Michelle Rowland raises elder abuse concerns as Labor pushes to expand telehealth access
Labor members want the government to remove the legal barrier to voluntary assisted dying that prevents doctors talking to patients via telehealth, but Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said she remained concerned about loosening guardrails if it led to elder abuse.
While a majority of delegates at Labour’s national conference in Adelaide on Friday voted to amend the criminal code in relation to euthanasia, they included a guarantee in the party constitution that a conscience vote on the issue would always be allowed.
This will be the second issue guaranteed a conscience vote in Labor Party rules, after abortion. The proposal to expand telehealth to voluntary assisted dying was the only issue with official dissenting statements in the conference room Friday afternoon.
While this is primarily a state matter, doctors advising patients on euthanasia via telehealth or over the phone have been at risk of prosecution since the Federal Court ruled in 2023 that voluntary assisted death is considered suicide under Commonwealth criminal law.
The decision clarified a previously gray area and meant that doctors could be charged under federal laws that prohibit the use of a transportation service such as telehealth, email or phone calls to promote suicide or provide information about suicide.
This may include a single phone call over months of consultation; This meant the decision risked restricting access for terminally ill Australians in rural and regional areas who had to travel long distances to speak to a qualified doctor in person.
State governments have been pushing the Commonwealth to change the law for years. But Catholic Health Australia warned that allowing telehealth for assisted dying would make it more accessible than ordinary end-of-life and palliative care in regional areas.
A line added to the party’s national policy platform on Friday said: “Labour will remove existing barriers in federal law to the provision of end-of-life care (including via telehealth) as part of legal access to voluntary assisted dying in the states and territories, while maintaining appropriate clinical safeguards.”
One of the speakers, NSW MP Sally Quinnell, opposed the motion. “When voluntary assisted dying was adopted and introduced and discussed for many years, many people who had serious concerns about its passage were told there would be strong guardrails,” he said.
“We must now be careful not to slowly remove these guardrails… I think we can all agree that this is a complex, nuanced issue and should not be done over a Zoom call. This happens in person with empathy, careful listening, and human interaction.”
Although the party’s constitution was changed in the next decision to prevent MPs from adhering to this position, the motion was still accepted by a majority vote.
Rowland, who introduced the conscientious motion, said he was not persuaded by all the arguments to change the criminal law. He said there had been “well-intentioned advocacy” on the issue, particularly in relation to remote and regional patients, but the state government’s reasoning around resources was unconvincing.
“These provisions are enacted for good reason – they were enacted to deter malicious actors from encouraging vulnerable people to harm themselves or commit suicide,” he said.
Rowland expressed concern that removing federal safeguards could facilitate elder abuse when adult children or caregivers could inappropriately influence a vulnerable older person’s end-of-life decisions.
“This is an issue I take extremely seriously and I am discussing it with the states and territories… My view is that this is fundamentally a health policy issue and any action in this area must be supported by strong evidence and stringent measures to prevent abuse,” he said.
“Personally, I do not believe that a person facing an end-of-life decision should not be denied the dignity of a face-to-face personal consultation with a medical doctor. The adoption of this motion will allow for a conscientious vote on this issue, and I expect further studies on this issue to be supported by solid evidence and assurances.”
This was one of several points of contention at the conference that were described as lacking enthusiasm, although a larger debate on Israel and Gaza was expected on Saturday.
Debates over gambling reform were resolved before they reached the auditorium; Members of the party’s left have agreed with Communications Minister Anika Wells on the wording of an amendment encouraging tighter scrutiny of the government’s advertising rules.
“We will strive to strengthen the powers of the relevant national regulators,” the proposal said.
“We will ensure our reforms work as intended and will continue to work with states and territories to ensure regulatory responses prevent harm as gambling technologies, digital platforms and advertising practices evolve.”
He has also committed Labor to exploring better ways to stop online gaming and social media platforms offering incentives to young people that normalize gambling. But changes to the party platform will not force the government to go significantly further than its current plans, which have been challenged by both the Coalition and the Coalition as too weak.
Meanwhile, NDIS Minister Jenny McAllister has agreed to changes saying Labor must take a people-centred approach when reforming the National Disability Insurance Scheme and ensure no one is left behind in efforts to fund new essential supports outside the programme.
“The workforce will support equitable, timely and person-centered access to disability supports,” one of the amendments said.
He also said Labor would ensure parliament oversees any use of automation in the NDIS, that it should be transparent and that all automated decisions should be reviewable – additional safeguards the Greens fought for in negotiations last month.
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Natassia Chrysanthos is a Federal Political Correspondent. He has previously reported on immigration, health, social issues and the NDIS from Parliament House in Canberra.Connect with: X or email.
