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Speaker 1: As we have indeed been discussing this morning. Laws restricting

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Speaker 1: the Act and the Northern Territory from legalizing on voluntary

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Speaker 1: euthanasia have been repealed after more than two decades of

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Speaker 1: being in place. They're restoring. The Territory Rights Bill passed

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Speaker 1: Parliament last night and it overturned legislation which was put

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Speaker 1: forward by Liberal MP Kevin Andrews back in nineteen ninety

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Speaker 1: seven that precluded the territories from being able to debate

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Speaker 1: and pass voluntary assisted dying laws. And we know that

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory was well and truly ahead of its

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Speaker 1: time when when these well when our own law was

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Speaker 1: initially put in place all those years ago, and the

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Speaker 1: Chief Minister at the time was the Colp's Marshal Perron,

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Speaker 1: who joins me on the line. Good morning to you, Marshall.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, good morning Katy. Yeah. I'm a relief that it's

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Speaker 2: over twenty five years. It's been for Michelf and many

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Speaker 2: other advocates, and finally we had a Prime Minister who's

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Speaker 2: prepared to left, who was prepared bill come forwards for debate.

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Speaker 2: It was a private member's bill in Federal Parliament and

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Speaker 2: they normally don't get any time on the noticepaper to

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Speaker 2: be debated in the usual scheme of things. But and

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Speaker 2: the five previous Prime ministers to al Anthony Albanezi all

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Speaker 2: refused to let this matter come on for debate. But anyway,

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Speaker 2: it's been done now, so now up to the territories and.

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Speaker 1: Marshall, I understand that you were there in Parliament last

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Speaker 1: night in Canberra. How did it feel when it finally

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Speaker 1: sort of happened.

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Speaker 2: Well, mixed feelings Katie about it. Elation, Elation because that

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Speaker 2: it finally got through, and sadness for the people who

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Speaker 2: would have used the Northern Territory of legislation had it

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Speaker 2: remained on foot for twenty five years, and that's probably

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Speaker 2: a thousand people who've died badly who didn't have to. Yeah, yeah,

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Speaker 2: mixed feelings, mixed feelings about it. Passage. But at least

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Speaker 2: it's now up to the territory to decide whether or

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Speaker 2: not they want to go down this path as the

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Speaker 2: Australian states have.

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Speaker 1: And that's what it's all about, isn't it. It's about

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Speaker 1: territorians actually being able to make that decision themselves rather

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Speaker 1: than you know, Polly's in Canberra making decisions for us.

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Speaker 2: Well, absolutely, and that is what it's all about. It's

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Speaker 2: been an assault on the democracy in the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 2: Any Australian who just happened to step over the border

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Speaker 2: and want to live in the Northern Territory or the

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Speaker 2: act where all of a suddenly denied an element of

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Speaker 2: democracy that every other Australian is entitled to. And that

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Speaker 2: has been a situation for twenty five years. And we

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Speaker 2: can blame John Howard and Kevin Andrews for that as

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Speaker 2: well as Tony Burke. They were the three men who

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Speaker 2: schemed and lobbied to get the law passed, that vetoed

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Speaker 2: the territories legislation and took away from both territories to

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Speaker 2: power to ever introduce it again. So it was a

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Speaker 2: religious based movement and it's now been defeated. Presidness, what

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Speaker 2: was it.

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Speaker 1: Like for you, you know, all those years ago when

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Speaker 1: obviously we've made that choice for ourselves here in the

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Speaker 1: territory and then you had, you know, you had those

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Speaker 1: politicians in camera over turn it.

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Speaker 2: Well, it was a great affront for a couple of reasons.

