Thursday, 20 June 2024

Dying with Dignity Victoria

Ryan BATCHELOR (Southern Metropolitan) (10:11): This year marks the 50th anniversary of Dying with Dignity Victoria. Dying with Dignity provides services for people with untreatable, painful or terminal illnesses and provides their families with support and education in end-of-life choices. No family wants to have to make this choice, but organisations like Dying with Dignity play an important part in relieving distress, helplessness and suffering for all Victorians. Everyone deserves the right to choose to end their life on their terms and not by their illness, and through the support networks of organisations like Dying with Dignity families can prepare to come to terms with their loved one’s decisions.

This week also marks five years since the commencement of Victoria’s voluntary assisted dying legislation. Victoria’s first-in-the-nation voluntary assisted dying laws gave those with incurable illnesses a compassionate choice at the end of their life. I was proud to support a celebration of Dying with Dignity in Parliament House last night to mark both of these milestones, and tributes flowed for those across the Parliament who helped bring about this landmark reform.

On a very personal level, I am proud to continue the support of this cause on behalf of the late Dorothy Reading, of whom I spoke in my first speech, my father’s partner of 35 years. She was a board member at Dying with Dignity and a strategist who helped make this a reality, and who passed – who died, I should say; she did not pass, she died – just a week before these laws commenced. We will continue to offer them our support.