Labor MPs consider amendments amid conscience vote

Government sources who could not speak publicly were confident they had the numbers despite the conscience vote allowing the vote to be split.

But Coalition MPs, speaking anonymously on domestic matters, did not expect many of their colleagues to take to the floor to support the government bill in the upper house.

When the caucus last met two weeks ago, Children and Disability Minister Lizzie Blandthorn insisted the party’s conscientious voting rules allowed MPs to vote freely on procedural matters, said six sources who could not speak publicly about internal matters. Procedural votes may consider, for example, whether debate should be allowed after midnight or whether it should be adjourned.

Sources said Prime Minister Jacinta Allan and Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas told the party hall that conscientious votes would not involve procedural issues.

Blandthorn leads the Catholic-influenced SDA subgroup, which has three MPs in the upper house. Sources said Blandthorn, the government’s deputy leader in the upper house, argued at that meeting that the government’s proposal would reduce measures for vulnerable Victorians.

At least one MP left the meeting citing personal experiences.

Labor MPs will meet again on Tuesday morning.

As the first Australian state to legalize assisted dying, Victoria’s framework now has more onerous restrictions than other jurisdictions that followed.

Fowles, who is running as an independent after being forced out of the Labor Party in 2023, is proposing changes he hopes will be embraced by the Greens and left-wing Labor MPs.

He wants to eliminate waiting periods between prognosis and application for voluntary assisted dying, and for people with neurodegenerative conditions to be able to apply preventively.

Fowles also wanted to force hospitals, nursing homes and elder care facilities to protect patients’ right to choose, even if they are religious institutions.

He supported the government’s bill but said improvements could be made in line with other jurisdictions.

“No hospital or aged care provider can stand in the way of a legal choice,” he said. “This reform ensures that patient rights prevail over corporate interests.”

The Greens support the bill but are also putting forward their own changes. They want to remove the restriction that requires one in two doctors to evaluate a person’s suitability to be an expert on that patient’s disease, arguing that it poses a barrier to regions.

Greens’ health spokesman Dr. Sarah Mansfield said this would be a common-sense change that is already being implemented in other states.

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“As more people become eligible under these reforms, we will also need to ensure there are enough trained providers to meet demand so that no one is left without support at the end of life,” Mansfield said.

The bill is expected to pass the lower house easily, thanks to Labor’s significant majority and the support of the Greens and some Coalition MPs.

But there is less certainty about how the vote will fall in the upper house.

MPs whose constituencies or districts have significant faith communities are also under pressure.

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In April religious leaders from Victoria’s Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh communities called on the Allan government to abandon the changes.

This month, a joint letter from Catholic leaders including Melbourne Catholic Archbishop Peter Comensoli and Cardinal Mykola Bychok urged Victorians to write to their local MPs to oppose the changes.

“Rather than seeking to expand euthanasia and assisted suicide, we urge Members of Parliament to continue expanding access to good palliative care for all Victorians, especially those in the regions,” they wrote.

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