Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill passes upper house


11th May 2022

The Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill has passed the NSW Parliament’s Upper House tonight
by 20 votes to 17.

Opponents of the Bill, however, have tabled a series of amendments which will need to be debated before the legislation can become law. That debate will continue next Wednesday.

“I’m obviously very happy that people with a terminal illness will finally have a choice in how they spend their final days,” Mr Piper said.

“This is a momentous day for the many people who have campaigned for this reform over decades, including Dying With Dignity NSW and Go Gentle Australia, and of course my independent colleague the Member for Sydney Alex Greenwich.

“This is a safe bill. It’s a fair bill. It’s a bill which delivers on the rights of a person with a terminal illness. It’s something that a vast majority of the community has wanted.

“It’s also a bill which has now been supported by strong majorities in the NSW Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council, so it’s disappointing that opponents have now lodged a series of amendments which I believe are designed to delay this process even further.

“In this campaign, every day matters. The longer this is dragged out by opponents, the longer that people with a terminal illness will be left without a choice, and often in immeasurable pain that no amount of palliative care can fix.

“I also need to acknowledge many of the Labor MPs in the Hunter who co-sponsored this Bill. They include Sonia Hornery (Wallsend), Tim Crakanthorp (Newcastle), Jodie Harrison (Charlestown) and Jenny Aitchison (Maitland).

EDITOR’S NOTES:

  • The VAD Bill passed the Legislative Assembly in November by 52 votes to 32.
  • There are 42 members of the upper house. Of those, 25 spoke in favour of the Bill, but only 37 Members in total were in the House last night to vote due to illness or Covid.

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