Moves to initiate binding referenda to "solve" issues like civil unions are not the simple solution they might seem, says Labour's Napier MP Russell Fairbrother. The MP says he became convinced that referenda don't work during the civil unions debate last year. "I was inundated with correspondence from many groups, with pseudo-scientific qualifications, who are taken at face value and spread inaccurate propaganda," he told the Napier Mail. "That misinformation makes a referendum really hard to accurately reflect what people really know about a subject." He says the referenda process should be sparingly used. "While the marketing is sophisticated, the spreading of knowledge is not," he says. National leader Don Brash told TV2 gay show The Outhouse last week that there would be zero chance of a referendum on civil unions if National were to come to power, however minor parties that may end up in coalition with National do not feel the same. United Future wishes to repeal the Civil Union Act and amend the Marriage Act to exclude same-sex couples. NZ First would hold a referendum.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Tuesday, 13th September 2005 - 12:00pm