Stoush sparked over a new bill for cannabis referendum
The Opposition are accusing the Government of screwing the scrum in possible upcoming referendums by deciding the forms of the questions without Parliamentary scrutiny.
But the Government said National is ‘clouding the waters’ with its criticism and that parliamentary scrutiny will still come from the Regulations Review committee.
However, National says this likely wont happen until after the referendum.
The Government introduced a bill to Parliament that will enable the cannabis referendum to be held with the 2020 General Election. It provides the legislative framework to govern the conduct of the referendum and includes rules around it, such as advertising.
It can be used for any referendum in the 2020 election, so could also be used for the End of Life Choice Bill, should Parliament decide a referendum is needed on that bill.
Questions on the ballot paper would be at first decided by an Order in Council in Cabinet.
National’s Electoral Law spokesman Nick Smith said this gave the Government control over what issues and questions would be put at the 2020 election, calling it undemocratic and wrong. He said that in the past, each referendum would require its own bill in the house, allowing proper scrutiny of the question and other matters.
But on Wednesday, Acting Prime Minister Kelvin Davis said the Regulations Review committee would have overnight, testing the question, with the final wording drafted by the Electoral Commission.
There are no set procedures for who sets the wording of referendum so it’s an open process. The problem here is that the Government are still too frightened to fully back the cannabis referendum, and add to the fact that it won’t be binding , the referendum is looking like it’s stoned without any clear way forward.
This is insane.
Important public policy like this shouldn’t be dumped in the too hard basket, it will be citizens who show by the referendum result what needs to be done, but if it’s a mere decriminalisation of cannabis rather than the need for a regulated market, there will be hell to pay.
To assist the voting public to know what the hell is going on, TDB will be live streaming the first ‘Pub Politics’ 8pm September 2nd from Chapel Bar on Ponsonby Rd to debate the cannabis referendum.
I will be hosting and so far we have David Seymour from ACT and Chris Fowlie President from NORML and cannabis blogger for TDB. We have also invited Paula Bennett, Chloe Swarbrick and Helen Clark.
You the people of NZ deserve to be informed on this important referendum.
PS – We invited Family First to participate in the debate, but unfortunately they are cowards and declined. Because they are cowards.
I agree Jays, Marytn’s comment of “screw the scrum” is exactly whats going on in the Political arena at present.
Its highly important that Cannabis Referendum is binding & worded without landmines attached. It needs to be a choice of the people, not a political issue to direct the tax advantage, or control given to anyone with a vested interest in the profit from sale.
As for the Drug Driving issue, please, there won’t be anymore people driving under the influence than currently on our roads, so the Police Revenue raisers should douse their heads in cold water to put their firey hair out. The biggest problem on our roads are P & alcohol, not Marijuana. Cannabis induces a more rrlaxed mentality that err’s on the sire of conservative driving habits, not risk,or a sense of bullet proof invulnerability to harm. Reality needs to rule over the creative imagination dictated by Beurocrats running the “More Revenue from a new source” routines. The enemy is P & excess Alcohol, so these revenuer’s need to pull their kneez out of their foreheads and get a grip!
My feelings are decriminalize and grow your own for personal use, whether Medical or Recreational. If you need a Medical version for whatever ails ya, you should be able to source it from competant local producers, licensed for Manufacture & Supply of the Cannabioids in a mixture suitable to your personal needs.
If this isuue gets turned over to Pharmac, it becomes profitized and priced out of the general affordability of those in needs to keep the Stockholders dividends rolling in ever higher as the Neoliberalist Market demands.
Allowing Gov’t to control it is exactly the wrong thing to do. They work for the Market, not the interests of the people who need relief.
Labour or National, it doesn’t matter. They are merely wings of the same fat Market Turkey anyway.
So, leaving Gov’t to decide and control only changes the hand between Black Markets.
Go after the P Dealers & Big Alcohol & give us all a break! Thats where the damage is done…
The question, you can bet yer arse, will be designed to win the most votes for reelection of the current mob bosses looking at securing their access to the treasury for another 3 years. That being the main objective for every cold blooded reptile politician in Western Capitalist Democracy’s. They get another shot at the rule-making to please Wall St., IMF & World Bank loan arrangers & the Federal Reserve which is the home of the great Oracle of the Algorythm that rules us all.
It would not surprise if the referendum was written using disappearing ink…
It’s easy to legalize cannabis .. you just change the law – NO referendum required !!
I won’t vote for a party who isn’t in favor of legalizing OR which is ineffective to this end while in government. Come election time may just leave TOP and ALCP. If TOP drops their cannabis policy – two tricks for ALCP.
It is what it is .. eventually Labour and the Greens might get sick of losing tens-of-thousands of votes to ALCP.
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