NZ Centre for Political Research

This week's poll asks:

Should the government be required to hold a binding public referendum to pass a new constitution into law?

*It should be BINDING to hold a BINDING referendum for any change to a constitution. Diana

*Without a binding referendum this would be a kin to a communist state and that is not what I wantin NZ. John

*The sooner the better. As we now have Tariana Guevara demonstrating that she has adopted her new position (pose) with the para -military type badge emblazoned beret,there must be a swing towards more militant actions coming in the not to distant future.

I hope Tinkerbell and Kim Jon Kee, will now see just where the Takutai Moana? Foreshore Bill has led us to. Thanks a bunch guys,well bloody done New Zealand. Wiremu

*Can any kind soul please tell me why both Key and especially Finlayson are pushing this racially based legislation? Surely they must know that eventually the people of NZ will rise up and destroy them politically. I really can't understand what the drivers of these two are. Peter

*With all faith we put them there, we the people should at least have a say. Peter

*Gestapo tactics went out in 1945 I thought. Bob

*Not much democracy here - just one one thousand and ninety fifth (or ninety sixth in the case of a 3 year election period covering a leap year). Chris

*Binding referendums will lead to government by hysteria. K

*NZ is a democratic country. Key and cohorts are tirants and need to be stopped. Truus

*It is passed time time that we need to stand up against all references to the treaty of Waitangi in any leagl document or act of parliament. It has been hijacked and debased and is no longer work the paper it was written on. Warwick

*I trust the people more than I trust the Government. Peter

*Perhaps Helen Clark was right - if you feel like a Maori you can be a Maori!!! Then we will all have our noses in the trough!!! Geoff

*But, so what? Key and all his sycophants will merrily trample the roses in their rush to do whatever is good for them. What can you do when faced with such blatantly self-serving political prostitutes? Mark

*Political parties getting sufficient votes to form a govwrnment seem to believe that gives them a mandate to do whatever they want. This is hardly a democratic process and I am convinced that the people should have the right to express their support or otherwise through binding referenda.John Key has shown his complete disregard for due process and seems hell bent on a dictorial aproach and this does not sit well with the with the people of our country. Bill

This week's poll asks:

Should the government be required to hold a binding public referendum to pass a new constitution into law?

*With the seabed legislation and now claiments for water, I often wonder what next will Maoridom dream up. I fear for future generations as we appear to be headed for real division in our country - thanks to infamous MMP and power hungry politicians. Brian

*No - large numbers of kiwis have little in depth knowledge about political issues. Jasmine

*Surely our good government would not make such a move without the approval of ALL New Zealanders, expressed through a referendum? Yeah, right!! Rob

*It is to important an issue to leave to government and maori to decide, as that will be the two main bodies involved, especially if te-finlayson has a say. Noel

*This makes much more sense. Nick

*Of course. Somehow we have to wrest control of our current undemocratic system out of the hands of the bunch of apologists which I currently railroading us down the wrong paths. Jim

*It is critical that these major changes are given adequate public exposure and unbiased non P.C. information as to the long term affects of such changes. Gaire

*We don't need a new constitution. We need politicians prepared to stand up against greedy Maoris. PAUL

This week's poll asks:

Should the government be required to hold a binding public referendum to pass a new constitution into law?

*No. A Government GOVERNS not calls referendums all the time when things get tough. Rex

*There is enough red tape in this country already without creating more - plus its associated expense. Forget it. Stuart

*The treaty does not need to be part of any constitution. The interpretation of it seems to vary to suit their own claims. Richard

*Of course!! The Govt does claim that we are a democracy, doesn't it? Peter

*Not just yes but a resounding YES! We need binding referenda absolutely. Make it a major policy for the next election. Simon

*At present, I feel that we live in a dictatorship - once a Government has been voted in, the wishes of the people are nearly always ignored and this is so very wrong. Peter

*No constitutional change should be able to be passed by a simple Parliamentary vote! Jenny

*This is our most important document and every NZer should have a say about its content before it is passed into law. Craig

*This is a huge issue and of great concern. Delia

*Come next April I will have lived in NZ for 50 years. Time enough to conclude that Maori (like Palestinians)will never be satisfied with anything they are awarded through a misplaced sense of guilt on the part of the Pakeha population encompassed in an outdated document called the Treaty of Waitangi. What the Maori leadership wants now hasn't changed from 1963 i.e. control of ALL the technical innovations introduced by outsiders together with all the natural resources like the coastline, rivers & streams, the minerals underground and the space above them, and industries based on nature - agriculture, fisheries and forestry. PLUS all new technologies as fast as they come on stream. The overall objective is to create a Post Pakeha society where Maori are in control and are the privileged class which is financially supported by everyone else. Brian

