Community Based Referendum will give the ordinary people of Australia the opportunity to directly address the issues of real concern which are all to often swept under the carpet following each election.
Community Based Referendum will grant to the people of Australia the right and ability to initiate legislation directly. It will not hinder our Westminster system of representative government, rather, it will enhance our system of democracy by ensuring real issues are debated and addressed.
One Nation’s Community Based Referendum policy will work, in essence, as follows:
A sponsoring committee of 12 people individually certified as electors before a Justice of the Peace will collect a minimum of 400 signatories validated from the electoral roll as electors in support of the proposal and will then lodge an application with the State Electoral Commission.
If the Electoral Commission assesses the proposal as being able to be given legal effect, the sponsoring committee then has 12 months to gather the signatures of at least 2% of electors from more than 50% of electorates. Note with 148 electorates it would be necessary to collect the appropriate number of signatures from at least 74 electorates.
The total number of signatures collected must not be less than 2% of electors validated from the electoral roll.
If the Electoral Commissioner is satisfied the proposal has been supported by the required number of electors, then the Parliamentary Council will commence the drafting of the appropriate bill. The bill will then be presented to the Parliament who will have the opportunity of passing the bill or making recommendations for improvement.
If the bill is not passed by the Parliament it will be automatically referred for referendum at the same time as the next election.
If the appropriately collected signatures equals at least 5% of electors, the proposal must be submitted to a referendum within three months.
When the proposed law is approved by a majority of electors voting at the referendum and in more than 50% of electorates, the proposal is presented to the Government for assent. Following assent, the bill becomes law.
NOTE: The government may also at any time address the proposal before the issue goes to a referendum.
NOTE: No proposal can contravene the rule of law that treats everyone equally or the rules of natural justice that require fairness.
Community Based Referendum is relatively simple, inexpensive, and a democratically effective method of ensuring that the laws under which people live are approved by the people themselves.
Statement by Pauline Hanson MP, member for Oxley.