Referendums (or referenda) are held only occasionally by the government of New Zealand. Ten referendums have been held so far (excluding referendums on alcohol licensing, which were held triennially between 1894 and 1989). Seven were government-led, and three were citizen "initiatives".

Government referendums

The government of New Zealand may, at any time, call for a referendum on any issue, but must pass enabling legislation first. This provision allows some parliamentary scrutiny of the issue, and wording of the question. There is no constraint on whether an issue is to be decided by the New Zealand Parliament or by the public. The only exceptions to this are the term of Parliament and several other aspects of the electoral process,^[1] which can be changed only through a referendum or by at least 75% of MPs voting for the change. This has led to the sporadic use of referendums, partly because there is no constitutional requirement, as there is in other countries like Australia or Switzerland that have codified constitutions.

Constitutional referendums

There is no requirement for a referendum to enact constitutional change in New Zealand. The most recent such referendum was to decide the nature of electoral reform in New Zealand. Many groups advocate constitutional reform by referendums; for example, the Republican Movement supports a referendum on whether New Zealand should become a republic. Recently the government replaced the Privy Council as New Zealand's highest court of appeal with the new Supreme Court of New Zealand despite calls from New Zealand First, National and ACT for a referendum to be called on the issue.

However, there are frequent calls for the use of referendums to decide constitutional matters. The term of Parliament may be changed only either through a referendum or by a 75% majority of MPs.^[2] Both the establishment of the Supreme Court of New Zealand (2003) and the abolition of the New Zealand Legislative Council (1950) were done though regular Acts of Parliament and were not subjected to referendums.

Liquor licensing referendums

In New Zealand, alcohol licensing has historically been decided by referendum. The first of these were compulsory local licensing referendums, held in 1894 and then with each main parliamentary election between 1896 and 1914. Local licensing referendums were eliminated after 1914, apart from 'local restoration polls' to legalise liquor sales in 'dry' districts. In 1910 a referendum on national prohibition of alcohol was introduced, and held in conjunction with every general election from 1911 to 1987 inclusive (except 1931 and 1951). An extra prohibition referendum was also held in April 1919. From 1919 an additional option of state control of liquor sales was added to the ballot. The Sale of Liquor Act 1989 abolished the national liquor referendum. Local restoration polls were still held in areas that were still 'dry', but the last three, Mount Eden, Mount Roskill and Tawa, all became 'wet' in 1999. There have been two referendums on pub closing times.

Other referendums

The government may call referendums on any issues on which it wishes. These will usually be on issues on which the government is split. For the 1997 referendum on retirement savings, the decision to hold it was part of the coalition agreement between National and New Zealand First.

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 10% of all registered electors within 12 months. Based on the roll of the 2005 general election, organisers would need to gather 284,740 signatures at the average rate of 780 a day. 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. The poll must be held within 12 months unless 75% 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 allowing CIR's nationally. It is seen by many democratic theorists as a good form of direct democracy. However, the implementation of CIR went against the advice of the Royal Commission on the Electoral System 1986. The RCES stated "In general, initiatives and referendums are blunt and crude devices.... [that] 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 three 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. Clearly it shows how easy it is for the proposal to qualify, but it also reflects what kinds of people tend to launch them.

Firefighters

The first citizens' initiated referendum was held in 1995. The question "Should the number of professional fire-fighters employed full-time in the New Zealand Fire Service be reduced below the number employed in 1 January 1995?" is unique in that it aimed to elicit a "no" response. Turnout was low and the measure was voted down easily, with just over 12% voting "Yes" and almost 88% voting "No.^[3]

1999 election

At the 1999 election two referendums were put before voters. One was on whether the number of Members of Parliament should be reduced from 120 to 99. Electors overwhelmingly voted in favour of the proposal, with 81.47% voting for this proposal. However, there were no moves to amend the Electoral Act 1993 in line with this result until 2006 when a bill was introduced by New Zealand First MP Barbara Stewart to reduce the size of Parliament to 100. The bill passed its first reading by 61 votes to 60. It seems unlikely to pass into law as many parties stated they were supporting it only to Select Committee stage.

