Queensland residents draws to the attention of the House:

(a) the gross underfunding of palliative care in Queensland. Palliative Care Queensland has called on the Queensland Government to increase the annual palliative care budget by $275 million on top of the $110 million a year currently allocated. Disappointingly, the Government’s promised increase of $28.5 million a year is completely inadequate. A funding increase of $275 million a year equates to just over $1 per person a week - a small investment for every Queenslander to have access to a fundamental human right.
(b) the Government’s promise to introduce "voluntary assisted dying" (that is euthanasia or assisted suicide) legislation by the end of May 2021, without any assurance of full and proper scrutiny by a parliamentary committee. Queenslanders have the right to have detailed input on a bill of this nature, including key stakeholders such as palliative care specialists, oncologists, the Australian Medical Association and faith leaders.

Your petitioners, therefore, request the House to call on the Government to:

(a) urgently address Queensland's palliative care deficit, so dying patients and their families can have access to palliative care medical professionals who provide crucial and specialist end-of-life care, to which all Queenslanders are entitled.
(b) follow the usual Standing Orders when the "voluntary assisted dying" bill is introduced to Parliament, by referring it to the relevant parliamentary committee for a period of at least six months to ensure the process is not rushed and to allow for proper Queensland-wide community consultation.