DARWIN - 28 October 2021
KATIE WOOLF, HOST: A little bit earlier on the show, with the Senator for the Northern Territory, Sam McMahon, was the fact that she has introduced and is still certainly holding out hope that the Territory Rights Bill could still pass parliament. It is despite her own Government saying a couple of weeks ago that there were no plans to help to repeal the federal ban on the Northern Territory making their own euthanasia laws. We also know that yesterday in the Canberra Times that the Labor Party came out and said that they wouldn't be supporting it. But joining us on the line right now is the Member for Solomon, Labor's Member for Solomon, Luke Gosling. Good morning to you, Luke.
LUKE GOSLING, MEMBER FOR SOLOMON: Good morning, Katie.
WOOLF: Luke, from your perspective, where is Labor at with the euthanasia bill? I know that Sam McMahon is saying this is still going to be pushing ahead, trying to make this happen. How do you feel about it all?
GOSLING: Well, we want to see the Andrews bill repealed to allow Territorians to have the same rights as everyone else. We can't support the Senator McMahon’s bill in its current form. For some reason known only to her, she included things other than repealing the Andrews bill. And she's now said that she's going to knock those other unnecessary and confusing things out of the bill, so it's just a straight question of Territorians having the same rights as everyone else again. So the other thing that she needs to talk to her colleagues about also is including Territorians who live in the ACT. If the bill reflects those two things, just about restoring Territory rights so we can make our own laws and all Territorians included, then we'll look at that bill.
WOOLF: So it is something that if she does make those changes as she said a little bit earlier this morning and also in a statement, if she does make those changes, then it is something that the Labor Party will support federally?
GOSLING: Yeah, if it actually appears in a bill, we'll assess it and make sure that we're happy with the bill. And you could hear – and I listened a bit earlier, Katie to Senator McMahon, and she's obviously frustrated with the Morrison Government because they're essentially stopping her from bringing this bill forward and supporting it. And I get that. That's frustrating. I put my own bill forward – a very simple bill to repeal that Andrews bill that limits our rights in the Territory – a couple of years ago, and the Coalition didn't support it then, either. So it's going to be difficult for her, I think they kind of limit the amount of time that she's got to try and do this. But I wish her well in getting these amendments done so that we can have a look at it and hopefully get it the support it needs. But I'm also glad that the Territory Labor [federal] politicians have convinced our team that it will be a priority under a federal Labor government for this to be properly debated and for a vote to happen.
WOOLF: And I have just received word from her office saying that she's certainly open to the ACT being included. Luke, is it possible here that potentially for the Northern Territory, we're able to sort of forget those party lines. And if this is a bill which Labor’s happy with and also she's able to make sure that it does just relate to euthanasia, that realistically we could actually maybe finally see some change in this space?
GOSLING: I'd really like to think so, Katie, but again, the difficulty is going to be on Senator McMahon's side in that there's some people in her team that will do everything to stop that from occurring. But let's hope. There's a very small window of time in the next sittings, in the November sittings, for this to happen. So if she can negotiate a bill with her side of politics, then we're ready to assess it. But I'm also very realistic that that's going to be difficult, and that we've got a commitment from our side with a federal Labor government to properly deal with it. And that's good to have the support of the team for that to happen.
WOOLF: Well, Luke, let's see exactly where it all lands. Federal Parliament, did it sit this week as well?
GOSLING: Yes.
WOOLF: How’s it all been going from your from your perspective? Obviously, as our member, as our representative there in Parliament.
GOSLING: Yeah, well, like every week in Parliament, there's a lot to be hopeful for, there's a lot to be disappointed in. There's been quite a lot of conversation about the “plan”, as the Prime Minister calls it, that which doesn't involve any sort of new policies or initiatives. But he's certainly shifted his language around net zero by 2050 in terms of going over to Glasgow to that big international conference and being part of an international movement to try and limit heat increases. And we all know in the Territory that we've had record high temperatures. We don't want to see the planet warm many more. So, you know, that's important stuff to deal with. But in something that smells very like an election in the wind Katie, today the Federal Government have rammed through some voter ID laws that basically say, “you're a homeless person without ID or if you’re someone without a license, you won't be able to vote”. Now, it's never been an issue in the past, voter fraud, but it's just interesting that they have taken Veterans Affairs legislation and all these other bits of legislation that I was going to be speaking on today off the agenda so that they can ram through these voter ID laws that sounds very like what the Trump administration brought in to try and get a lot of poorer people to stop them from voting.
WOOLF: So what exactly what exactly is this change going to mean, Luke?
GOSLING: Well, looking at the legislation myself this morning, as I said, Katie, it has sort of being dropped on us last minute. And this is the last sitting day before a potential December election that they could actually have it pass the Parliament. And hopefully they give us enough time today to debate it, to find more out about what exactly that that they're suggesting. But essentially, like in what Trump brought in in the USA, they're saying that there will need to be ID provided by people when they come to vote. But not everyone has ID. So we just hope that if this legislation passes that there's genuinely enough time and effort given to help people to get ID that haven't got it. But yeah, it seems to be trying to fix a problem that doesn't seem to be really there in Australia. From the last federal election, there wasn't anyone who was found guilty of voter fraud. There were some older people that had a bit of dementia and voted and then forgot they voted and went and voted again, but not serious attempts to undermine democracy by double voting. So it's just interesting that they're ramming this one through today. And it does suggest that maybe an election is not too far away.
WOOLF: And is the Senate sitting. Is it actually going to be able to be enacted?
GOSLING: the Senate is in Estimates at the moment, so it will be able to pass through one level of the parliament, but the next sitting will be in November, when hopefully we can deal with this Territory Rights legislation. So yeah, perhaps it's still an election next year as was always planned.
WOOLF: What kind of impact do you reckon a change like this could have in a seat like Lingiari, for example?
GOSLING: Well, it could have a big impact in that there's a lot of people living remotely
that haven't got a driver's license, they won't have a passport. So they just turn up to have their vote when those polling booths go around, the communities turn up to, their name ticked off. And this is people who are enrolled to vote, and they get their name ticked off and have their vote. So you would hope it doesn't disenfranchise any of those people.
You and I have talked before Katie about the gutting of the Australian Electoral Commission staff up here in the Territory. And that was a bit of a cynical attempt as well to prevent more people from being put on the roll. Those jobs were moved to Brisbane.
WOOLF: I just think for me, Luke, we want to make sure that as many people turn out to vote no matter what electorate you live in, no matter where you come from, you want to make sure that as many people turn out to vote as possible. And I don't know that we really need to make things more difficult for people to turn out to vote. So, look, hearing this does make me feel slightly concerned. I do want to go and try and find out a little bit more about it.
GOSLING: Yes, absolutely, Katie. And I’ve got to get back to the virtual parliament virtually now and see where it's at, but I'm happy to give you an update on it. It is a concern because it hasn't been an issue and it's something that is really going to impact on poorer people without ID and who still deserve a say.
WOOLF: Luke Gosling, Labor's Member for Solomon, always appreciate your time. Thank you very much for having a chat with us, and do keep us up to date with how these changes go and what more info you find out.
GOSLING: Will do, thank you.
ENDS
