In March our post referenced the situation in NSW where the state is running out of grave sites.

Today what is a grave situation for many people is they don’t have the choice to access voluntary medically assisted dying. Thankfully the good folks of Victoria have better access than most other Australians. This story was broadcast on ABC Radio National on Wednesday 5 May, 2021. Our host is Paul Barclay.

Victoria was the first state in Australia to legalise Voluntary Assisted Dying. The law came into effect in 2019.  Western Australian and Tasmania have now passed similar laws, but they are yet to take effect.  After nearly two years of operation in Victoria, how are the laws working, and where is the debate at?  Paul Barclay asks a panel of speakers.

Presented by The Wheeler Centre. Recorded on April 20, 2021.

Speakers:

Andrew Denton – Television broadcaster and producer; founder of Go Gentle Australia; advocate for better end of life choices in Australia.

Justice Betty King QC – Chairperson, Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board; former judge, Supreme Court of Victoria.

Associate Professor Phillip Parente – medical oncologist, Director, Cancer Services, Eastern Health.

Ron Poole – idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis sufferer; has elected to pursue Voluntary Assisted Dying, after receiving a prognosis of having less than 6 months left to live.

Duration: 55min 39sec

Listen to the program at this link: Voluntary Assisted Dying: how are Victorian laws working?