Emotional scenes in the upper house after the voluntary assisted dying laws passed. Credit:Jason South Greens MP Colleen Hartland wept into her colleague Samantha Dunn's shoulder as the final vote was declared. Ms Hartland, who is set to retire at the coming election, has been a long-time supporter of a voluntary euthanasia regime. Reason Party MP Fiona Patten cried as she locked hands with Labor's Gavin Jennings as his colleagues moved to embrace him. All in all, the bill was debated by both houses of Parliament for about 100 hours.

Health Minister Jill Hennessy with Premier Daniel Andrews. The bill will give terminally-ill Victorians in intolerable pain and with less than six months to live the right to ask to end their lives. That timeframe will be extended to 12 months for people with neurodegenerative diseases such as Motor Neurone Disease. Greens MP's Colleen Hartland and Samantha Dunn embrace after the voluntary assisted dying laws pass the upper house. Credit:Jason South The scheme is scheduled to begin in June 2019.

Premier Daniel Andrews said the passing of the bill would allow people to end intolerable suffering and give them the dignity that they had been "denied for far too long". Reason Party MP Fiona Patten weeps and embraces Labor's Gavin Jennings as Jaclyn Symes takes his hand after the euthanasia bill passed Victorian Parliament's upper house. Credit:Jason South "This has been a long debate and it's been a long time coming," he said. "This is Victoria at its best leading our nation." Mr Andrews said he expected the bill would not encounter any problems when it returns to the lower house next week.

"There have been some minor amendments that have been made. None of those undermine the integrity of the bill." But he said the time for long sittings was over and there would only be a short debate in the lower house. Although the bill has already passed the lower house with a strong majority, it must go back in its amended form for a final vote. It passed the lower house unamended by 47 to 37 votes last month. The debate will be limited to the amendments passed in the upper house rather than examining the entire bill again.

Health Minister Jill Hennessy acknowledged MPs from across the political divide who had supported the bill. However there were some dissenting voices with Australian Conservatives MP Rachel Carling-Jenkins, who opposed the bill, accused the government of rushing through the legislation. She said Victoria would be the first state to issue "death permits" once the scheme was introduced. The Australian Christian Lobby accused the Andrews government of crossing an ethical line and "embracing a culture of death". The group's Victorian director Dan Flynn said the bill was flawed and the lengthy debate indicated it was unsuitable for any Australian state.

"With the Victorian election to be held in late 2018, many Victorians will be seeking assurances from candidates that they will repeal this dangerous legislation if they are elected," he said. The Australian Medical Association said the passing of the legislation marked a significant shift in medical practice in Victoria. "The outcome of this parliamentary vote will cause anguish for some members of our profession, as well as the public," AMA Victoria president Lorraine Baker said. She said the AMA believed doctors should not be involved in "interventions that have as their primary intention the ending of a person's life". But Dr Baker said the conscientious objections provisions contained in the legislation ensured doctors would not be forced to be involved in voluntary assisted dying against their wishes

Supporters of euthanasia had sought to pass the bill in the upper house last week but Parliament was adjourned after Labor MP Daniel Mulino collapsed and was rushed to hospital after more than 24 hours of continuous debate. Mr Mulino, who opposed the bill, returned to Parliament on Tuesday when the upper house was recalled to debate the legislation. MPs struggled through the exhausting sitting as Mr Jennings, the government's leader in the upper house, calmly answered questions on many of the clauses in excruciating detail. Last week Liberal MPs Inga Peulich and Bernie Finn read out extracts of articles and documents in their contributions to the debate, frustrating supporters of the bill who accused them of unnecessarily delaying the final vote by "filibustering".

But many opposing rose to ask questions and point out their concerns with the bill at length as debate wore on. Loading Shortly before the final upper house vote, Liberal MP Simon Ramsay, who had previously been undecided on the bill, rose to confirm he would support the bill with amendments. His support was crucial to the bill's survival. If you are troubled by this report or experiencing a personal crisis, you can call Lifeline 131 114 or beyondblue 1300 224 636 or visit lifeline.org.au or beyondblue.org.au