August 3, 2022
The Restoring Territory Rights Bill, which plans to overturn the 25-year-old ban on euthanasia legislation in the Northern Territory and ACT, was passed in the House of Representatives on Wednesday morning, 99 votes to 37.
The private members bill was briefly debated after being introduced into the lower house on Monday by Labor MPs Alicia Payne and Luke Gosling.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton were among the 99 MPs who supported the bill. However, Employment Minister Tony Burke was among the five Labor MPs who voted against it.
The bill aims to overturn the Euthanasia Laws Act 1997 which was introduced by Liberal backbencher Kevin Andrews after the Northern Territory became the first jurisdiction in the world to legalise euthanasia in 1995. The Andrews Bill has banned the Northern Territory and ACT from passing laws legalising euthanasia for the past 25 years.
The Restoring Territory Rights Bill will now pass to the Senate where it is excepted to face greater opposition.