The other referendum held in 1999 asked "Should there be a reform of our Justice system placing greater emphasis on the needs of victims, providing restitution and compensation for them and imposing minimum sentences and hard labour for all serious violent offences?". This measure passed by 91.78%.

Child Discipline Act

Following the submission of a petition on 22 August 2008, the Clerk of the House verified to parliament that the threshold for a CIR had been reached. Supporters have said that they would like it to be held with the 2008 election, however government ministers have stated that it will likely be a postal vote instead.^[4]

This was the second attempt to collect enough signatures to force a referendum on the Child Discipline Act at the 2008 general election. ^[5] However, when assessed by officials, a sample of 30,000 signatures revealed too many inconsistencies. This lead officials to announce that the petition did not meet the threshold. Larry Baldock, a member of The Kiwi Party replied that they have three months to resubmit the petition, and have collected 20,000 more signatures. He was also critical of the sample method citing that statisticians apply an assessment of the sample which is extended to the entire petition. He believed that statistical error of that sample is not considered in their assessment. ^[6]

Citizens' Initiated Referenda results

The 1999 referendums were held in conjunction with the 1999 general election, which is likely to have played a role in the high proportion of voters.

Should referendums be binding?

The perceived lack of implementation of successful referendums has led to calls for such referendums to be made binding on the government of the day, similar to the direct democracy seen in Switzerland. Both the New Zealand First Party and the small Direct Democracy Party advocate for binding referendums, along with the Better Democracy group. http://www.betterdemocracy.co.nz/. By contrast, Gaynz.Com has run articles critical of the CIR lobby, as well as expressing concerns that CIRs could be abused to strip vulnerable minorities of their legislative protections http://www.gaynz.com/aarticles/templates/Political.asp?articleid=1573&zoneid=3

Local Government

Local government (Regional councils, territorial councils and District Health Boards) may hold referendum on issues which they feel their citizens need to be consulted upon.

Referendums have been held on Water fluoridation, changing the electoral system to Single Transferable Vote and merging authorities together.

See also

• New Zealand elections
• Electoral system of New Zealand
• New Zealand constitution

References

• Elections NZ
• Better Democracy
• Ministry of Justice
• Citizens Initiated Referenda Act 1993
• Referenda (Postal Voting) Act 2000
• Atkinson, Neill. Adventures in Democracy: A History of the Vote in New Zealand. Dunedin: Otago University Press, 2003.
• Catt, Helena. "The Other Democratic Experiment: New Zealand?s Experience with Citizens? Initiated Referendum." Political Science 48, no. 1 (1996): 29-47.
• Church, Stephen. "Crime and Punishment: The Referenda to Reform the Criminal Justice System and Reduce the Size of Parliament." In Left Turn: The New Zealand General Election of 1999, edited by Jonathan Boston, Stephen Church, Stephen Levine, Elizabeth McLeay and Nigel S. Roberts. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2000.
• James, Colin. "Riding into Battle over Socially and Morally Divisive Bills." New Zealand Herald, July 29 2003.
• Miller, R. ed. "New Zealand Government and Politics" 4th edition, 2006, OUP
• New Zealand Press Association. "Referendum Call on M?ori Seats " The Dominion, 5 MAY 1999, 2.
• Palmer, Geoffrey, and Matthew Palmer. Bridled Power: New Zealand's Constitution and Government. fourth ed. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 2004.
• Parkinson, John. "Who Knows Best? The Creation of the Citizen-Initiated Referendum in New Zealand." Government and Opposition 36, no. 3 ( 2001): 403 - 21.
• Prince, John D. "Look Back in Amber: The General Licensing Poll in New Zealand, 1919-87." Political Science 48, no. 1 (1996): 48-72.
• Simpson, Alan (editor), Referendums: Constitutional and Political Perspectives, Wellington: Occasional Publication No.5, Department of Politics, Victoria University of Wellington, 1992.
• The Political Economy of Six O?Clock Closing (in New Zealand) Tim Mulcare. (Rich Text Format)

External links

• Organising New Zealand Referendums Online

Notes