RICK HIND, HOST: There's a big push on in Darwin and Canberra to overturn federal legislation that prevents the NT and the ACT from legislating on voluntary assisted dying. When the NT passed the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act in 1995, it was the first jurisdiction in Australia and one of the first in the world to pass laws allowing for voluntary assisted dying. In 1997, Liberal MP Kevin Andrews worked with Tony Burke, then executive director of Euthanasia No, known to pass legislation preventing either territory legislating on this issue. Tony Burke is now a senior Labor Cabinet minister. Despite the best efforts of MPs and senators from both sides of Parliament, the ban remains in place. Independent ACT Senator David Pocock told Patricia Karvelas on Insiders that he'll put a private member's bill as soon as he can, if Labor doesn't move first. And he doesn't see why it should be a conscience vote.

AUDIO – ACT SENATOR DAVID POCOCK: “I don't think that this should be a conscience vote. This isn't about legislating voluntary assisted dying. If people feel really strongly about stopping voluntary assisted dying then I think they should be running for legislative assemblies in the territories to try and stop that. This is about whether or not the territories should have the same right.”

Labor's new Minister for Territories, Kristy McBain, told ABC Radio Canberra this week that it will be a conscience vote.

AUDIO – MEMBER FOR EDEN-MONARO KRISTY MCBAIN: “This isn't a government bill. It will be a private member's bill or senator’s bill.

INTERVIEWER: No, but it could still be a party position with direction to vote that way.

MCBAIN: I am confident that the numbers will be there in both the House and the Senate, and the position of the party has long been that we would allow a conscience vote on this matter.

HIND: And we’ve just had breaking news on this issue. The Member for Canberra, Alicia Payne, says she will co-introduce a private member's bill when Parliament resumes to repeal the so-called Andrews bill. She'll do so with NT member Luke Gosling. If successful, the ACT would be able to legislate on voluntary assisted dying.

Luke Gosling, the Labor Member for Solomon, should this be a conscience vote?

LUKE GOSLING, MEMBER FOR SOLOMON: Good afternoon, Rick. This has been decided by the Labor Party room to be a conscience vote. My personal view that I've argued for is that territory rights should be the same as people living in the states. So I would prefer to see us support Territorians, whether they live in the NT or the ACT. But I understand also that for some people they can't separate the issue of voluntary assisted dying from the issue of territory rights. And I hope Kristy McBain is right, the Minister for the Territories, that there will be numbers in both houses so that when Alicia and I put in our private member's bill, it can move through both houses and finally stop Territorians being treated as second-class citizens, as they are currently.

HIND: But if it's left to a conscience vote, doesn't that give it a greater chance of failing?

GOSLING: Well, let's see where the numbers lie when the bill’s introduced. This'll be the third time I've put a private member's bill to the Parliament to restore territory rights. What I've noticed over that time is a greater number of parliamentarians understand that this is about our rights to make laws for ourselves that affect us in the same way as state parliaments do, rather than around other issues, which will, of course, will be dealt with by the various legislative assemblies. And of course the bloke who quashed our Territory rights in the first place, Kevin Andrews, is no longer in the Federal Parliament and I'm sure he would have held some sway previously as well. So I think the scene is set for us to continue to educate people about the fact that this is about territory rights and we'll continue to do that and hopefully get the result we're after.

HIND: Kevin Andrews is no longer there, but Tony Burke is. He ran the campaign against euthanasia in the Northern Territory and he clearly has still had strong views on this issue. What's to stop somebody like him from lobbying on both sides of Parliament to prevent the new legislation from passing?

GOSLING: Well, I won't speak for all the Territory Federal Representatives, whether they be in the Senate or in the House of Representatives as quite a number of us are. But Tony Burke will vote the way that his conscience dictates. But what I've put to all of my colleagues, including Tony, is that this issue is one about territory rights and we're not happy to be treated as second class citizens and where the debate may be in the future. If the Northern Territory and ACT legislative assemblies decide to try and legislate – as every single state has – for voluntary assisted dying, well, that would be the time to make sure that there's a healthy debate.

HIND: There are plenty of people who were involved in the early legislation who are galled by that, that that every other state has this legislation except for the Territory that introduced it in Australia and in many ways was one of the first in the world to do so. How confident are you that the numbers will be there for this legislative change?

