Assisted dying is a simple choice

I am grateful for the gift of life that has been mine and I hope that I have managed to make a good contribution to the society in which I live.

This being so, I don't want to live if a time arises when I have no quality of life. At this point, I want out immediately, and if there are no laws authorising Voluntary Euthanasia in Queensland where I live, then I fully intend to do everything I can to bring on a good heart attack.

I do not want to lie in bed like a vegetable and cause my family to make endless visits to my bedside to see someone who is simply not me, just an object of pity.

I want them to remember me as an active and happy achiever who enjoyed their company. Their last sight of me must not be awful.

And I want to save the nursing home fees so the money can be used to give my grandkids a great start in life.

Clearly, the best outcome is for the Queensland Government to make it legal for me to voluntarily take a tablet.

Typically and sadly, Queensland is the only Australian State never to debate Voluntary Euthanasia legislation. Every other State has tried, some several times, and finally Victoria won the battle last year, making a huge breakthrough about which I rejoiced. For some reason, Queensland tries to hang on to the past and fear the future, something our earliest pioneers definitely did not do. It's out of character.

Let us for a moment review the case for voluntary euthanasia.

We will all die one day. It is inevitable. So, why go to extremes in perpetuating life when there can be not enjoyment of it. What are a few months in the whole fabric of our existence.

I believe that I am entitled to a life choice and I have left a health directive where I declare that I want all the plugs pulled when my life has no quality. If that doesn't work, I want a tablet or a needle or I will keep holding my breath for a long time.

Opponents say that some children will use voluntary euthanasia to get their parents money as early as possible, but safeguards are in place in Victoria to stop this happening. It causes no problems for me, as I love and trust my family and have spoken to each one of them about my attitude to dying. They know and accept the circumstances when I want to go.

Others say that palliative care is so good that people can be kept painless for months while they await death. This is quite simply a nonsense. Underneath the sedatives, the patient is under great mental stress as they struggle with the pointlessness of it all and its utter indignity.