Council on the Ageing NT (COTA NT) has published a special edition of Seniors Voice focusing on VAD, ahead of the April-June issue,
The Northern Territory was the first jurisdiction in Australia to legislate Rights of the Terminally Ill (ROTI) in 1995. Now every other jurisdiction in the country has VAD legislation in place, when the Territory has none.
The Restoring Territory Rights Act 2022 paved the way for the territories to pass VAD laws and the ACT did this last year.
The NT took a slower approach, undertaking community consultation. This was completed in July 2024, with an expert panel recommending the NT introduce legislation “broadly consistent” with those in other states and the ACT.
- 73% of survey respondents out of a total of 1396 agreed that a person should be able to choose when they die.
- 89% of NT News readers said they supported Territorians being able to access VAD.
- 90% of COTA NT Members want VAD legislation in the Northern Territory.
However since being elected, NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has said that VAD is “not an immediate priority” for the government.
If Northern Territorians want VAD, they are going to have to make their voices heard, and loudly.
