria creep’
Credit is to be given to Hamish Walker for arranging the debate regarding the End of Life Choice Bill in Gore last Monday.
As Rachael Kelly reported (October 1), Michael Laws, speaking in favour of the bill, was emotional when describing his mother’s advanced dementia.
He also spoke of his distress when his 3-year-old daughter was diagnosed with leukaemia several years ago. Not wanting her to suffer, he ‘‘explored options with doctors’’.
But surely neither of these undoubtedly distressing situations is relevant to the issue, for neither would meet the criteria allowing a doctor to terminate their lives as proposed by the bill.
Dementia of itself is not a terminal illness and by definition those suffering from severe dementia are not capable of authorising someone else to end their life.
No doubt it is stressful for relatives and friends, but that is another matter.
Someone might ask well before their dementia takes hold that they would prefer their life to be ended later on.
But that would not fall within the provisions of the bill.
Similarly, a 3-year old child could not be considered able to make an informed decision requesting her life be terminated.
Thankfully in the case of the girl in question, now a teenager, the doctors were clearly mistaken in thinking she would not live long.
Laws certainly won the sympathy of his listeners.
But the very fact that he stressed these distressing cases which are not covered by the proposed ‘‘protections’’ of the bill should alert us to the danger of ‘‘criteria creep’’ were euthanasia to be legalised in New Zealand.
D J Wynn-Williams
ICC funds in reserve
At this week’s council meeting, there was approval by councillors for Invercargill City Council to employ an additional (and new position) roading manager, at a cost of $100,000 and this ‘‘would probably result in an overspend this year ‘‘ in that division.
For me, that was not the issue. If the position is needed, it is needed.
But rather, where does the funding come from ?
When I look at the ICC animal services budget report, I note that they have $250,000 in their reserve fund. I suspect this is ring-fenced only for animal services and comes mainly from dog registrations, fines and impounding fees.
Why not release some of it to fund the new roading manager position as opposed to running over budget in another division?
I suspect ICC does not want to be using animal services revenue to fund other services in case it is seen as a ‘‘money-making’’ service.
If that is their view, they should lower the registration fees until at least $150,000 of the reserve is used up.
Any reduced registration rate, would encourage registration (and lower the number of unregistered dogs) and offset the 4.91 per cent rate increase.
For too long, we are asked for additional rates to meet operational funding, while ICC has funds tucked away in reserves (ICC bank accounts).
This matter needs a close look before next year’s rates are implemented.
Nobby Clark
Well, who would have thought the Auckland Island pigs would be back on the menu or, should I say, back on the council agenda?
I had told their story on numerous civic occasions but when Eric Roy (MP at the time) threatened to hurl himself off the ater tower if I mentioned my pigs one more time, I filed them in the council’s cold case department down in the basement.
It all started in 1998 when a council staff member who also supported the Rare Breeds Conservation Trust came to seek my support for an expedition to the Auckland Islands (in the subantarctic) to rescue some pigs.
He explained that the trust had all the funding in place except for the cost of feeding the pigs if they managed to successfully save them before the Department of Conservation killed them all because they were eating too many sea bird eggs.
The Rare Breeds Conservation Trust estimated the cost of feeding the pigs would be $1200 and asked if the money could come from the Mayor’s Contingency Fund.
It seemed like a modest request so I agreed. Unfortunately, when the pigs arrived in Invercargill and were introduced to wheat, maze, swedes and our subtropical climate, their breeding increased tenfold.
By Christmas there were 96 Auckland Island pigs laughing, burping and feasting on the Mayor’s Contingency Fund, and the cost of feeding them had increased to $13,000.
I was only saved by Professor Bob Elliott who publicly announced that thanks to Invercargill’s Auckland Island pigs, medical science would benefit because the pigs were the most disease-free mammals on earth.
His company, Living Cell Technologies built a $3 million pigbreeding facility in Awarua and employed eight staff to run it.
Nonetheless the Invercargill Ratepayers Association, affectionately known as the IRA, was outraged. Medical science was not a core business of council, they announced.
Even my own councillors went into a headlong retreat.
They took the Mayor’s Contingency Fund off me and renamed it the Councillors’ Contingency Fund.
The research first focused on diabetes, then neurological diseases (such as MS) and now kidney transplants.
Let me assure you that even if
By Christmas there were 96 Auckland Island pigs laughing, burping and feasting on the Mayor’s Contingency Fund, and the cost of feeding them had increased to $13,000.
one of these modern-day plagues successfully passes the rigours of human trials, I’ll be demanding the reinstatement of the Mayor’s Contingency Fund.
Yet another ghost from the past to emerge this week was Invercargill’s Airport. It’s a brilliant strategic asset that has a new, smart, efficient terminal and is running at a profit.
In 1994 our airport was a cot case. The Southland District Council couldn’t get rid of its shares quick enough and sold its 25 per cent stake in the airport to the Invercargill City Council for $747,890.
I strongly believed that our city should develop this asset as an international airport with direct flights to the Gold Coast in Australia.
We signed an agreement to launch trans-Tasman flights with Clyde Harding, of Travel Marvel, but two months later he suddenly died of a heart attack and our dreams were shattered.
John Wright and my Deputy Mayor Dougal Soper were rocksolid supporters of the project and at least we had lengthened the runway.
To our delight we became the alternative airport for Queenstown until Air New Zealand and Qantas developed modern radar technology.
One aspect of concrete I appreciate is that it’s really difficult to move and we have one of the longest runways in New Zealand.
Whether it’s Auckland Island pigs, our airport or even a war memorial museum in France, I’m sure that with determination, patience, resilience and commitment, we will ultimately succeed.
❚ Tim Shadbolt is Mayor of Invercargill.