And So A Federal Parliamentary Term Comes to a Close with Our Remote Terminally Ill Still Ignored

One of the big barriers remote terminally ill Aussies face is Telehealth CANNOT be used for VAD.

Gillian was remote - a plane trip AND a 400km drive from VAD WA. And Telehealth was NOT allowed. Read Gillian’s story here.

Albo and his AG Dreyfus have shown a continual lack of compassion and lack of empathy towards terminally ill Aussies throughout their term.

That was made abundantly clear when Captain Courageous Albo and his AG “we are still considering this sensitive issue” Useless Dreyfus ignored Kate Chaney’s Private Member’s Bill tabled in parliament on 12 February, 2024. And they ignored the last two annual reports from the Qld VAD Review Board that specifically requested this.

And they have neglected to create Medicare numbers for VAD tasks for our clinicians. The VAD frontline workforce has a man power crisis, and Albo and Dreyfus can’t create Medicare numbers to enable clinicians to be remunerated for VAD specific tasks.

In summary:

• Albo and Dreyfus are ignoring our terminally ill people like Gillian through no Telehealth for VAD.
• Albo and Dreyfus are ignoring our manpower crisis in our VAD workforce with a lack of remuneration for VAD tasks through Medicare.

A federal election is being held on 3 March 2025.

So please consider the plight of terminally ill Aussies like Gillian, and our frontline VAD workforce, when you cast your vote on 3 May. Please consider asking your local candidates for this election where they stand on Telehealth and Medicare for VAD.

The only people who have approached this issue with the compassion and empathy it deserves were Kate Chaney and Dr Monique Ryan. They are both Teals / Independents.

And TemuTrump Dutton will probably be worse that Captain Courage and AG Useless.

We suggest help for VAD lies in Voting Independent

However please inform yourself and vote accodingly. These may help inform you:

• The formidable Knitting Nannas have produced a highly informative video on the merits of minority government…or a house that’s ‘well hung’. Click here for details.
• 1 in 4 voters have a Community Independent. Click here for more details on Community Independents.
• Click here for a list of Not-Shit Candidates for the May Election (Independents)
• ⚠️ language Click here for the ad from the Australien Government and the Opposition about minority governments, and it’s surprisingly honest and informative.
• ⚠️ language. Click here for the details of the stich up against independents - an “Honest Govt Ad” by Juice Media.

In Case You Missed It

Here’s a smattering of some of the goings on around the place regarding VAD / MAiD.

The NT Remains the Only Jurisdiction Without VAD Laws

This sucks. The NT is now the only Aust jurisdiction without VAD laws and it’s not a priority for the newly elected Chief Minister.

⚠️ This article discusses suicidal thoughts.

Northern Territory woman Lori is terminally ill with no access to voluntary assisted dying. Read more about Lori here.

To those Northern Territorians our there: please call & email your NT MP’s re this travesty. Tell them Lori needs VAD laws ASAP. (Tell them to just protocopy the ACT VAD legislation and get on with it. The ACT has the best VAD laws in Aust we reckon).

Advance Requests for VAD / MAiD Are Possible - In Quebec Canada

Quebec is the only province in Canada, where it is possible to access MAID through an advance request.

On Apr. 16, Dr. Georges L’Espérance will discuss the evolution of the legislation that made this possible.

NB: This discussion will take place on Thursday, April 17 · 9 - 10:30am AEST. You can register for the online discussion here.

Thanks to our mates at Dying With Dignity Canada for this.

Look after Your Grey Matter

This 2022 JAMA Neurology study is based on a big data set of +378k US adults. It found that about 37% of dementia cases are linked to manageable risks.

So what can you do about it:

• Exercise,
• Eat well,
• Get hearing aids if you need them,
• Keep educating yourself / Keep learning
• Manage your blood pressure / diabetes / any health issues!

See the full journal article here.

Isle of Man becomes first place in British Isles to legalise assisted dying

On Tuesday March 25 2025, the Isle of Man has passed its bill on assisted dying, becoming the first place in the British Isles where terminally ill people with less than a 12 month prognosis will be legally allowed to end their lives.

More here.