Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Former NT Chief Minister Marshall Perrron says seeing euthanasia laws overturned in Federal parliament was a historic moment, restoring democracy in the Territory after 25 years

Transcript

Former NT Chief Minister Marshall Perrron says seeing euthanasia laws overturned in Federal parliament was a historic moment, restoring democracy in the Territory after 25 years · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: As we have indeed been discussing this morning. Laws restricting
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: the Act and the Northern Territory from legalizing on voluntary
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: euthanasia have been repealed after more than two decades of
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: being in place. They're restoring. The Territory Rights Bill passed
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: Parliament last night and it overturned legislation which was put
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: forward by Liberal MP Kevin Andrews back in nineteen ninety
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: seven that precluded the territories from being able to debate
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: and pass voluntary assisted dying laws. And we know that
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory was well and truly ahead of its
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: time when when these well when our own law was
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: initially put in place all those years ago, and the
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: Chief Minister at the time was the Colp's Marshal Perron,
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: who joins me on the line. Good morning to you, Marshall.
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: Yeah, good morning Katy. Yeah. I'm a relief that it's
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: over twenty five years. It's been for Michelf and many
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: other advocates, and finally we had a Prime Minister who's
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: prepared to left, who was prepared bill come forwards for debate.
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: It was a private member's bill in Federal Parliament and
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: they normally don't get any time on the noticepaper to
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: be debated in the usual scheme of things. But and
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: the five previous Prime ministers to al Anthony Albanezi all
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: refused to let this matter come on for debate. But anyway,
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: it's been done now, so now up to the territories and.
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: Marshall, I understand that you were there in Parliament last
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: night in Canberra. How did it feel when it finally
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: sort of happened.
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: Well, mixed feelings Katie about it. Elation, Elation because that
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: it finally got through, and sadness for the people who
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: would have used the Northern Territory of legislation had it
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: remained on foot for twenty five years, and that's probably
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: a thousand people who've died badly who didn't have to. Yeah, yeah,
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: mixed feelings, mixed feelings about it. Passage. But at least
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: it's now up to the territory to decide whether or
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: not they want to go down this path as the
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: Australian states have.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: And that's what it's all about, isn't it. It's about
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: territorians actually being able to make that decision themselves rather
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: than you know, Polly's in Canberra making decisions for us.
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: Well, absolutely, and that is what it's all about. It's
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: been an assault on the democracy in the Northern Territory.
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: Any Australian who just happened to step over the border
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: and want to live in the Northern Territory or the
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: act where all of a suddenly denied an element of
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: democracy that every other Australian is entitled to. And that
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: has been a situation for twenty five years. And we
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: can blame John Howard and Kevin Andrews for that as
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: well as Tony Burke. They were the three men who
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: schemed and lobbied to get the law passed, that vetoed
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: the territories legislation and took away from both territories to
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: power to ever introduce it again. So it was a
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: religious based movement and it's now been defeated. Presidness, what
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: was it.
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: Like for you, you know, all those years ago when
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: obviously we've made that choice for ourselves here in the
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: territory and then you had, you know, you had those
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: politicians in camera over turn it.
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: Well, it was a great affront for a couple of reasons.
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: The Northern Territory law faced the gauntlet of a legal
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: challenge as to whether the Legislative Assembly had the legal
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: powers to pass voluntaries in Asia legislation. So it survived
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: that the Northern Territory Supreme Court agreed that the Assembly
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: did have the powers. And secondly, there was a section
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: in the Self Government Act that allowed the Governor General
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: to overturn any Northern Territory legislation within six months of
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: its passage through Parliament, and an application was made to
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: Prime Minister Keating to exercise his powers and recommend that
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: to the Governor General, and to his credit, Paul Keating
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: rejected the application on the basis that this was a
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: matter for territory and it was not for the Federal Parliament.
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: And so it survived those two gauntlets, the Rights of
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: the term Ill Act it was called. And it should
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: have rested there and simply got onto the job. Four
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: people used it to die comfortably while it was in force.
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: But as I say, forces in Canberra that were offended
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: by what the Territory had done were greater than the
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: forces against it.
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: Now Now, Marshall, I know that even last night there
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: were indeed amendments that were put forward to impose caveates
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: on the territories. How did you feel as you were
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: sort of seeing all of these unfold last night.
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: Well, yes, it was a bit of concern that amendments
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: were put forward that one delayed the process to some
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: degree and would have made the territory's powers different to
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: the States, and that's offensive and they were unnecessary and
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: in fact it was demonstrated on the floor of Parliament
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: that they actually wouldn't work. The amendments were poorly drafted.
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: Unfortunately were defeated. So all of that took up another
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: probably three quarters of an hour of debate, which we
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: didn't have to have before the bill finally was put
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: to the third reading, and following his passage there was
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: a standing ovation Marshall.
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: I also know that yesterday obviously the Act well, they've
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: their Chief Minister, Andrew Barr. He said that he's going
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: to look to legislate voluntary assisted dying within as soon
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: as twelve months. We had the Attorney General, Chancey Paike
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: on the show here in the Territory earlier this morning
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: and he said that he wants to ensure that there
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: is extensive consultation done and the reality is that really
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: it's not going to happen before the next Northern Territory
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: government election on the twenty fourth of August twenty twenty four,
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: do you reckon the government needs to show some courage
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: here and push forward more quickly than that.
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: Well, Katie, being a Queensland and now I'm reluctant to
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: past comment on that sort of politics in the Northern Territory.
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: That's up to territory, and the Legislative Assembly has an
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: electorate that's very much aware of this issue. I'm sure
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: they're very supportive of it and would like to get
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: on with the job. But it's entirely up to the
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: members of the Parliament, not just the government but all
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: the members of the Legislative Assembly to decide for themselves
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: the timing of any addressing this issue if they're going
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: just to do so. So what we've done is given
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: them the powers. They now have the status they had
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: in nineteen ninety seven and can get on with it
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: at their timing. So I'd rather not apply an any
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: of my view into that.
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: Well, Marshall parent, it is a great pleasure to speak
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: to this morning, and you must be feeling really relieved.
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: As you've said, it is an historic day for the
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: Northern territory today.
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: It is indeed, and I feel warm about that, even
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: though they were sad about the people that missed out.
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: Thanks Katie, thank you so much for your time this morning.
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much, Marshall