Committee formally recommends NT government adopt voluntary assisted dying
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Judy Dent remembers the day her terminally ill husband Bob told her he had enough.
Bob Dent had been suffering from incurable prostate cancer for nearly five years, and by that stage Judy said Bob was only half living.
"It got to the stage where managing the pain meant that he couldn't see, he couldn't hear, he couldn't do anything," she said.
In September 1996, Bob Dent became the first person in the world to die through legally accessible voluntary assisted dying (VAD).
He was able to access the health service after the Northern Territory — under then-chief minister Marshall Perron — passed the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act in 1995.
It was a piece of legislation that made the territory the first place in the world to allow terminally ill patients to have control over when and how they died.
So, after a Sunday lunch with doctor Philip Nitschke, in a bed set up on the verandah of Bob and Judy's Darwin home, Dr Nitschke asked Bob a series of three questions.
"Bob said 'yes … yes … yes' and then the fluid started going into his arm," Judy said.
"Almost instantly the pain signs disappeared from his face and he just looked peaceful."
Judy held Bob's hand all the while.
A year after Bob died, the federal government intervened and overturned the Perron government's law, stripping the Northern Territory of its power to allow voluntary assisted dying.
That remained the case for 25 years, until the federal government repealed the ban in 2022, giving the NT and ACT the ability to pass VAD legislation.
With all other Australian states and territories having now legalised VAD, the NT remains the only jurisdiction in the country that has not.
In May, the NT government tasked a parliamentary committee with consulting communities across the territory on the issue and, if recommended, providing drafting instructions for a new law.
The committee has now tabled its report, recommending "VAD legislation be adopted in the NT".
The drafting instructions, aimed at shaping an NT-specific framework, included not requiring there to be a timeframe on a person's prognosis — or no fixed "months to live" requirement.
The NT has the nation's highest proportion of Indigenous Australians, and many people live in remote areas.
Written by Matthew Qvortrup, ABC News.
Bob Dent had been suffering from incurable prostate cancer for nearly five years, and by that stage Judy said Bob was only half living.
"It got to the stage where managing the pain meant that he couldn't see, he couldn't hear, he couldn't do anything," she said.
Judy Dent's husband was the first person to die from a legal, voluntary lethal injection, and she has remained a VAD advocate since his death. (ABC News: Peter Garnish)
In September 1996, Bob Dent became the first person in the world to die through legally accessible voluntary assisted dying (VAD).
He was able to access the health service after the Northern Territory — under then-chief minister Marshall Perron — passed the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act in 1995.
In 1995, then-chief minister Marshall Perron's successful private members bill made the Northern Territory the first jurisdiction in the world to allow access to voluntary assisted dying.
It was a piece of legislation that made the territory the first place in the world to allow terminally ill patients to have control over when and how they died.
So, after a Sunday lunch with doctor Philip Nitschke, in a bed set up on the verandah of Bob and Judy's Darwin home, Dr Nitschke asked Bob a series of three questions.
"Bob said 'yes … yes … yes' and then the fluid started going into his arm," Judy said.
"Almost instantly the pain signs disappeared from his face and he just looked peaceful."
Judy held Bob's hand all the while.
Judy Dent believes there is community support for the introduction of VAD in the NT. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)
A year after Bob died, the federal government intervened and overturned the Perron government's law, stripping the Northern Territory of its power to allow voluntary assisted dying.
That remained the case for 25 years, until the federal government repealed the ban in 2022, giving the NT and ACT the ability to pass VAD legislation.
With all other Australian states and territories having now legalised VAD, the NT remains the only jurisdiction in the country that has not.
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In May, the NT government tasked a parliamentary committee with consulting communities across the territory on the issue and, if recommended, providing drafting instructions for a new law.
The committee has now tabled its report, recommending "VAD legislation be adopted in the NT".
The drafting instructions, aimed at shaping an NT-specific framework, included not requiring there to be a timeframe on a person's prognosis — or no fixed "months to live" requirement.
The NT has the nation's highest proportion of Indigenous Australians, and many people live in remote areas.
Written by Matthew Qvortrup, ABC News.
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