He said that requests for someone to collect the drugs from the person's home and to deliver them to the nursing home had been unsuccessful – because of fears of legal consequence. The option of drone delivery had then been raised, Mr Nitschke said.

Mr Nitschke conceded this did not solve the question about assisting in suicide. "The interest is to make a point, or a gesture," he said.

He said the person had suffered "a quite sudden cardiac incident and then much to their surprise there was a situation where they went downhill. They didn't even have the chance to return to their home. They do not have any family."

Margaret Tighe, the president of Right to Life Australia, said that the proposal made Mr Nitschke an embarrassment to the pro-euthanasia movement.

"What a bizarre idea, and what a dangerous and deadly idea," she said. "To a nursing home of all places. What will he think of next?"