CANBERRA - 1 February 2021
ADAM STEER, HOST: Luke Gosling is the federal member for Solomon. You heard the appeal there from Marshall Perron, Luke Gosling, that it's up to the federal politicians. You're one of them. Where are we at with getting those laws back where we can choose if we want to have right to die legislation?
LUKE GOSLING, MEMBER FOR SOLOMON: Good morning, Adam. As you may remember, in the last parliament, I put a bill up to restore territory rights. In effect, what that would do is to repeal the Andrews bill so that the Northern Territory parliament could do what these other state parliaments are in the process of doing, or have already done. That private member's bill lapsed with the last parliament finishing. So the conversation then is starting again, and what I think the news of Kevin Andrews moving on will mean is that there can be a renewed conversation about the rights of the territories and how we shouldn't be second-class citizens. We should have the right to debate whatever we want as the states do.
STEER: What is your reaction to Kevin Andrews losing his pre-selection? He's the father of the House. He's the longest serving member of parliament and one of only three pollies, including Warren Snowdon, to have been around during the Hawke government years. He's losing his pre-selection. Whether you agree with his politics or not, that's a lot of service that he's done for the country.
GOSLING: Yeah, and I respect Kevin Andrews, he's got strong views, it's not because I'm Catholic like he is, this issue is about territory rights in the first instance. But I do respect that long period of service. He's done a great job in a number of committees that I've seen him operate in, but I think it will be time for change. Coincidentally, the Liberal that is going to run in that seat of Menzies in Melbourne, I know through—he was a commando officer.
Obviously I hope Labor wins that seat, but it seems that there is a good replacement there from the Liberal Party's perspective.
STEER: Last year, we saw bipartisan support from the CLP and the ALP in the Northern Territory wanting to overturn this ban that stops us choosing on euthanasia laws. What about your federal CLP colleague? Do you have the support, her support, the senator’s support?
GOSLING: What I hope is that we approach this in the same way as we did for fair representation when we achieved that at the end of last year, retaining two House of Reps seats for the Northern Territory. We worked together with Senator McMahon, and I'm sure she's having those conversations with her colleagues around territory rights as an issue. But this will provide an opportunity now for us to all revisit it and just make what is a pretty uncontroversial statement of principle that Territorians shouldn't be second-class citizens, and the Northern Territory parliament should have the right to debate these issues.
STEER: In other news, schools back today, lunchboxes are packed. It's a little different, though, in federal parliament with some of the kids returning from Western Australia then only to find they need to go into quarantine. What's happening with Parliament this week as far as we know?
GOSLING: Yeah, so I'm in my Canberra office right now. I've got a full day of meetings and I'm just picking up little bits and pieces around the place about who is not going to be joining us, Western Australians, what's happening with some of the Sydney MPs. So it'll be, again, another unusual week in federal parliament. But there's a lot to discuss. And as far as my own kids go, my wife, Kate, just send me a photo of the kids dressed up in their school uniform, ready to go back to school in Darwin for another year. So just well done to all the parents out there. And I hope the kids have a great first day.
STEER: Luke Gosling, good to talk to you.
GOSLING: Thank you. Thanks.
STEER: There's the federal member for Solomon, Luke Gosling. They're keen to get the euthanasia or the right for us to choose whether we want euthanasia laws back here in the Northern Territory.
ENDS
