A delegation of Northern Territory MPs from both sides of politics has put aside their differences and travelled to Canberra to demand that Territorians be given equal rights to make laws as the states.
Last month, the Australian Senate narrowly voted down a bill that would have restored those rights and prevented the Commonwealth overruling laws enacted by the NT Government.
The issue dates back to 1997, when conservative federal Liberal MP Kevin Andrews successfully introduced a bill removing the NT's right to legalise euthanasia, after it became the first Australian jurisdiction to do so in 1995.
It is the only time assisted suicide has been legal in Australia, although Victoria is due to allow it from mid-next year.
The bipartisan delegation of Labor Leader of Government Business Natasha Fyles, Leader of the CLP opposition Gary Higgins and speaker Kezia Purick will present a motion to the federal House of Representatives and Senate.
The motion to present a resolution to Federal Parliament requests that "the Federal Parliament not determine and distinguish between the rights of Australian citizens by virtue of where those Australians reside within this country" and therefore change the Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978.
"This is broader than euthanasia ... if our (NT) assembly passes a law then that deserves to be upheld," Ms Fyles said.
"The fact is its anti-democratic, it puts Territorians as 2nd-class citizens, we're elected by Territorians and we should be able to pass laws without the federal parliament and do-gooders from down south overturning what the Territory parliament has decided."
Federal MPs Andrew Leigh from the ACT and Luke Gosling from the Northern Territory, who have opposing views on assisted dying, are also co-sponsoring a bill to restore the right of territories to legislate on euthanasia after the loss in the upper house.
