Greens back euthanasia call

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The Tasmanian Greens leader Nick McKim has welcomed a report that describes Australia’s euthanasia laws as broken and incoherent.

The report by non-profit group Australia 21 recommends state governments immediately legislate to permit and regulate voluntary euthanasia.

Mr McKim and the Premier Lara Giddings are co-sponsoring a private members bill to allow voluntary euthanasia.

But Mr McKim will not set a date for the legislation’s introduction to parliament.

“We had a strong level of interest in the discussion paper that Lara Giddings and I put out,” Mr McKim said.

“And we’re working through some of the issues that have been raised as a result of that consultation.”

“And we have certainly both committed to tabling a bill and bringing it on for debate later this year in the House of Assembly,” he said.