Australian Politics and Policy - Senior, 2019a

Australian Capital Territory
Attorney-General George Brandis announced that the Commonwealth would
appeal in the High Court to have the legislation overturned, but the ACT’s Act came
into force on 7 December 2013. Over 30 couples immediately married under the
new law before, a week later, the High Court ruled in the Commonwealth’s favour
on the grounds that the ACT law contradicted the federal marriage legislation
and was therefore unconstitutional. While this ended the progressive experiment
in same-sex marriage, the conflict did much to put the issue on the national
agenda and placed pressure on successive national governments to expand access
to marriage.
The right to die: euthanasia
The Northern Territory paved the way for euthanasia laws in 1995, when it became
the first Australian jurisdiction to legalise assisted suicide for the terminally ill. The
ACT was to follow suit until the Commonwealth passed legislation overriding any
move by either territory to pass euthanasia laws in 1997.
In December 2015, Liberal Democrat Senator David Leyonhjelm proposed
the Restoring Territory Rights (Assisted Suicide Legislation) Bill 2015 (Cth), with
senators of all parties being given a conscience vote. The purpose of the Bill was
to repeal the Commonwealth’s prohibition of the territories legislating for assisted
suicide. Leyonhjelm is an outspoken supporter of both the rights of the territories
to determine their own laws, and the rights of the terminally ill to choose to die.
Thedebate,therefore,wasasmuchaboutterritoryrightsasitwastherightsofthe
terminally ill.
The Bill went to a second reading in 2016; however, it lapsed at prorogation of
the parliament in the lead-up to the election and was not reinstated to the notices
until later in 2016. It finally went to its second reading debate in February 2018.
After several months of debate, it went to a vote on 14 August 2018. The Bill was
expectedtopasstheSenatewithanarrowmargin;however,lastminutelobbying
onthepartofthoseopposedtotheBillchangedthevotesofenoughsenatorstosee
it defeated by two votes.
Conclusions
The government of the ACT is in a unique position, being the jurisdictional
authority over the territory wherein resides the federal government. It faces a
number of challenges: administering a territory whose core ‘industries’ are
government and (predominantly publicly funded) education; providing municipal
services for a rapidly growing city; providing health, education and public transit
services for a growing population; maintaining a healthy and productive relationship
with the NSW government and the local government authorities of the
‘Australian Capital Region’; and maintaining both its character and integrity while
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