GOSLING: I can understand the issues of voluntary assisted dying, and I have my own personal reservations about it. They are difficult issues for people. And what I do hope is that particularly elected representatives take a leadership position on making sure that we're talking about the right issue, which is territory rights, in this instance.

And then when it comes to a potential vote down the track in those legislative assemblies, that the facts are reflected, and the experiences of other jurisdictions are reflected truthfully and in good faith so that we have a proper debate and a proper decision that reflects what position the community is arrived at. Now, there will be potentially some politicians that decide to use this vote upcoming in the federal parliament around territory rights and seek to divide around that issue. But I would ask them to enter into this debate in good faith around what it's about, which is us in the territories not being treated as second-class citizens. If the legislation is successful or the private member's bill is successful, then other debates will be able to happen down the track. But I get the sense that there's a growing understanding of that amongst my federal colleagues, and I look forward to working with people on both sides of the House and the independents to achieve territory rights, the restoration of territory rights.

HIND: You're listening to ABC Radio Darwin around the Northern Territory. Rick Hind with you. Luke Gosling is the Federal MP for Solomon. Have you spoken to the crossbenchers about where they stand? You might need their support to get this through.

GOSLING: I've spoken with a few of the crossbench over the years that we've been seeking to restore our rights as Territorians. And I'll continue to do that in a constructive way, in an educative way, to make sure that that those federal representatives understand what myself and Alice Payne from the ACT will be putting to the Parliament, seeking their support, and I look forward to doing that. And I'm really proud that the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said earlier in the piece that he would ensure that there was an opportunity for this legislation, this private member's bill, to be put before the Parliament. He'll be true to his word on that. And Kristy McBain, as you played earlier, as the Minister for Territories has also noted her support. So I think we're in the best position we've been in for many decades, and Territorians that have been around a lot longer than I will remember the taking away of that right. Whatever has happened in the meantime, we know that Territorians deserve to be taken seriously, deserve to have important issues like this sensitively and honestly debated. They haven't had that opportunity. They will if we're successful with this private member's bill.

HIND: Well, both you and David Pocock have said that it's not necessarily about euthanasia, that issue, but the core issue of being able to legislate on contentious issues in a Territory Parliament, Legislative Assembly. What other areas might the Territory legislate on if this bill passes and the territories have more powers?

GOSLING: Let’s see. From time to time other pieces of legislation have been brought to our attention, but we're not going to get ahead of ourselves in terms of what might happen. Of course, until we're a state, the Commonwealth will always have the ability to override territory legislation. The question is, should it? And particularly in a situation where you've had every state in the Commonwealth debate and come to a decision on this issue, why should Territorians continue to be treated as second class citizens? They should not. That's why we again put the question to the Parliament. I'm hoping for our colleagues’ support, and other issues will be dealt with in due course.

HIND: And Luke Gosling, do you know when this might happen?

GOSLING: As soon as possible. The Prime Minister has said that it is an important issue for Territorians and he respects that. So I won't get ahead of myself in terms of saying on what day it'll be brought into the Parliament. But we are doing the preparatory work. We'll go through the normal processes of the Labor caucus, as we always would, to ensure that the legislation that myself and Alicia are drafting has the support of the Labor caucus, and then it will be brought into the Parliament to see where the Parliament's will is. And I really hope it's in support of Territorians and I hope we continue to talk to them about that up until that point.

HIND: Are you confident it'll be this year? You've got to deliver a federal ICAC by Christmas.

GOSLING: I am confident that it will be this year and certainly we're working towards that at the moment. But it's a big agenda. We have a big agenda in federal Labor. We've got big challenges ahead of us. We’ve made big commitments, this is one. So we're getting after it, don't worry about that, Rick. There'll be an opportunity for us to speak again. We'll go down to Canberra at the end of this month to be sworn in for the first sitting week, and we'll be getting into this issue as a matter of priority.

HIND: Luke Gosling, thank you.

GOSLING: Thanks for the yarn, Rick.

HIND: That's Luke Gosling, the Member for Solomon, which takes in Darwin and most of Palmerston.