The address marked 10 years since Andrew gave an earlier address to the National Press Club, vowing to “light a fire so big no politician could ignore it”. This was at a time when no jurisdiction in Australian had in place voluntary assisted dying laws. That speech launched Go Gentle Australia and a national campaign for voluntary assisted dying laws.

Ten years later, every jurisdiction in Australia has passed VAD legislation.

Andrew praised the efforts of all those who have contributed to these legislative changes, but also highlighted the many challenges still faced.

First and foremost, the “Telehealth Ban” which prevents any form of VAD dialogue occurring via phone/email/video/internet, thereby severely discriminating against rural people seeking to access VAD. Andrew also highlighted the impediments being placed in the way of individuals seeking to access VAD by faith-based hospitals and aged care facilities. Additionally, the “Gag Clause” in South Australia and the Northern territory prevents medical practitioners from initiating VAD conversations, thereby denying patients being fully informed of their options.

Andrew announced the creation of a Go Gentle research fund. This will, in the first instance, facilitate research into the complexities of  individuals with dementia accessing VAD. A second research strand will look at documenting institutional impediments (hospitals and aged care facilities) to accessing VAD.

Anyone wishing to watch Andrew’s superb speech can access it on ABC iVIEW.

https://iview.abc.net.au/show/national-press-club-address

On Thursday 24 September, my wife and I attended a superb panel discussion at the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre in Adelaide. It was moderated by Andrew Denton of Go Gentle and featured three panelists: Dr Chloe Furst, palliative care specialist and VAD practitioner; Annie Holland, a 26-year-old Australian woman who has lived with Autoimmune Autonomic Ganglionopathy (AAG) since childhood; and Julian Kingma, award-winning Photographer and author of the new book, The Power of Choice.

The connecting thread for the discussion was “the power of choice” – both the power of choice encapsulated in the legal right-to-die framework, and the journey described in Kingma’s book of the same name. Julian described his 2-year journey around Australia, visiting with many individuals who had legally obtained the power of choice through gaining legal access to VAD. He has documented those encounters, including with fellow panelist Annie Holland, in his book. Annie described the debilitating effects of her condition, a condition she has coped with since her teenage years. Through the pain of what she shared, her courage and spirit shone though. Annie’s VAD practitioner, Dr. Chloe Furst, provided a medical perspective that was wonderfully humane and empathetic. Andrew Denton was, as always, a marvellous interviewer.

The video of this excellent discussion will be available on the Hawke Centre website at some point.

https://hawkecentre.adelaide.edu.au/events-and-exhibitions/events/2026/the_power_of_choice/

The Northern Territory has now legislated for the right of terminally ill individuals to access Volunytary Assisted Dying (VAD).

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-27/nt-to-pass-voluntary-assisted-dying-bill-in-parliament/107087354

The Northern Territory is, ironically, both the first jurisdiction to introduce VAD (in 1995, prior to it being overturned by the Commonwealth Government), and now the last to introduce it.

A truly marvellous piece of news, and great work by the many people who have long advocated for this right!