Politicians Support
During the November 2006 State election, supporters of Dying With Dignity polled 453 candidates for their position on DWDV’s Legislative Charter. The poll excluded “straw” candidates—those without any valid contact details.
Supporters were able to glean 260 specific responses, a response rate of 55% which is tremendous at such a frenetic time when everyone is demanding candidates’ attention, and especially for such a personal issue as dying.
We are pleased to report that of the specific responses, 232 or 89% were in support of our Charter, with just 28 or 11% opposed.
Member/Candidate Responses
|
Number |
Percent |
Supportive |
232 |
89% |
Opposed |
28 |
11% |
TOTAL |
260 |
100% |
We took care and respect to invite opposers to give a response as well as supporters: they key issue was for constituents to be able to cast an informed vote. As candidate (and now member) Bernie Finn said, “The least anyone standing for political office can do is to tell the electorate what they stand for.”
Many supporters and even some of the opposers since elected, have indicated they would seek to consult with DWDV after the election.
Clearly, candidates standing for office are representative of the population at large. Independent surveys show that the overwhelming majority of Victorians have wanted law reform on dying with dignity for over 25 years.
DWDV looks forward to working with the new Parliament to enact dying with dignity reform that is so long overdue. Results for current sitting members are on our Surveys page.
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dwdv legislative charter endorsements 
