The ACT Assembly voted to write to Prime Minister Tony Abbott asking him to overturn a ban on the ability of the territories to make laws on euthanasia. The move was pushed by the Greens' Shane Rattenbury, who was supported by Labor.

The Liberals opposed the move, with Mr Hanson saying the Greens were trying to use the ACT as a gateway to get a euthanasia scheme legalised in Australia, having failed in other states.

It was naive to think the ACT should legalise euthanasia when it was banned in NSW, he said.

"It doesn't take much imagination to understand the consequences of us having a law like euthanasia enacted in the ACT when it is illegal in NSW and in every other Australian jurisdiction … the ACT essentially becoming the death capital of Australia."

Mr Rattenbury said Canberrans wanted the right to make choices over their own life and death.

"They believe that at the end of their life, at a time that is deeply personal and meaningful and often involves pain and suffering, they should have the right to die with dignity, how and when they choose," he said. "To many people there are few choices more important."

Banning the territories from making laws on the subject was an outrage, he said. It was anti-democratic, anachronistic and discriminated against Canberrans.

Mr Hanson has argued that the ACT is a small jurisdiction with no upper house, no governor, and fewer checks and balances than the states.

But Labor Minister Simon Corbell said the argument was ludicrous, with some states also having just one house, and governors never denying state or federal legislation.

"There is simply no legitimate argument to say that in a modern democracy a democratically elected parliament like the ACT's is somehow not sufficiently comprised or established or legitimate to consider a question such as euthanasia when exactly the same parliaments [in the states] can."

But it was not a foregone conclusion that the Assembly would legalise euthanasia if it could, he said. The issue is a conscience vote on both sides and Mr Corbell said his own views had "mellowed significantly" since he had last debated the question in 1997, when Independent Michael Moore devised a scheme.

"I remain to be convinced about whether or not you could construct a legislative scheme that would provide the appropriate protections needed for vulnerable people," he said. "I am particularly concerned about what it would mean for vulnerable people, the elderly, people with a disability and others who can be taken advantage of. We know that elder abuse is common in our community, and the law would have to be very strong to protect against cases of abuse."

Asked for clarification later, Mr Corbell said he still believed people in the terminal stage of a terminal illness should have access to voluntary euthanasia but his support was not as clear-cut as it once was.

Chief Minister Katy Gallagher said politicians were not keeping up with public opinion on euthanasia, with most Australians in favour.

She received emotional letters from families, written in desperation after they had witnessed the traumatic deaths of loved ones, and there was no easy way of telling them that the territory Parliament did not have the power to make laws on the issue.

"We would all like to believe that when someone dies, particularly with a terminal illness ... that their pain is able to be managed and their death is as peaceful as possible, and for the large part, many people dying from a terminal illness are able to be managed that way," she said.

"But let's not pretend that it's that way for everybody, particularly those who have strong views about how their life should end, and how traumatic that is for both them as an individual and for their family."

Thursday's motion would send a strong message to the Commonwealth, she said.