A question of conscience

It is, and should remain, a matter for the parliament.

And that is why, in the upcoming vote on the Hartland motion that may be resolved as early as next Wednesday (15th of April), at the very least, each and every member of the Victorian Upper House should be able to vote according to his or her conscience. That way one could at least arrive at a conclusion that the chamber, on balance, thought that the idea had some merit.

Make no mistake, voting on the Hartland motion is not simply procedural as some have falsely claimed. Even though members will be voting without any real chance to examine the issue themselves in any depth, they will still be voting to effectively charge the VLRC with the role of designing legislation. It is about euthanasia!

We welcome any genuine parliamentary inquiry. The last major inquiry of substance that did not relate to any particular bill occurred in Tasmania in 1998. That inquiry was unanimous in recommending that Tasmania not adopt any euthanasia legislation. Since that time, developments in places where euthanasia is legal have only served to reinforce those findings.