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Speaker 2: The Northern Territory law faced the gauntlet of a legal

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Speaker 2: challenge as to whether the Legislative Assembly had the legal

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Speaker 2: powers to pass voluntaries in Asia legislation. So it survived

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Speaker 2: that the Northern Territory Supreme Court agreed that the Assembly

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Speaker 2: did have the powers. And secondly, there was a section

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Speaker 2: in the Self Government Act that allowed the Governor General

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Speaker 2: to overturn any Northern Territory legislation within six months of

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Speaker 2: its passage through Parliament, and an application was made to

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Speaker 2: Prime Minister Keating to exercise his powers and recommend that

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Speaker 2: to the Governor General, and to his credit, Paul Keating

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Speaker 2: rejected the application on the basis that this was a

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Speaker 2: matter for territory and it was not for the Federal Parliament.

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Speaker 2: And so it survived those two gauntlets, the Rights of

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Speaker 2: the term Ill Act it was called. And it should

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Speaker 2: have rested there and simply got onto the job. Four

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Speaker 2: people used it to die comfortably while it was in force.

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Speaker 2: But as I say, forces in Canberra that were offended

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Speaker 2: by what the Territory had done were greater than the

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Speaker 2: forces against it.

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Speaker 1: Now Now, Marshall, I know that even last night there

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Speaker 1: were indeed amendments that were put forward to impose caveates

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Speaker 1: on the territories. How did you feel as you were

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Speaker 1: sort of seeing all of these unfold last night.

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Speaker 2: Well, yes, it was a bit of concern that amendments

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Speaker 2: were put forward that one delayed the process to some

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Speaker 2: degree and would have made the territory's powers different to

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Speaker 2: the States, and that's offensive and they were unnecessary and

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Speaker 2: in fact it was demonstrated on the floor of Parliament

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Speaker 2: that they actually wouldn't work. The amendments were poorly drafted.

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Speaker 2: Unfortunately were defeated. So all of that took up another

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Speaker 2: probably three quarters of an hour of debate, which we

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Speaker 2: didn't have to have before the bill finally was put

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Speaker 2: to the third reading, and following his passage there was

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Speaker 2: a standing ovation Marshall.

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Speaker 1: I also know that yesterday obviously the Act well, they've

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Speaker 1: their Chief Minister, Andrew Barr. He said that he's going

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Speaker 1: to look to legislate voluntary assisted dying within as soon

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Speaker 1: as twelve months. We had the Attorney General, Chancey Paike

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Speaker 1: on the show here in the Territory earlier this morning

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Speaker 1: and he said that he wants to ensure that there

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Speaker 1: is extensive consultation done and the reality is that really

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Speaker 1: it's not going to happen before the next Northern Territory

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Speaker 1: government election on the twenty fourth of August twenty twenty four,

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Speaker 1: do you reckon the government needs to show some courage

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Speaker 1: here and push forward more quickly than that.

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Speaker 2: Well, Katie, being a Queensland and now I'm reluctant to

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Speaker 2: past comment on that sort of politics in the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 2: That's up to territory, and the Legislative Assembly has an

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Speaker 2: electorate that's very much aware of this issue. I'm sure

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Speaker 2: they're very supportive of it and would like to get

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Speaker 2: on with the job. But it's entirely up to the

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Speaker 2: members of the Parliament, not just the government but all

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Speaker 2: the members of the Legislative Assembly to decide for themselves

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Speaker 2: the timing of any addressing this issue if they're going

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Speaker 2: just to do so. So what we've done is given

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Speaker 2: them the powers. They now have the status they had

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Speaker 2: in nineteen ninety seven and can get on with it

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Speaker 2: at their timing. So I'd rather not apply an any

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Speaker 2: of my view into that.

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Speaker 1: Well, Marshall parent, it is a great pleasure to speak

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Speaker 1: to this morning, and you must be feeling really relieved.

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Speaker 1: As you've said, it is an historic day for the

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Speaker 1: Northern territory today.

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Speaker 2: It is indeed, and I feel warm about that, even

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Speaker 2: though they were sad about the people that missed out.

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Speaker 1: Thanks Katie, thank you so much for your time this morning.

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Speaker 1: Thanks so much, Marshall