VOLUNTARY ASSISTED DYING
The concept of being able to end one’s life, when the end is near and the end is certain, is often called euthanasia. It also is referred to as dying with dignity and voluntary assisted dying. Last week in the NSW Parliament the first step was taken in making this process legal and available for very specific and certain patients.
All voters and residents in our area are entitled to know that I am a firm believer and supporter of the concept of euthanasia, VAD and/or DwD. I spoke in Parliament on the issue and my speech can be found online, on the NSW Parliament’s website. Unfortunately, due to ill health, I was unable to actually be in Parliament to cast my vote in support, but I do not want anyone to be confused or unsure of my position.
I have received hundreds of messages from local people that support the concept of euthanasia and wanted it to become law. I also received messages from a small number of people that were absolutely against the idea. I thank all of you for having your say.
Patients that are terminally ill, palliative, will only be able to access assistance to bring about their deaths earlier after multiple meetings with medical doctors and mental health specialists. The rules and conditions around this option are incredibly tight and controlled. And remember, nobody is making anybody do this – it is voluntary. Go well, all of you.
UNDER NEW LAWS COVID CAUGHT AT WORK WILL BE YOU RESPONSIBILITY
When COVID arrived on our shores early in 2020, Governments needed to do many things to make our state and country as safe as possible. One of the changes made in NSW included the presumption that an essential worker, that caught COVID, would be assumed to have caught it at work and would be covered under workers compensation.
Keep in mind that what was deemed essential work at that time included people working in supermarkets, petrol stations, other retail outlets, medical workers, emergency services, etc. In each of these work places, it was the rule back then and continues to be the rule, that all residents in our state should be able to access these basic services. Going forward these same services will be accessible to all citizens, whether they are vaccinated or not.
The proposed change to the laws will require these essential workers to prove that they caught COVID at work, instead of the current rule which automatically assumes that they did. At the same time as the State Government is putting forward this significant change, the same Government is also planning to remove QR codes and some restrictions around face masks as well as giving greater freedoms to unvaccinated citizens. Proving where you caught COVID will be just about impossible.
Roughly 1 in every 100 people that catch COVID will die. By comparison about 1 in every 100,000 people that catch the flu will die. Catching COVID at work is a much more serious workplace “injury” than the Government is trying to suggest. And now it looks like we are on the cusp of a new strain of COVID which might be more deadly than the Delta strain. The cost of covering our essential workers under workers compensation plans, even using the State Government’s own wild and ridiculous figures, is 14c in every $100 of pay/wage/salary. This seems like a pretty small price to pay for the certainty of care for our workers who are not allowed to refuse service.
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For enquiries regarding the State Government or its departments, or to put you in contact with someone who can help, please contact my office. My office can be contacted by phoning 4991-1466, by email to cessnock@parliament.nsw.gov.au or call into 118 Vincent Street (PO Box 242), Cessnock 2325.
You can also follow me on my Facebook page “www.facebook.com/claytonbarrmp”, go to Twitter and search @claytonbarrmp or check out my website at www.claytonbarr.com.au
Cheers Clayton