Referendums in New Zealand - Citizens Initiated Referendums

Citizens Initiated Referendums

The Citizens Initiated Referenda Act 1993 allows for citizens to propose a referendum. These are non-binding referendums on any issue in which proponents have submitted a petition to Parliament signed by ten percent of all registered electors within 12 months. There were 3,070,847 on the electoral roll for the 2011 general election, so organisers would need to gather at least 307,085 signatures at the average rate of 842 signatures per day, although in reality, organisers would need to collect closer to 340,000 signatures to allow for variances in electoral roll numbers, duplicate signatures and signatures that cannot be matched to a registered elector. It costs NZ$500 to file a petition asking for a referendum with the Clerk of the House of Representatives. The Clerk formally determines the wording of the question, which may be quite different from the original. Once the Clerk receives the completed petition, the number of signatures is initially counted, followed by sample groups of signatures being taken and the signatories' names and addresses checked against the electoral roll. The sampling of signatures is used to estimate the number of valid signatures for the whole petition with confidence, and if the lower confidence interval is more than ten percent of the electoral roll, the petition is presented to the House of Representatives. Within one month of the petition's presentation to the House, a date for the poll must be determined. The poll must be held within 12 months of the petition's presentation, unless 75 percent of MPs vote to delay the poll for one year. There is also a $50,000 spending limit on promoting the petition.

New Zealand, Italy, and Switzerland are the only countries whose laws allow for citizen-initiated referendums (CIRs) nationally. Its defenders view it as a form of "direct democracy" However, the Citizens Initiated Referendum 1993 went against the advice of the Royal Commission on the Electoral System 1986. The Commission stated "In general, initiatives and referendums are blunt and crude devices.... would blur the lines of accountability and responsibility of Governments".

A total of 33 petitions have been launched since 1993 on a wide range of topics. Only four have come to a vote, because all the other proposals failed to gain enough signatures to force a referendum. The target number for signatures is the key to looking at the initiative proposed by citizens.