Two CLP branch chairs representing party members in Darwin’s northern suburbs have written to the Chief Minister calling for the “unnecessarily restrictive” voluntary assisted dying legislation to be altered to remove the doctor “gag clause” and the 12-month prognosis timeframe before it is passed next week in Parliament.

The letter, obtained by the NT Independent, also called on Lia Finocchiaro to explain why the government added those two clauses against the recommendations of its own report on the legislation.

The unrest in the branches comes as CLP Member for Fong Lim Tanzil Rahman, who authored the CLP’s report into the legislation, pledged last week to introduce his own amendments to remove the controversial clauses from the bill when it is debated in Parliament.

The Trower and Darwin North branches directed their letter to Ms Finocchiaro, all elected CLP members and all other branch executives across the NT, citing their concerns the bill as introduced has “unintended consequences and may prevent competent, terminally ill Territorians from making an informed end-of-life decision”.

“In our view, these provisions will unnecessarily inhibit vulnerable Territorians’ reasonable access to the Bill’s primary provisions,” said the letter.

“Concerningly, they risk creating arbitrary and inequitable barriers and without materially strengthening the extensive safeguards already contained in the bill.”

The letter was signed by Trower branch chair Peter Perrin and North Darwin branch chair Daryl Manzie, as well as five other branch executive members.

Mr Manzie and follow signee Rick Setter are former CLP members of Parliament who voted in favour of the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act in 1995, when the bill was first brought by former chief minister Marshall Perron. Mr Perron resigned as chief minister that day to ensure it did not appear he was using party politics to get CLP members to vote for the bill that was later overturned by the Commonwealth.

Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro meanwhile has guaranteed the bill will pass with a majority of CLP support while still spruiking it as a conscience vote next week in Parliament.

She has yet to explain why she and Attorney General Marie-Clare Boothby added the condition that doctors not initiate discussions about VAD, or why they added that a person could only access voluntary assisted dying services if they were given a 12-month prognosis of death.

Ms Boothby’s office issued a bland statement when asked about the branch letter that also did not explain why the two controversial clauses were inserted into the proposed legislation against the report’s recommendations.

“In the CLP, we believe in the freedom for MLAs to speak and vote their conscience – to represent their communities. We also believe in the freedom to choose how and when you die when you’re faced with a terminal illness,” she said.

“That’s why we’ve introduced a considered Rights of the Terminally Ill Bill after three decades, with strong safeguards to protect the vulnerable, and with the votes necessary to pass that legislation.”

The letter from the branch executives points out there are already safeguards in place to address the concerns raised by the two conditions, including “rigorous assessment of eligibility, decision-making capacity, voluntariness, coercion, conflicts of interest and independent oversight”.

Mr Rahman was the only CLP MLA to openly criticise the bill as it stands. He was on Tuesday joined by CLP Member for Fannie Bay Laurie Zio, who also said she wanted to see the two conditions axed from the legislation, but was unsure if the rest of the wing supported the changes.

Mr Rahman said in a statement last week that the restrictions introduced were not in keeping with best practice and community sentiment, adding he would attempt to pass amendments to remove them.

He encouraged Territorians to contact their local MLAs to voice their opinions before the conscience vote next week.