Neil Bell

Neil Randal Bell (5 October 1947—) is a former Australian politician and teacher. He represented Labor in the MacDonnell seat of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1981-1997.

While an MP he was a key - although reluctant - opponent of the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995 (NT), arguing that the legislation had been passed in haste; that euthanasia was contrary to Indigenous values; and that the bill represented a slippery slope - a 'right to die' becoming 'a duty to die' (McGee et al, 2018; Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, 1996).

In 1996, Bell presented a private member's bill, Respect for Human Life (Serial 111), with the aim of repealing the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act. However, after being debated, Serial 111 was defeated in a 14 to 11 vote (Zendowski, 1996).

McGee, A., Purser, K., Stackpoole, C., White, B., Willmott, L., and J. Davis. (2018). Informing the Euthanasia Debate: Perceptions of Australian Politicians. UNSW Law Journal 41(4): 1368-1417. 

Northern Territory Legislative Assembly. (1996). Serial 111: second reading speech. 15 March 1996. https://parliament.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/367958/serial111speech.pdf

Zdenkowski, G. (1996). Human rights and euthanasia [Working Paper]. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. https://humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/pdf/human_rights/euthanasia.pdf