Released 31/03/2021
Today in the ACT Legislative Assembly, a motion sponsored by representatives of ACT Labor, ACT Greens and the Canberra Liberals has called on Federal Parliament to restore Territory rights to the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory.
Minister Tara Cheyne, Minister Shane Rattenbury and Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee MLA have jointly called on the Federal Parliament to introduce and bring on for debate a Bill to remove provisions from the ACT’s Self-Government Act which ban it from legislating voluntary assisted dying.
The motion, which passed unanimously, draws attention to the inequity between the states and territories, highlighting that by mid-2021, all Australian states will have either passed legislation relating to voluntary assisted dying or have a Bill before their parliament.
The motion follows a letter Minister Cheyne and the Northern Territory Attorney-General wrote to Commonwealth Government Ministers earlier this month.
“In that letter, we stressed our deep concerns regarding the persistence of this inequitable situation,” Minister Cheyne said.
“No Australian citizen should be disadvantaged or discriminated against with respect to democratic or human rights on the basis of where they live. That this situation persists may be incompatible with Australia’s international human rights obligations.
“By bringing this to the attention of the entire Federal Parliament, we are appealing to them to prioritise resolving this unfair and untenable situation.”
Minister Rattenbury said: “From all sides of the Assembly we’re standing together to say that we should be able to debate this issue. Canberrans must be able to govern for Canberra and the Commonwealth is doing a disservice to democracy by continuing to silence debate in the ACT.”
The motion invites all interested Members of the Legislative Assembly to sign a letter to all Members and Senators of Federal Parliament by the end of the sitting week.
- Statement ends -
Tara Cheyne, MLA | Media Releases