This morning, I rise to fulfil the second part of a promise I made to Helen. At the beginning of May, having been diagnosed with cancer of the stomach and pancreas, Helen was sitting in the conservatory on a Sunday morning. When I walked into the room, she said "It is time we put plans in place." The first thing she dealt with was music for her funeral. Helen knows, or knew, that I am a deeply emotional person when it comes to music. She picked a piece by Massenet for the church and the piece "Song to the Moon" for when she would leave the church to go to her grave. She said she knew I would cry when I heard "Ave Maria" and "Pie Jesu" and, in order to save my dignity as I left the church with tears running down my face, she chose "Song to the Moon" so that everybody else would be crying with me.

Helen was a State-registered children's nurse. She had qualifications in neurosurgery and had worked with the elderly and so she told me "There are other things we need to do and we are going to do them today." One of these things was something I spoke about yesterday, namely, enduring power of attorney. I know my colleague Senator McDowell fully understands the difficulties relating to enduring power of attorney but she wanted it and, even if hell were to freeze over, she would get it done. The second thing she wanted was an advance healthcare declaration form. For me, this involved sitting with someone I had lived with for 49 years and hearing her express her final wishes as to how she would be treated. You can list specific treatments you do not want and the circumstances in which they are not to be accepted. One of the things you can specify is that you want this decision to apply even if your life is at risk as the result of refusal. Helen went through the various things she did not want under any circumstances. In all cases, she could only be given medical treatment if it was to improve her quality of life and her engagement with her children and grandchildren. As I typed this up for her, the two of us cried quite a lot. It was the most harrowing experience of my life but we did it.

The first time I knew how important the advance healthcare declaration was when she was in St. Vincent's hospital and the consultant oncologist told me that they had advanced healthcare declaration and knew what they could and could not do. When she entered palliative care in the hospital, exactly the same thing happened. When we went to the hospice, it was exactly the same thing. I remember that, at one stage, Helen was getting slightly better and we were debating whether she would be coming home. She said she wondered if she would be discharged. I said this to one of the nurses and the following morning the consultant came in, sat on Helen's bed and said that she had heard that Helen was concerned she might be discharged. She went on to say that the room and the bed were hers for as long as she needed it.

Helen, in her humorous way, looked at her and said, "You mean until I die." That was the truth of it. Helen made me promise that I would deal with these documents, the enduring power of attorney and the advanced health declaration. In completing this advanced health declaration, Helen removed from me and my two children the burden of having to make decisions for her, should we find ourselves in a situation where decisions had to be made.

On the morning before she died - she died at 2 o'clock in the morning - there was a serious problem with respect to the blockage in her bowel. The consultant said to her that they could insert a gastronasal tube to relieve the pressure. Helen looked at her, smiled and said, "I think you have the form that deals with that." There was no gastronasal tube.

In tribute to the bravest, strongest and most caring person I have ever known in my life, I promised her I would mention both of these. We should all have an advanced health declaration form. We should take the burden off those we love in order that decisions would be made by us - by myself, not by somebody else. It is the same with the enduring power of attorney. I know Senator McDowell has spoken on that before. We need to simplify that document without losing the protections. We need to reduce the costs involved in it. I am sorry that I have gone way over time, but may Helen rest in peace. Her strength, courage and determination to do things right should be a benchmark for all of us as we go forward.