Eric Poole

Eric Houguet Poole (10 August 1942 – 18 August 2021) was an Australian politician, Northern Territory tourism advocate, and chairman of the Select Committee on Euthanasia appointed to collate submissions on the Rights of the Terminally Ill Bill 1995. 

Initially in business, Poole led the NT Tourism Commission from 1979 until he pivoted to politics in 1986. A member of the Country Liberal Party (CLP), he comfortably held the Alice Springs seat of Araluen from 1986 up to his retirement in 2001 (Green, 2005), and had a diverse range of ministerial portfolios including Minister for Tourism, Minister for Asian Relations, Trade and Industry, and Minister for Regional Development (Edgington, 2001). 

Poole was chairman of the parliamentary committee investigating euthanasia, and tabled his report into the Rights of the Terminally Ill Bill on 16 May 1995. The committee did not take a final pro- or anti-euthanasia stance, but instead recommended that if legislation was passed, that it include provisions for a cooling-off period; better palliative care services in the Territory; and investment into indigenous health educational programs (Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory, 1995).

Poole was married, with three children. He died in Bali in 2021 after a short illness, at the age of 79.

Edgington, S. (2001, August 21). Vale Eric Poole [LinkedIn post]. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/stevenedgington_vale-eric-poole-former-country-liberal-party-activity-6834055496446685184-eYnL/

Green, A. (2005, June 28). Northern Territory election 2005: Araluen. ABC News online. https://www.abc.net.au/elections/nt/2005/guide/aral.htm

Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory. (1995). The Right of the Individual or the Common Good? Report of the Inquiry by the Select Committee on Euthanasia (Vol. 1). https://parliament.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/367963/vol1.pdf