The decision by the Senate, the upper House of the Australian Parliament, to discard the Northern Territory's euthanasia legislation was today welcomed by church leaders. The Senate vote followed a vote in the House of Representatives some weeks earlier, which also supported the Private Member's Bill designed to overturn the Northern Territory euthanasis legislation.

The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, the Most Rev Harry Goodhew, said that he was deeply pleased with the outcome.

"While we feel a deep sense of compassion for those who are suffering and longing for release from pain, yet we must recognise that the Senate vote shows that there is still a sense of reverence for life in our community," he said.

"The taking of a person's life is contrary to God's law and the values of a civilised society and I am deeply thankful that the Senate agrees. To condone the deliberate killing of the most vulnerable in society is to risk the status of all human life in our community, and the primary intent of any law should be to sustain and enhance life, not to destroy it.

"Looking ahead, it is time for Australia to take seriously the requirement for palliative care, especially in the Northern Territory. There are no doctors with formal palliative care qualifications practicing in this field in the NT. This is an area which should receive substantial government and local support."

Archbishop Goodhew also commented on the deep resistance to the euthanasia legislation in the Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. "The members of Parliament have shown that they have heard and responded to the fears and opposition of the indigenous people to this legislation," he said.

A special Senate Select Committee had gathered submissions from the Northern Territory and it is believed that every Aboriginal community had expressed their opposition in submissions to the Committee.

The Governor-General of Australia, Sir William Deane, is expected to sign the Bill into law immediately.