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Journalists please note: Dr Rodney Syme, Vice President of Dying With Dignity Victoria, will be making a significant announcement at the rally about his involvement in Steve Guest's death.
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A peacful rally is being held on the steps of Parliament House, Spring Street, 1-2pm Wednesday 20th June, in support of dying with dignity. Melbourne identity Terry Lane, and several politicians will be speaking in favour of dying with dignity law reform.
The majority 80% of Australians (82% of Victorians) believe a terminally or incurably ill patient with profound suffering should have the right to choose physician assisted dying (PAD) as shown in a Newspoll survey conducted in February this year. Just 14% of Australians (13% of Victorians) are opposed.
"But the current law denies choice in all Australian jurisdictions," said Neil Francis, President of Dying with Dignity Victoria. "It provides penalties of up to 14 years jail for anyone who helps a sufferer to die."
"DWDV has published a responsible Legislative Charter that frames law reform to provides choice in a way that gives strong protection for the vulnerable," he said, "and it has been endorsed by respected groups and individuals, including the Doctor's Reform Society of Australia and the Australian Nursing Federation (Victorian Branch)."
"The reforms will provide stronger protection than is currently the case," he said. "The principle of the double effect currently allows a physician to administer a lethal dose provided his or her intention is to alleviate suffering, even though the dose clearly will shorten life. There is currently no formal process to test the doctor's intentions or patient wishes. Reform will provide those protections."
Leading up to the State election last November, supporters of dying with dignity polled election candidates for their position on DWDV's Legislative Charter. Of the 57% of candidates who stated their position, 89% were supportive and just 11% were opposed.
Of current sitting members, 53% have stated their position on the Charter, with 76% supportive and 24% opposed.
"Opinion for law reform has been in the majority for over 25 years, and now is the time for State Parliament to move forward on the issue", Francis said. "Some people seem to worry that many people are opposed, but it's clear that the great majority is in favour, so let's stop holding ourselves to ransom over a false belief."
"I call on the Bracks Government to allow debate and passage of a dying with dignity private member's bill through both Houses of Parliament," Francis announced.
Steve Guest's Story—by Andrew Guest
John was the eldest of the three of us. He was three and a half years older than me and I was eighteen months older than Steve. We were all very different in terms of our personalities, with Steve being the family extrovert.
Our first two homes were in Balwyn and we all attended Balwyn State School up to grade six. I remember one very humorous occasion when Steve and myself walked to school one morning and found it was on fire.
After spending a suitable amount of time watching it burn and watching the firemen do their stuff, we walked home. With huge grins on our faces we told our mother that the school was on fire and we had all been sent home. She looked at us sternly, told us we were wicked, wicked boys for telling such a lie, and ordered us to return to school immediately.
We tried to convince her we were telling the truth but she knew from past experience we must be lying, so back to school we went. We were promptly shooed away and set off for home again. When our mother saw us return the expression on her face said she was about to really get stuck into us but Steve blurted out "It's still burning Mum, it's still burning!", and she finally believed us.
Steve's birthday was on the 21st of December, and he always felt 'dudded' because instead of giving him a birthday present and a Christmas present, friends and relatives would give him one only, and they would justify it on the grounds that the present, whatever it was, was somehow bigger, or better, or more significant than two ordinary presents. Steve was not fooled, and he didn't like it at all.
At about the time Steve started in Form 1 at Scotch College the family moved out to Heathmont, and Steve and myself became friends with half a dozen or so other kids of about our age in the area. We knocked about as a sort of benign gang right up until we all left our family homesin our early twenties, to strike out on our own.
We had some fantastic times together going to parties, having barbeques at night over at Pound Bend in Warrandyte, having fights with 'rockers' (we were 'jazzers'), meeting girls and taking them out, and all the fun of youth.
Due to his extroverted personality and high level of confidence Steve had lots of girlfriends. In fact he was the one who often brought girls into the group, which was incredibly beneficial for the rest of us.
In his early twenties, while I was in Vietnam, Steve was buried in a trench collapse at a building site where he was labouring. His workmates pulled him out alive but only just, and one of his legs was very badly crushed.
The surgeon who first saw him recommended immediate amputation of the leg but our mother was an experienced nurse and she knew that the surgeon concerned had a reputation for hasty amputations. She arrived at the hospital to find that Steve had already signed a form consenting to the amputation.
She demanded to see the form and as soon as she got her hands on it she tore it into shreds and arranged for another surgeon to examine Steve. The result was that Steve's leg was put back together with plates and pins, and although it gave him twinges and ached a bit at times it was fine for the rest of his life.
It was our father, Jim Guest, who instilled in us our love of bushwalking. He took the three of us over the Baw Baws a number of times when we were quite little. Steve and I were still at Balwyn State School so we must only have been about 8 or 10 at the time.
Despite being so little we carried all our own gear. Back then (over 50 years ago) the Baw Baws were relatively untamed, with no tracks to follow in many places, and we didn’t even have tents – we slept under the stars on groundsheets and pulled them over ourselves from one side if it rained.
On one of those walks we were behind schedule, making for the hut on Mt Erica, when darkness overtook us and a storm blew up with light snow and cold, driving winds. I remember Dad becoming very agitated and pushing us to go as fast as we could, when out of the gloom the hut appeared in front of us. Dad lit a fire in the fireplace and Steve and I huddled in front of it half naked drying our clothes on sticks in front of the fire.
They were great times for kids like us – full of adventure and excitement.
We remember Steve with much love and affection.
Andrew Guest (brother of Steve Guest).
Further Information
For further information, visit www.dwdv.org.au or call DWDV on 03 9877 7677.
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steve guest day parliament house rally 2007 media kit 
