Post by NFA on May 30, 2020 21:36:40 GMT 8
Constitutional amendments set the groundwork for the way our government works.
Constitutional CIR does not mean giving the people the right to vote on government legislation. That should, and must, be decided by Parliament voted in on the mandate of the people in a legitimate vote.
Definition
The type of Citizens Initiated Referendum (CIR) we propose is a vote by the people to amend the Constitution only. The results of the vote are binding on a government if the vote is Yes. If the vote is No then the government must abandon any attempt to implement the proposed change.
Why we don’t have CIR now?
Fill in the form to get the petitionWe do. However, it’s not working as it should.
The writers of the Australian Constitution included Section 128 that allows only the Australian people to change the Constitution by voting in a referendum.
Unfortunately, they gave only the politicians the power to start (initiate) a referendum. This has proved to be the stumbling block that has denied We the People the right to a true Democracy.
We are dedicated to amending S.128 to give all voters the right to start a referendum.
How CIR works
There are two ways we can initiate a referendum if we bring in CIR.
A sitting politician can start one by submitting a Bill to Parliament
Any voter can write a Bill to submit to Parliament. However, the submitter must also accompany the bill with the signatures of at least 1% of the Australian voters….at today’s population figure of almost 24 million Australians, a submitter would need the signatures of at least 240,000 people.
Gathering that many signatures is not an easy task. Well established groups could get the required number, but individuals would have a difficult time, unless the amendment they propose resonates strongly with the general public.
This would mean that any proposed amendment would have to have strong support from a large section of the populace.
People have asked if that wouldn’t open the doors for special interest groups to bring about change that could damage our democracy.
Of course, there is always that danger, but the question also assumes that a majority of Australians would agree to a change that would be bad for them. We believe the Australian people would never do that.
But submitting a proposed referendum Bill is no guarantee of success in the current political system. Often, referendums accompanied by the required signatures on a petition are simply ignored by Parliament, especially if the referendum will diminish their power to rule over us.
Once Parliament accepts a Bill for a vote in a referendum We the People have the final say.
We the People must gain the power to start referendums ourselves so that we don’t end up having our will ignored by the political parties.
Constitutional CIR does not mean giving the people the right to vote on government legislation. That should, and must, be decided by Parliament voted in on the mandate of the people in a legitimate vote.
Definition
The type of Citizens Initiated Referendum (CIR) we propose is a vote by the people to amend the Constitution only. The results of the vote are binding on a government if the vote is Yes. If the vote is No then the government must abandon any attempt to implement the proposed change.
Why we don’t have CIR now?
Fill in the form to get the petitionWe do. However, it’s not working as it should.
The writers of the Australian Constitution included Section 128 that allows only the Australian people to change the Constitution by voting in a referendum.
Unfortunately, they gave only the politicians the power to start (initiate) a referendum. This has proved to be the stumbling block that has denied We the People the right to a true Democracy.
We are dedicated to amending S.128 to give all voters the right to start a referendum.
How CIR works
There are two ways we can initiate a referendum if we bring in CIR.
A sitting politician can start one by submitting a Bill to Parliament
Any voter can write a Bill to submit to Parliament. However, the submitter must also accompany the bill with the signatures of at least 1% of the Australian voters….at today’s population figure of almost 24 million Australians, a submitter would need the signatures of at least 240,000 people.
Gathering that many signatures is not an easy task. Well established groups could get the required number, but individuals would have a difficult time, unless the amendment they propose resonates strongly with the general public.
This would mean that any proposed amendment would have to have strong support from a large section of the populace.
People have asked if that wouldn’t open the doors for special interest groups to bring about change that could damage our democracy.
Of course, there is always that danger, but the question also assumes that a majority of Australians would agree to a change that would be bad for them. We believe the Australian people would never do that.
But submitting a proposed referendum Bill is no guarantee of success in the current political system. Often, referendums accompanied by the required signatures on a petition are simply ignored by Parliament, especially if the referendum will diminish their power to rule over us.
Once Parliament accepts a Bill for a vote in a referendum We the People have the final say.
We the People must gain the power to start referendums ourselves so that we don’t end up having our will ignored by the political parties.
www.cirnow.com.au/