The 25-year fight to restore territory rights will be resolved in the next two weeks with the Senate to sit as long as it takes to reach a final vote.
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Finance Minister and ACT senator Katy Gallagher has reaffirmed time will be found in a packed final sitting fortnight of the year for a vote on repealing the ban on the territories making their own voluntary assisted dying laws.
Luke Gosling and Alicia Payne's private members bill to restore territory rights is scheduled to be debated for another hour in the upper house on Thursday morning.
If that's not enough time to reach a final vote, the government will need to find another slot.
Sources on both sides of the debate are anticipating the bill to pass, although there is an expectation the result will come down to a handful of votes.
The government is in talks with the crossbench to extend the sitting calendar so it can pass its packed legislative agenda before parliament rises, including its controversial industrial relations overhaul and a bill to establish an anti-corruption watchdog.
Senator Gallagher signalled the upper house could sit for the next two Fridays, creating time that could be used to vote on the territory rights bill.
Asked on ABC RN Breakfast if the territory rights bill would be brought to a vote, the former ACT chief minister was unequivocal.
"Yes, it will," she said.
"That is a clear commitment from us. This is something that I have been fighting for for 10 years.
"The Hours of Representatives dealt with the bill in a timely way, and it was overwhelmingly supported there.
"We will sit until that bill is resolved."
ACT independent senator David Pocock has been pushing Labor to bring the bill to a final vote as soon as possible.
Senator Pocock's camp is confident the numbers are there to repeal the so-called Andrews bill, but has been concerned that delays could open the door for opponents to convince senators to flip their position.
"I think the numbers are there, at the moment, and that's why it's important that it's put to a vote and not kicked down the road," Senator Pocock told The Canberra Times ahead of the sitting fortnight.
The major parties are allowing a conscience vote on the bill, meaning the result is harder to predict.
The outcome is likely to hinge on the number of supporters in Coalition ranks, and the number of opponents on the Labor side.
At least two Coalition senators have switched to the "yes" camp since the 2018 vote - Liberal frontbencher Jane Hume and former Defence minister Linda Reynolds.
Liberals Simon Birmingham and Andrew Bragg and deputy Nationals leader Perin Davey have publicly declared their support for repealing the bill.
In another significant development, WA Labor senator and euthanasia opponent Pat Dodson has chosen to abstain from the final vote, denying the "no" side a crucial vote.
The Canberra Times has been calling for the repeal of the Andrews bill as part of its Our Right to Decide campaign.
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
