Advance Care Directives Bill
07/02/2013
The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (16:29): I will speak briefly today on Dignity for Disability’s support for the second reading of this bill and perhaps hope to contribute a little more in committee. I also hope to have heard from the new Minister for Health, the Hon. Jack Snelling, our colleague in the other place, about his position on the government proposing amendments as requested by the Australian Medical Association (AMA) and others. Whilst I congratulate minister Snelling on his move into the very important health portfolio, I think it is unfortunate for the passage of this bill that there has been a ministerial changeover whilst this bill is only halfway through the parliament.
Despite the fact that this bill has been some eight years in the making, and comprehensive public and professional consultation has been done by the Advance Care Directives Review from 2008 onwards, there seems to be confusion and opposition over both the intent and the effect of this bill, and much of it, I would suggest, is unfounded. Many health professionals, academics and bureaucrats in this area have spent years working through issues to ensure that the bill has the intended impact. It is time for legislation to progress through the parliament so that we can be brought into line with the agreed national framework in this area.
This bill has comprehensive supporters, such as UniSA Adjunct Professor Margaret Brown, and I thank her for the time she took to meet with me and my staff to share some of her immense knowledge and expertise in the area. She has more than 20 years of both academic and real world experience in the field. I believe that it is high time that we passed legislation which brings South Australia into the modern era and which consolidates other pieces of legislation.
People’s individual wishes when they are sick, injured or nearing end of life or, I would argue, at any time, should be respected and not put upon them by societal expectations and the desires of others around them. Self-autonomy should be assured. Of course, we all recognise that this is a sensitive subject and in no way an easy one to deal with, but I certainly see it as my job as a member of this parliament to advocate so that South Australians are able to live with dignity and autonomy, and I think it is high time that we recognised that death is a part of that life.
I also thank the government and SA Health for the early briefing on this legislation last November and for yesterday’s further briefing from relevant staff. I have received several letters from constituents opposed to this bill stating that they believe that it supports and encourages euthanasia, and they are opposed to it for those reasons.
I have also had Family Voice, Medicine with Morality and Doctors Opposed to Euthanasia echo these sentiments. I appreciate the concerns, and I understand that they are approaching this from the perspective that they believe it facilitates euthanasia, but I am afraid that I cannot agree with this view. I do not think that it opens the way to euthanasia, nor is it a backdoor method for introducing the same. I have received a larger volume of letters from constituents urging me to support this bill, and I also note that I very much appreciate that correspondence.
At this stage, I indicate my support for the second reading of the bill, and I look forward to further discussion and amendments that improve the impact of this bill in those stages.
