Wednesday, 13 November 2024

Voluntary assisted dying

Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (09:53): Last fortnight I had the opportunity to attend the second voluntary assisted dying (VAD) conference hosted by Go Gentle in Brisbane. It was wonderful to join advocates, doctors, nurses, palliative care specialists and policymakers at what was a rich and thought-provoking conference. It is incredible to reflect on just how far we have come, with voluntary assisted dying now legal in every state and territory apart from the Northern Territory and having provided many people with a terminal illness and their families choice and dignity at end of life.

The conference took the key challenges from across the jurisdictions head-on. In Victoria in particular there are significant barriers in our existing laws preventing access and there were many calls throughout the conference for these to be addressed. We heard from expert panels discussing the tension that exists in some areas of service provision and celebrating the achievements of partnerships and truly patient-centred work in others. We also heard the moving personal story of Laury Colgan, and I want to thank Laury for the grace with which she shared her late husband’s VAD experience with the audience. Her story will be an enduring reminder for the work that is still to be done to ensure that people in Victoria and all over the country can access a dignified death.