Australian Greens leader Bob Brown plans to introduce a fresh Bill today to overturn the ban on the ACT Government's right to legalise euthanasia.
Senator Brown's Bill aims to repeal the Commonwealth Euthanasia Laws Act 1997 and thereby allow the Northern Territory and ACT to legislate for voluntary euthanasia.
The new Bill amends an earlier euthanasia Bill Senator Brown introduced in February.
A Senate committee delivered a report on the original Bill in June, with Labor senators saying they would support it with some amendments.
''Yesterday, the new Opposition Leader, Malcolm Turnbull, declared the Liberal Party stood for freedom of choice and respect for the individual,'' Senator Brown said.
''The Greens' Bill will restore the rights of territory parliaments to assist terminally ill people [to] choose a death with dignity. I hope both Malcolm Turnbull and [Prime Minister] Kevin Rudd will commit to a conscience vote when Parliament sits in October.''
Senator Brown's first Bill also called for the ACT and Northern Territory governments to be free to legislate for voluntary euthanasia.
Also in February, Senator Brown wrote to Mr Rudd and then Opposition leader Brendan Nelson seeking a conscience vote on his Rights of the Terminally Ill Bill 2008. The move aimed to ''restore legitimacy'' of the Northern Territory law allowing voluntary euthanasia for terminally ill patients under rigorous conditions.
The NT law, which came into effect in 1995, was overturned two years later by the Federal Parliament on the motion of then Coalition frontbencher Kevin Andrews.
The Commonwealth may veto territory laws.
In February, reports in The Canberra Times stated the ACT Chief Minister, Jon Stanhope, was unlikely to legislate soon to legalise euthanasia. But a spokesman for Mr Stanhope said, ''The Chief Minister's position is that the people of the ACT should be accorded the same respect as Australians in the states to determine these matters democratically and without Commonwealth interference.''
At the time, Mr Stanhope was described as not being in favour of euthanasia and therefore unlikely to support its introduction in the ACT.
But Senator Brown said all opinion polls, without exception, had shown ''huge majorities'' in favour of voluntary euthanasia.
ACT Liberal senator Gary Humphries echoed Mr Stanhope's stance that the Commonwealth should not prevent the ACT from making its own laws.
But he remained opposed to voluntary euthanasia in principle, saying he would be ''appalled'' if either territory allowed it.
The Member for Canberra, Annette Ellis, wanted to see the details of Senator Brown's Bill before committing herself, but restated her general support for voluntary euthanasia for the terminally ill under rigorous conditions.
ACT Labor senator Kate Lundy said she had not been approached by Senator Brown and looked forward to consultations. AAP
Email a friend