Category: <span>Australian</span>

Voluntary assisted dying law introduced but actual health scheme still at least 18 months away

Human Rights Minister Tara Cheyne introduced the proposed legislation to the Assembly on Tuesday (31 October). She said it was the greatest honour of her life.

“This bill is what we spent 25 years fighting for our Territory rights for,” she said.

“Voluntary assisted dying [VAD] is not an alternative to, nor does it detract from palliative care.

Submission to the ACT Gov Community Consultation on Voluntary Assisted Dying

DWDACT Inc. made a submission to the recent public enquiry by the ACT Government calling for ACT citizens to provide their views to it prior to the Legislative Assembly making laws regarding this matter. Our submission was drafted using the YourSay terms of reference and also responds to the questions asked in the discussion paper provided as a basis for responses.

The DWDACT Inc. submission also adds data from the ABS about deaths in the ACT and encourages the ACT Legislative Assembly to draft legislation that is consistent with the ACT Human Rights Act.

Starting the conversation about VAD Talking to your doctor

Queensland’s VAD law will become a reality on 1 January 2023. The QLD Health Implementation Unit is encouraging health practitioners -  doctors and nurses – to register their interest, check their eligibility and sign up for online training. Getting enough trained practitioners will be “critical to success”, says Prof. Keith…

Bulletin 27

In this final Bulletin for 2021 I hope to pull together some of the events that have occurred this year and to draw some conclusions for you about what they might mean for the future of the Dying with Dignity movement in the ACT. Earlier this year Minister Tara Cheyne…

Bulletin 26

Please find following a couple articles, one from the Right to Die newsletter from the US and one from the President of DWDNSW. I have reproduced in full the article from Colombia which was reprinted in the Right to Die Newsletter because it highlights my main concern about all the…

Bulletin 25

Jane Morris of Media Watch has presented her readers with such a comprehensive coverage of the Queensland vote for their VAD legislation that I have decided to copy it in full for you rather than condense it. The things I draw from her report to note is that the legislation…

Bulletin 24

The DWDACT committee has decided to cancel the two remaining meetings scheduled for this year i.e., the September 16 committee meeting and the General Meeting on October 21. It seems foolish to attempt meetings in circumstances we face with Covid 19, lockdowns and face masks. We are looking at alternative…