Rt Hon Winston Peters
New Zealand First Leader
14 August 2012

Two Question Referendum Required on Same Sex Marriage

New Zealand First has renewed calls for a binding referendum to allow the public to have its say on same sex marriage.

Rt Hon Winston Peters says the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill does not adequately address the issues and a two-question referendum is required.
• “We need to let the public say whether the definition of marriage should be changed to include same sex couples.
• “We should also be asking if the Civil Union Act should be amended to allow Civil Union couples the same rights as married couples.”
Mr Peters says no political party campaigned strongly for same-sex marriage during the 2011 election, so there is no clear answer as to what New Zealanders want.

“These are issues of public morality and thus it should be for the public to decide, not temporarily empowered politicians, particularly those MPs who are adamant that the public should not have its say.

“A referendum is the only way to accurately gauge what the country wants.

“If Louisa Wall believes she has the public’s support, she should be willing to amend her Bill to first include a referendum held at the same time, for example, as the Asset Sales referendum,” says Mr Peters

ENDS

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