Cletus “Pluto” Connell was a good man. 

Hailing from Bega, NSW before buying a house in Central West NSW, Cletus was a builder by trade who “loved his family, loved his dogs and loved the bush.”

But this simple, happy existence would be brought to a halt by terminal cancer, and a long, thought out decision not to let the disease rob him of his quality of life. 

His family only wishes there could have been a more dignified way.  

With the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill set to be voted on in the NSW Parliament in the coming days, one Gooloogong man is telling his story to persuade MPs to vote yes on the matter. 

Cletus’ son Greg Connell said his father had watched his own father die in agony from terminal cancer in 1970 and was determined not to let the same thing happen to him. 

“His father… I was only 2 when he passed in 1970, he developed cancer and we’re not sure actually what from but he used to break out in lesions,” Greg said. 

“He was receiving radiation treatment, but it got to the point where he knew he wouldn’t be coming back and my grandmother and father went up there.”

What Cletus saw next would be set in his mind for the rest of his life. 

“He walked into the room and my grandfather is just lying there, skin and bones, begging him “Bring the gun boy, bring the gun, I want to end it,””

“From that day on, in 1970, he was never going to go like that he said.”

Cletus was born in 1932 in Moruya, he left school in 1947 to become a builder. He married in 1954 and had three kids – Greg and his two sisters. 

In 2002, Cletus’ wife became ill and he spent the better part of ten years looking after her. It was during this time his wife developed dementia and Cletus was diagnosed with diabetes. 

Greg’s mother passed away in 2013. 

“It was not long after her funeral I actually said, come on Dad I’ll take you on a trip to Inverell, to see one of his mates on a big property up there.” 

The family was then struck another devastating blow. 

“Just before we went, he went to the doctors and had a blood test and they discovered he had myeloma, bone cancer,” Greg said. 

“We were pretty open with the doctor involved and said to him straight up, how long?

“And he said two years, tops.” 

In the two years that followed Cletus would suffer a heart attack and stroke. The various medications he was put on would work for a number of months before he would decline once again. 

Cletus’ grandson then moved in to be his full-time carer. 

“Was probably a couple of months after that that he suffered a stroke, this was during his downhill decline,” Greg said. 

After another trip with Greg, Cletus dramatically lost weight and became frail. He started blood transfusions and Greg spent most of March 2015 by his father’s side. 

“I got to talk with him two days before he died,” Greg said. 

“We were sitting in the lounge room and he cried with me and he said he didn’t want to be a liability. He didn’t want to be this way. 

“I explained to him that he wasn’t, he shouldn’t think that way and that we love him very much.”

One last overnight stay in hospital after a blood transfusion in March 2015 would bring a terrible realisation for Cletus and Greg. 

“I just said to him straight up, do you remember what your GP said to you two years ago?” Greg said. 

“He knew, he just needed someone to tell him that it was time.” 

He left hospital that afternoon with his grandson, who had to pick up other relatives from a nearby airport. 

When his grandson returned later that night, the house was dark and silent. He walked around but Cletus could not be found. 

​Police and ambulance attended the scene and the family found a note Cletus had written. 

“Thank you to the ladies at the Oncology Unit at Bega District Hospital and to my family. It’s time to go,” it said. 

Greg says it didn’t have to be this way. 

“I think it’s important to understand that we are not upset for what he did, he had to do it.

“The unfortunate part was that he had to end it in such an undignified way, alone, in the dark, with no family.” 

Ever since that day, Greg has been advocating for voluntary euthanasia in NSW and has contacted various MPs to guarantee their support. 

“It takes a big politician to go in there and try and get something done. It takes a bigger politician to go in there and vote for something they don’t necessarily believe in but most people do,” he said. 

Member for Orange Phil Donato put a survey to the people of Orange in September to see if his constituents supported the bill – it was an overwhelming yes. 

“The Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party does not have a policy on social issues such as voluntary euthanasia, and my personal beliefs should not influence such an important and personal issue for many people,” Mr Donato said.

“The result was clear: 81 per cent in favour of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill, 17 per cent against, and 2 per cent per cent undecided, based on several thousand responses.” 

Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke said it was a conscience vote and she would be waiting to see the result from the Legislative Council. 

“I’ll declare my position after the Bill has been dealt with in the Legislative Council with a known outcome,” Ms Cooke said. 

Dying with Dignity NSW Board Member Liz Jacka said anywhere between 73 per cent to 80 per cent of Australians were in favour of voluntary euthanasia according to various polls over the years.  

“In most electorates, there would be a majority in favour,” she said. 

Ms Jacka also highlighted opponents to the bill, especially those in religious circles, who she says have been spreading misinformation about the proposal. 

“Some of the opponents of assisted dying talk about what happens in the Netherlands and they misrepresent us quite badly," she said. 

“The point that we need to make is that our legislation and Victoria’s legislation is based on the Oregon model.” 

The Oregon model, which has been in place in the US state of Oregon for 20 years, has strict criteria around who can access assisted dying. 

“So in order to qualify for assisted dying, you have to be terminally ill… that’s defined as about to die in six months and you have to be an adult, you have to be of sound mind,” Ms Jacka said. 

“So that means somebody who is disabled does not qualify unless they have a terminal illness, someone with a mental illness does not qualify, children will not qualify, people with dementia will not qualify and people with incurable, degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s or Motor Neuron Disease won’t qualify either unless they are six or 12 months away from death.”

Two doctors and a psychologist must also sign off on any patient requesting assisted dying. 

“So it’s only going to work for people with cancer or very severe pulmonary diseases or heart conditions,” Ms Jacka said. 

She said while all of the details have not been worked out yet, the bill would mean that those with terminal diseases did not have to suffer an agonising death.

“The opponents get very scared about these sorts of possibilities but under our proposed legislation, none of these things could happen," Ms Jacka said. 

“Our bill is just to help people with terminal cancer or other diseases to avoid the last few weeks or months of excruciating pain and discomfort and lack of dignity, which often can’t be alleviated by palliative care.” 

Greg said he hopes that the Bill passes so no one else has to go to the extremes his father did in his last days. 

“He wanted to live, don’t doubt that, but he didn’t want to live in a frail body. No one wants to be like that in the end,” Greg said. 

“He was a good man, a hard worker and I loved him and it still hurts.” 

The bill is set to be introduced into the Upper House on November 16.