The Citizens Initiated Referenda Act 1993


The Citizens Initiated Referenda Act 1993 allows any

person to start a petition asking that a

national referendum be held.

First you need to have the Clerk of the House of

Representatives determine the referendum question and

approve the petition form. Then you can collect

signatures to get the public's support for the

referendum question.

A referendum will be held if the petition

has enough valid signatures.

The referendum result will show the

people's view on the question.

The Government may or may not decide to

act on the result of the referendum.

These are the six stages in the referendum process

Stage 1 - Starting a Referendum

To start a referendum, give your written proposal to the Clerk of the House of Representatives. The proposal includes

		your name
		the name of your contact representative or    spokesperson (if you have one)
		a contact address for you or your representative or spokesperson (if you have one).

You must also give the Clerk the $500 fee and a draft of the proposed petition.

You are advised to contact the Office of the Clerk before starting referendum process. The Office has sample petition forms and will help you in following the correct procedures. Contact:

Parliamentary Officer (Table)
Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives
Bowen House
Parliament Buildings
Wellington
(04)4719489

Stage 2 - Question and Petition Form Approval

If all the steps in stage 1 are correctly carried out, the Clerk advertises the proposed question. The public then has at least 28 days to make written comments to the Clerk on the wording of the proposed question

The Clerk will determine the wording of the question by

		considering your written proposal
		considering the public's comments
		considering any other relevant matters
		consulting you and other people.

The Clerk has three months to determine the wording of the question. The wording of the question needs to

		show clearly the referendum's purpose and effect
		ensure that only one of two answers can be given to the question (for example, yes or no).

The wording of the question will not be determined if

		you withdraw (in writing) your proposal
		you are a corporation that is dissolved or wound up
		a similar citizens initiated referendum was held within the last five years
		you die
		the petition is about the election of a member of Parliament (MP)
		the petition is about the way a referendum was held.

Once the wording is determined, the Clerk approves the petition form to be used to collect signatures. Supplying these approved petition forms is your responsibility. The Clerk will then advertise

		that you are the promoter of the petition
		that you are approved to use the determined wording of the referendum question and the approved petition form
		the determined wording of the referendum question.

You may now promote the petition and collect signatures on the approved petition form.

Stage 3 - Collecting Signatures

You have 12 months to collect signatures and to deliver the petition to the Clerk. You must have the signatures of at least 10% of all eligible electors.  Eligible electors include those on the General and Maori electoral rolls.  All the signatures must be on approved petition forms, otherwise those signatures will not be counted.

People who sign the petition forms must state

		their full name
		their electoral address
		their electorate (if known)
		the date
		their birth date (optional).

The Referendum Process

Before delivering the petition you need to

		identify each page where erasures appear
		identify each page that is not filled with signatures
		on each unfilled page, note the number of signatures on it.

Now your petition is ready to deliver to the Clerk for checking.

Stage 4 -Checking the Petition

Refer to the flow chart for the steps involved with checking the petition.  The following explains in more detail some of the steps shown by the symbols in the flow chart.

		The petition ends if it is not delivered to the Clerk within 12months of the Clerk's advertisement of the determined wording of the referendum question in stage 2.
		"Filled out correctly" means that you have correctly done all of the tasks required of you before delivering the petition in stage 3.
		The petition ends if the two month time limit is not met or if no additional signatures are collected.
		This process is called "certification". The Clerk either certifies that the petition is correct (the YES box) or that it has lapsed and should be returned to you (the NO box).
		This process is called "resubmission". You must collect more signatures in order to be able to use this process. This is your final chance to get enough valid signatures.

The maximum amount of time for a petition to be checked is:

If filled out correctly		20 working days plus two months
If not filled out correctly		20 working days plus eight months

   Stage 5 - Holding the Referendum

The Governor-General has a month from the time the petition is presented to the House of Representatives to set a date for the referendum.

The date of the referendum

		must be within 12 months of the petition presentation to the House
		can be changed to be within 12 to 24 months of the petition's presentation if 75% of all MPs agree
		may be the same day as a general election
		may be changed to the same day as a snap election.

Stage 6 -Announcing the Result

The Returning Officer in each electorate announces that electorate's result to the public after the referendum has been held.

The Chief Electoral Officer will announce the final result for the whole country.

The result can be questioned in each electorate by

		applying to the District Court for a recount
		filing a petition of inquiry in the High Court.

If the High Court decides the referendum result is not correct, a new referendum must be held in that electorate within 30 working days.

The Government may or may not decide to act on the result of the referendum.

Other Rules

It is an offence for

		you or your organisation to spend more than $50,000 promoting the petition
		you or your organisation to spend more than $50,000 promoting an answer to the referendum

The maximum fine fort overspending either limit is $100,000.

You must record the amount of money you or your organisation spend on advertising in relation to the petition or referendum. This must be reported to the Returning Officer in your electorate. The maximum fine for making a false report is $70,000. Expenditure reports are available for the public to inspect.

Every advertisement in connection with a petition, or promoting an answer to the referendum, must include the true name and contact address of the person responsible for the advertisement. The maximum fine for not doing this is $70,000.

This pamphlet only highlights the main points of the citizens initiated referendum process. You should consult the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Citizens Initiated Referenda Act 1993 and its regulations for other important details.

Produced by the Law Reform Division, Department of Justice, 1994.