Media Advisory Petition Presentation

Mayoral Reception Friday December 13th 2002, 10 am 2nd Floor Training Room
Dunedin City Council

The Otago STV Action group will be presenting 7,000 signatures to the Dunedin City Council (DCC) Chief Executive this Friday, which it anticipates will trigger a referendum on the electoral system for the 2004 Dunedin City elections.

Central government, through the Local Electoral Act 2001, required all councils to decide whether to stick with First Past the Post (FPP) for the 2004 local body elections, move to Single Transferable Vote (STV), or hold a referendum on the issue. The Act also provided that if 5% of the public signed a petition challenging the council’s decision then a referendum would be called.

4198 (5% of voters) valid signatures are required in Dunedin to trigger a referendum.

Wellington City Council chose to go straight to a referendum, which was conducted throughout November this year. The result was that the voters opted to switch to STV for the 2004 elections.

“This is an issue of fairness,” said STV Action Group spokesperson Sam Huggard. “We believe that Dunedin city residents should have the right to decide on the voting system we use for our representatives, not the representatives themselves.” “The fact that we have collected well above the required signatures shows a significant level of support for this right to decide.”

At the time of writing, the petition count stands at 7076. Final figures can be obtained at the end of Friday by calling the group spokesperson.

© Scoop Media