Let the euthanasia debate rage

This article was published in The Australian 22 September 2010

Australian Greens leader Bob Brown will use the first extended private members time in the new parliament to re-introduce a bill to extend territory rights to legalise euthanasia.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has indicated that a conscience vote is likely for Labor MPs.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott has indicated that a conscience vote will probably be granted for Coalition MPs, too.

Abbott resisted the urge to push his own well-known views on this subject to his party, preferring to go for a bit of political point scoring: “Look, I’m not denying the concerns that people have in this area, but I think we need a parliament that focuses on bread and butter concerns, and the fact there is a minority government does not excuse the government from focusing on the bread and butter concerns of the Australian people.”

Welcome to Australia’s new parliament. It’s a scary place, especially for those in the major parties.