THE Labor leader should not let this law be put back on the books.

NEW Prime Minister Julia Gillard will be called on to reveal more of her core beliefs, with the immediate test being the euthanasia bill that highlights a cultural divide in Western society.

Greens leader Bob Brown's decision to introduce a private member's bill to restore the power of parliaments in the Northern Territory and the ACT to legislate for euthanasia poses a political challenge for the minority Labor government and for Gillard.

Brown's bill in its mechanics deals with territory powers but its essence is to open the door to euthanasia in Australia.

The bill is facilitated under new parliamentary procedures and the Labor-Greens alliance.

Gillard has announced that Labor will allow a conscience vote but that cannot gainsay the political question: Will the Gillard government become the means to authorise legalised killing in Australia by abandoning the 1997 law of the national parliament?

Continues.....


http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/commentary/browns-euthanasia-bi...

As ethicist Margaret Somerville explains, Quote:

Adversely I think.

If not for the act of passing the bill itself, but for being seen as actively aligning too much with the left,'yet again'  at a time when Australians want her to counter-balance her weighty-left minority governments faction.

I don't think she'll pass it myself, though think she'll probably procrastinate, toy with it a little, just to keep Bob's idealists/followers dreams alive.

I think all he cares about is being 'seen' to be trying to pass it among eccentric ultra-left pro-euthanasia circles.... lets now call him Dr Death.

I reckon he'd know it's not viable.

......  It's one of those bills you put out there to create the illusion you are 'actively' representing the radicals who voted for you, to stop them causing problems in other areas, ie chaining themselves to coal plants and storming into shops removing baby formula from shelves, to stop them making public spectacles of themselves out of boredom in the name of their green political messiah "Bob Brown" .....for their doing so too often might not be such a good look media wise for an already shaky GALP alliance.

For this reason, I don't think Gillard will support the bill, if anything, she may even go the other way and stage her opposition to it, with Bobs permission of course.

Like a "See, I am not under the Greens thumb and can lead my own government" political exercise/stunt.

It's just parliamentary theatrics, keeps the far-left believing and dreaming.

Ms Gillard says Labor MPs will get a conscience vote on the issue.

But she feels "conflicted" about whether euthanasia should be legalised.

"I do find this a difficult question, sort of intellectually you would say well 'people should be able to make their own decisions'," Ms Gillard told Channel Ten.

"I find it almost impossible to conceptualise how there could be appropriate steps and safeguards, so I'm conflicted on it in that sense, so I think it's a very difficult question."


http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/09/26/3022122.htm

nichy wrote on Sep 30^th, 2010 at 3:39pm:



Pity the greens didn't spend a bit more time considering the implications and safeguards needed to kill someone.

Maybe he doesn't reckon they're natural greens voters, but killing them off would be popular with his other voters.