Curran ClareHon CLARE CURRAN (Labour—Dunedin South): Thank you Mr Speaker. This is my first contribution on this bill. In the early New Zealand Parliament before the 1890s I think every vote by MPs was an individual choice because there weren't political parties just loose alliances. In recent decades conscience issues have often been harbingers of significant societal change and they're big paradigm shifts. This is one of them. When I was elected as the member for Dunedin South I was asked if I supported binding referendums and if I'd check with my electorate before I exercised a conscience vote. It is my view that as a member of Parliament you're elected by a majority of your constituency because you're trusted to act in their best interests and to be of sufficient good character to do that to the best of your ability. Each of us has a conscience. I can only exercise mine on these moral issues and if I was to do a poll of my electorate and then exercise a conscience vote on that basis it would not be my conscience. And while a referendum is an extremely important part of our democratic process the Parliament ultimately is sovereign and the positions taken by parties or individuals on matters of importance are usually well known to the electorate before a general election which by definition is the ultimate expression of democracy.I wish that we did not require a referendum at next year's election in order for this bill to pass its third reading today. It defeats the purpose of the intent of the bill and the ability of the majority of the legislators to fulfil their elected roles. But the choice was to not support the referendum amendment and see the bill fail and likely have to wait another decade or to vote for the referendum amendment and give the bill a greater chance to become law. Everyone brings their own context to the end of life issue and I wish to share mine with you. In my twenties I lived for a time in Wellington. A friend from my days at Otago University introduced me to his mother who was dying from a serious lung-related illness. Her life was terribly constrained. She was unable to leave the house. She lived in a bubble—literally a dust-free environment protected from the outside contaminants. She was slowly slipping away. Unbeknown to me she was determined to leave the world which she did at a time of her own choosing with the help of her son. I remember feeling very confronted by this but I never judged her decision or that of her son to assist her. I believe that it was her choice made in full knowledge of the implications and this is what I want for myself should it ever be necessary. I do however accept that this is not the choice of all and I absolutely respect the right of people not to make that choice and to die in whatever manner nature or palliative care determines.I also absolutely believe that protections should be put in place for those who are not able to make such a decision and for those who would not support being part of a decision made by somebody that they love or who they are caring for in the health system. I like many others who support this bill am not blind to the real challenges around coercion around the safeguards for the disabled and the vulnerable. I am not blind to the pressures on health practitioners who either do or don't support this bill passing into law. But I believe that the provisions in the amended version address those concerns based on international best practice. Ultimately this is a bill of conscience. Not everyone's conscience is the same. Our belief systems develop differently rooted in a set of values. Mine are drawn mainly from my background growing up in the Catholic Church where compassion social justice and fairness were drummed into us. But there have always been parts of Catholicism that don't sit well with me particularly the hypocrisy of its institutional practice. Ultimately I took a secular path based on values. I respect the views of all who have stood in this House and expressed their views. I respect all who have written and emailed me—SPEAKER: Order! The member's time has expired.