Wesley Lanhupuy

Wesley Wagner "Wes" Lanhupuy (1 November 1952 – 26 October 1995) was an Australian politician and indigenous leader.

Lanhupuy attended Milingimbi School and Kormilda College in Darwin, and was a noted sportsman. He was head of the Northern Land Council before entering politics in 1983, elected as the Labor member for Arnhem. He held the seat until his resignation in 1995.

In May 1995, he was considered to have cast the deciding vote in support of the Northern Territory's pioneering Rights of the Terminally Ill (ROTI) bill becoming law. An extract of his comments in support of the bill, from Hansard:

"A man lives his life, whether for or against the law, and irrespective of whether he has received the rights that he has demanded or has had a cheerful life or otherwise. When he is about to make his last request, should we be in a position to deny him that last right which he wants? That is the question which I believe honourable members of this House will have to come to grips with by themselves, regardless of whether they have decided to support or oppose the bill and be that on religious or any other grounds... I believe a person should have the right to be able to determine what they want if they are of sane mind."

He died in 1995 at the age of 42 of a heart attack. It was noted that the pressures of public life had had a great impact on his health ("Obituary: Les Lanhupuy"). 

(via Wikipedia)

Obituary: Les Lanhupuy. (1995, October 29). The Canberra Times. p. 2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/130566982?searchTerm=wes%20lanhupuy

Northern Territory, Parliamentary Debates, Legislative Assembly, 24 May 1995 (Wes Lanhupuy, MP for Arnhem). https://parliament.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/367950/extracts.pdf