A very difficult conversation has been started on Afternoons with Deborah Knight.

Andrew Denton has sifted through the facts around the voluntary assisted dying debate in the podcast Better Off Dead, addressing the safeguards in place to prevent accidental death.

He told Deborah Knight he’s heard heartbreaking stories of unnecessary suffering, such as that of listener Stuart and his late mother, “over and over and over again”.

Public opinion polling shows upwards of 80 per cent of Australians support assisted dying legislation, he said.

“There is no issue Deb, and hasn’t been for many years … where there is greater public support than this issue.

“The experience of Victorians for nearly two years goes to show that … the arguments [lobbyists] made, which suggested the sky would fall in, aren’t true.”

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview

Image:  Getty