Mr  J. BULL (Sunbury) — I am also very pleased to contribute to the debate on this very important bill, the Medical Treatment Planning and Decisions Bill 2016. Before I go to some comments from those opposite I just want to commend the Minister for Health on her bravery in outing the keyboard warriors that continue to attack her on vaccination legislation and regulation. The minister last week showed that this government will not be bullied and will not be derailed or hide in the corner when those nasty attacks happen. This is a government that relies on science, on evidence and on facts, and we know that vaccinations save lives. Vaccinations work, and they are here to stay. I just want to commend the minister on her work and the strength of the cabinet in dealing with these attacks. I have got no problem with differing points of view, but I do have a problem with vile, nasty and aggressive personal attacks. That is no way to prosecute an argument. I just wanted to put that on record.

This bill is one of great importance, as we have heard this afternoon. I am certainly aware that there are a number of speakers on the list. The bill goes to what is one of the toughest areas of public policy. It is tough on individuals, tough on families and tough on healthcare professionals. The opposition have taken a very strange tack on this bill, not really wanting to commit one way or the other and not really respecting the wishes of Victorians. They have chosen to emphasise time and time again a straw man argument, catastrophising and hypothesising about suicide notes. Really this bill is about the broader policy question.

The opposition has said during debate this afternoon that clause 53 would allow an instruction or directive to take the form of a suicide note, unwitnessed by a doctor and not in the correct form. It would not. The intention of this clause is to ensure that doctors cannot ignore the wishes of a patient just because the patient has lost capacity. Like many members, I have also had personal experiences of losing those that are close to me. There is certainly no easy way for a member of your family or a loved one to go. From those personal experiences I have taken a number of things away, and they include that families are at their strongest when tragedy strikes, that our hospitals and our healthcare professionals are world class and that we need to ensure that they stay this way. Saying goodbye is never easy, and these times are often the most difficult times that people will ever face.

The laws around the end of life and medical treatment certainly need to be addressed, reviewed and constantly analysed to ensure that we are getting the very best balance. I think this bill before the house today certainly sends a very strong message to all Victorians that this government stands with them. The bill, as we have heard, is centred on a simple and fundamentally important idea of modern medical treatment, and that is that every patient should get to make their own decisions about medical treatment. Their decisions should include access to quality medical treatment that is delivered in a way that is consistent with their preferences and values. We know that the Medical Treatment Planning and Decisions Bill, this bill, will help to ensure people’s preferences and values direct decisions about their treatment, even if they lose those decision-making capacities.

This is undoubtedly a complex piece of legislation, as we have heard. That is why I want to take a bit of time to talk about the importance of what the legislation will actually do. Currently we know that Victorian law does not provide people with certainty about their rights and responsibilities in relation to advance care directives. This is because, as we have heard, existing legislation is complex and does not give sufficient recognition to documents that outline people’s preferences for future medical treatment. I think that if you draw on your own experiences, and hopefully many people will reflect on their own experiences of people in very difficult situations, you realise that these are emotive times. They are tough times. They are difficult for family and difficult for friends. There is much stress around seeing someone in dire medical circumstances, and it is very tough and confronting for families and friends of individuals.

We know that the bill has been strengthened and will be a better law because we have asked people about their views. It is that broad consultation that many members who have spoken this afternoon have mentioned. We have spoken to doctors, nurses, health workers and most importantly patients and carers. I am sure that many members on both sides of the chamber will have members of their family or friends or constituents that work in a hospital as doctors or nurses. I can draw on my own experiences and think about my sister, who has been in the emergency department at the Northern Hospital for over 10 years now. Certainly many of the circumstances that she speaks about are very tough. She will often say that there is so much grey in this area. It becomes incredibly difficult for the hospital to make decisions that the family are happy with and vice versa.

I certainly believe that this bill will enable that to happen in a much clearer way, and I think that there is a whole range of additional legislation that will come about as a result of it.

I am conscious of the time and that there are a number of speakers, as I mentioned, but I want to commend the Minister for Health on her record and the Parliamentary Secretary for Health as well. I believe the government has created a fairer health system, a better health system and a stronger health system, and I commend the bill to the house.