Senator Pat Dodson has flipped on his previous attempts to block off territories legislating for voluntary assisted dying, now saying he does not want to stand in their way.
The West Australian Labor senator confirmed that despite his spiritual opposition to euthanasia he will abstain on the private members bill currently before the Parliament that would restore the rights of territories to decide for themselves.
"I would not want to be the one person who's 'no' vote sank this legislation," he told the Senate on Thursday.
He said that adequate safeguards had been written into the laws in the six states, and the widespread non-Indigenous support for voluntary assisted dying was a factor in his decision to abstain from the vote.
The prominent Indigenous figure blasted Christian lobbyist attempts to persuade First Nations people that blocking voluntary assisted dying would prevent Indigenous deaths, while "peddling offensive propaganda" that belittles a First Nations' Voice to Parliament.
He cited two recent videos featuring Australian Christian Lobby managing director Martyn Iles, in which he described the Voice as a "cancer" and railed against welcome to country activities.
"I've been distressed by these scornful, hateful diatribes from so called Christians who are prepared to recruit First Nations peoples to support a campaign against euthanasia."
The senator was one of seven 'no' votes from Labor's side during a previous attempt in 2017 to overturn the federal restrictions. Each switching vote could be critical in deciding the outcome of the conscience vote on the new legislation that has already cleared the House of Representatives.
Another Indigenous senator, Northern Territory's Jacinta Nampijinpa Price will vote against the legislation, she told the Senate on Thursday. It was the first time the Country Liberal Party senator had put her views on record.
"Voluntary assisted dying is incompatible with the closing the gap health and wellbeing targets," she told the Senate, including the target of closing the gap in life expectancy within a generation by 2031 and the target of significant and sustained reduction of suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people towards zero.
Senator Price said that the Northern Territory government, which would have the power to debate and legislate voluntary assisted dying if the bill before the Senate passed, had "recently acted contrary" to its duty to protect the lives of Indigenous people in the territory. She said by the territory government citing human rights as the basis for lifting some restrictions on the consumption of alcohol in remote communities, lives were negatively disrupted by the return of alcohol-fuelled violence.
"You can forgive me for having no faith or confidence that this current Northern Territory Labor Government is capable of determining your legislation that lends itself to ending the lives of human beings," she said.
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