Victorian State Election 2018: Meet the Voluntary Euthanasia Party!

I don’t have time to read all of this!
The Basics

Website: https://www.vep.org.au/vep_vic
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/VoluntaryEuthanasiaParty/
Themes: Making sure voluntary euthanasia becomes legal.  That is literally their sole policy.

With friends like these…
The Group Voting Ticket

Fiona Patten’s Reason Party and the Animal Justice Party are almost always the first two parties on the ticket, usually in that order.  Chawla and Lee make it into second place in South Eastern Metro, which is pleasing.  Sustainable Australia is usually in the top five, and Hinch and the LDP are in the top five about half the time.  The Socialists and Transport matters show up in the top five occasionally.

The Greens and Labor always show up in the top half of the ticket, with the Greens usually ranked higher than Labor.  The Liberals are usually towards the bottom of the ticket, and sometimes ranked backwards, for added animus.

At the foot of the ticket, we always have the Democratic Labour Party and the Australian Liberty Alliance, with the occasional independent.  We also always have some combination of the Australian Country Party, the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers, the Aussie Battlers and the Liberal Party making up the remaining three slots at the bottom of the ballot.

Essentially, the progressive and libertarian parties are favoured here, with the most conservative parties and the right wing crazies showing up in last place.  There are definitely worse tickets out there.

The Body Politic
Policies, Snark, Terrible Theme Songs and Other Observations

I have to say, I was quite surprised to see the Voluntary Euthanasia Party on the ballot, because I was under the impression that Victoria had in fact legalised voluntary euthanasia last year.

And, um, they have?  It is due to come into practice next year.

This might be why the VEP is looking like the most disorganised party on the ballot so far.  There is no list of candidates, no how to vote card, just a flyer telling me that

We must protect Victoria’s voluntary assisted dying laws! Your life, your choice!

And that:

A vote for VEP = a vote for compassion

Subtext: if you have any kindness in your heart at all, you will vote for us.

So, I’m not quite sure why this party still exists in Victoria, and they haven’t tried to explain this either.  My best guess is that they are worried that a conservative, Matthew Guy government would repeal the legislation.

The VEP is not quite a single issue party –in addition to protecting access to Voluntary Assisted Dying, they want to expand access to medicinal cannabis, improve palliative care, and inform the community about Advance Care Directives.

Basically, they want to make sure people have as many options and as much autonomy as possible at the end of their lives.

Beyond this, we are informed:

The Voluntary Euthanasia Party (VEP) is a moderate, progressive party and its policies reflect this stance.

If elected, VEP Members of Parliament will consider each and every piece of legislation presented by any other party on a case-by-case basis after proper consultation and information gathering. We will look at all legislation with a balanced, common sense and compassionate view. We will vote according to the evidence and in the best interest of our members and constituents.

So.  This is a pretty simple one.  If you are in favour of assisted dying being legal, and are generally OK with progressive policies (and these two things do tend to go together), then you will put this high on your ballot.  If you feel that assisted dying is something that shouldn’t be legal, then you won’t.

Personally, assisted dying is something I’m still ambivalent about, so the VEP are likely to fall somewhere in the middle of my ticket.

And I think that’s really about all I can think of to say on this one!

(Oh, except that Andrew Denton apparently gave the keynote speech at their forum recently, and I’ve had kind of a crush on him since I was twelve.  Is that relevant? I think it’s relevant…)