Philip Nitschke, a general practitioner who assisted the world's first death by legally sanctioned euthanasia, said it would be ``a more formal way of dealing with these patients that I'm seeing at the rate of one or two a week''.

He insisted he would not be breaching the law by performing euthanasia or prescribing lethal doses of narcotics.

``That would be construed as assisting in a suicide and the legal risks there are severe,'' he told reporters.

``But I can give them information, I can direct them towards the fast-diminishing sources of the necessary drugs... illegal sources and black market sources.''

Under the world's first such legislation in Australia's Northern Territory, which was outlawed in March this year, Nitschke assisted in the deaths of four people.

Two doctors had to confirm a patientwas terminally ill and suffering unbearable pain before life could be ended and a psychiatrist had to confirm the patient was not suffering a treatable clinical depression.

The law was killed-off in a conscience vote by Australia's Upper House Senate after fierce condemnation from the Vatican, politicians, local church leaders and prominent Aboriginals.

``These are patients who would have qualified for the Territory's law,'' Nitschke said. ``But without the Territory's law they seek the best palliative care, and they still make a decision that they do not want to go down that road, and so they seek the illegal options available.''

``The people'' would support him, he said. He would travel to the Netherlands, where euthanasia has been decriminalised, to assess their operations, he added.

``Legally I can offer people nothing, but illegally I can offer them an awful lot,'' he said.

The most common form of suicide in the over-80s was hanging, he said, followed by gunshot wounds, plastic bags, thenpharmaceuticals.

``What I'll make sure of is that instead of having to go out and buy a piece of rope, they actually know what they're doing with the right drugs.''

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) said what Nitschke planned was ``unethical'' and against AMA and World Medical Association policy.

``Euthanasia is illegal in Victoria,'' said the state's AMA president Gerald Segal. ``He will find himself in huge strife.''

The Voluntary Euthanasia Society of Victoria also expressed reservations, saying its members provided counselling, but only within the law.

``I'm sure Dr Nitschke can provide a valuable service; there is a huge unmet need for advice,'' said president Rodney Syme.

``But I don't support anything which would break the law and our organisation operates strictly within the law.''