Clerk of the House determines question for referendum petition

Mary Harris, Clerk of the House of Representatives, received a proposal on 11 April 2011 to promote an indicative referendum petition under the Citizens Initiated Referenda Act 1993 (the CIR Act). The proposal was from Dr Muriel Newman and Dr Hugh Barr, and the wording of the question proposed to be put to voters in an indicative referendum was:

“Should the Marine and Coastal Area Act be repealed to restore Crown ownership of the foreshore and seabed?”

Under the CIR Act, the Clerk of the House was required to determine the precise question to be put to voters within 3 months of receiving the proposal. Advertisements were placed in the Gazette and metropolitan newspapers inviting comments on the proposed wording. One comment was received.

The Clerk of the House has considered the comment received and has undertaken consultation with the proposers. In determining the wording of the precise question to be put to voters, the Clerk is required by section 10 of the CIR Act to ensure that the wording of the question should be such as to—

• convey clearly the purpose and effect of the indicative referendum, and
• ensure that only one of two answers may be given to the question.

The Clerk of the House has determined that the wording of the question be:

“Should the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 be replaced by legislation that restores Crown ownership of the foreshore and seabed?”

Further information about citizens initiated referenda proposals may be found from the Status of current proposals link in the ‘Related links’ panel.