WAGGA MP Joe McGirr has been criticised for his views relating to euthanasia laws after he indicated he would oppose any voluntary assisted dying bill in parliament.
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Dr McGirr said he does not support voluntary euthanasia for terminally ill people when the issue was raised after it became law in Victoria last month.
"I believe everything should be done to relieve suffering, but this isn't a way to appropriately address that issue," he said last week.
Dying With Dignity NSW president Penny Hackett said Dr McGirr's position is influenced by his practice as a catholic "who has expressed opposition to abortion in the past".
"While we fully respect Dr McGirr's right to hold this personal view, it does not accord with the views of the vast majority of the Australian community," Ms Hackett said.
"It should not determine how he votes on legislation that has implications for the health care and end-of-life rights of the whole community."
In 2017, a ReachTEL poll showed that about 70 per cent of NSW voters indicated they supported euthanasia laws.
Last year, the Council on the Ageing conducted a national poll of people older than 50 years in which 84 per cent of respondents indicated they support assisted dying in their state or territory.
Voting on euthanasia is a conscience vote for political parties, except for the Greens and Christian Democrats.
Ms Hackett said Dr McGirr's independence meant his only responsibility are the views of his electorate.
"Every single decision they make should be based on the views of the electorate. It is the essence of representative democracy" she said.
Dr McGirr was contacted for comments, but he was unavailable.
In Victoria, there are 68 safeguards, making it still one of the world's most conservative euthanasia policies.
Among the stipulations, each application are subject to extensive review to determine whether the participant has entered the agreement knowingly.
Charles Sturt University associate professor in political science Dominic O'Sullivan said Dr McGirr is applying his conscience and "if we don't want members of parliament to be applying conscience, we're asking them to be robots".
Mr O'Sullivan also said Dr McGirr's faith has an influence on his position.
"I don't know to what extent he [Dr McGirr] holds those religious views, but it would be very difficult for a religious person to divorce their thinking on the nature of humanity from a policy position on euthanasia," he said.
Mr O'Sullivan said the issue "may be significant enough to change people's votes at the next election".
The two other independents, Sydney MP Alex Greenwich and Lake Macquarie MP Greg Piper, have previously been reported to support euthanasia laws.
Previously, the NSW Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2017 failed to pass in the Upper House by one vote.