*Yes, this is also something that is a decision for the country to make. But hey, look at John Key's track record, the political gains the government can grab to retain POWER will mean that the wishes of the people of New Zealand will be ignored. Are we living in China? or New Zealand? Seems there is a stronger objection to these "political" decisions needed. Neil

*Absolutely essential for the public to vote on this in light of past deals rushed thru Parliament. Jan

*A constitution can only protect citizens if adminstered by a benign Govt. See what happened to blacks in the USA and citizens in the Soviet Union. Peter

*Sad to see more political maouvering splitting the country into Maori vs the rest. Peter

*I despair at the thought of more buldozing manipulation of the decent citizens of ou fair country. Abolish the Treaty! Paul

*For the people, by the people??? Fiona

*The maori mafia are pulling all the strings to deny NZers any semblance of democracy. NZ is an apartheid and not a democracy. Derejk

*Absolutely. We must all have a say & that Finlyson & Sharples have no right to be rewriting the constitution behind closed doors. This Government is out of control. They are dictators. Judy

*Will the farcical greedy racist Waitangi Tribunal realise that if they say yes, the maori own the water, they will lose the respect of the gullible fools that think they are impartial, or will they say no and hope to keep voting under the radar in the background? Gordon

*On serious issues they should. Noela

*If this is not done other ethnicities may find that Maori own their front lawns. Peter

*Definitely yes. New Zealand belongs to all of us not just to the politicians and vested interest groups. However I do have a genuine fear that the politicians will try to stitch a deal up without reference to the people. They've done it before and they'll do it again if they think they can get away with it. Let's face it. A new constitution which gives privileges to one racial group is not going to be passed by the people - so the politicians will avoid taking it to the people if they can manage it. Denis

*I am sick of more & more demands from Maori. Perhaps it is time to become a republic with a new constition & tear up the treaty of whitang. Desmond

*I and my family do not want to be second class citizens in my own country. Trish

*For something that is going to affect our daily lives we should have the right to have our say. Kevin

*Simply a definite must for all citizens of a well established democracy. Guus

*Where have our rights as New Zealanders gone. David

*Will they? No! Civil war? When will they ever learn? Keith

*Any Constitutional change must be approved by a majority of the electorate. Governments are there to Govern on behalf of the people, not to dictate to the people. Diana

This week's poll asks:

Should the government be required to hold a binding public referendum to pass a new constitution into law?

*For something as important as this, Of course. Eric

*Provided it does not marginalise any race of peoples or persons. Rawiri

*Too important an issue not to be put to all New Zealanders. Iain

*MMP sytem is a joke. Minority opinion has too much sway. Norm

*For true democracy, yes...but we do not as our country is run by a true minority and a very very weak Key government. I am truely appalled at the way we, as a nation, have been treated by this government..such a small greedy minority taking over to the detriment of the rest. Audrey

*We are fast approaching the status of of a pseudo democracy. John

*This should be a fundamental right for all citizens without exception. Mike

*This is alledgedly a democratic country. Eira

*Yes of course they should! With impending legislation of this magnitude, with such wide-ranging ramifications for the whole of NZ a binding referendum should automatically be held. But there is absolutely no reason to tinker with, let alone change our present constitution at this time. For too long now, especially in the Clark and nor Key governments, both parties have been guilty of bulldozing un-mandated legislation through parliament. Frank

*Of course. And consultation means consultation not secret squirrel meetings with the maoris. The rest of us have effectively been silenced by giving maori voice. How did that work? I have had a gutsful of it all. Claire

*We don't live in North Korea - OR DO WE? Forbes

*Words fail me on the foreshore. Very disappointed! John

*Would like to think that common sense would prevail but wont hold my breath.... Alison

*The constitution at the present time has no racial based boundaries. Changes that support "Maori" law or Treaty preference will have no real validity in these times. Especially when we consider that there are no full blood Maori alive. Effectively the Maori as a pure race have died out; they are extinct. With New Zealand's immigration policies favouring Asian migration there will be more people of Asian blood here then claimed Maori blood within a generation. Gary

*This is potentially the next most divisive act of Government since setting up the Waitangi Tribunal! The widening chasm between European and some sectors of the Maori population grows ever wider. Evidence of the discontent fostered by telling young Maori that they have been badly done to is evident within society now. Example, when I challenged a young man who had been driving like a crazy person in our quite suburban street, when he ran our of excuses, he threw his hands in the air and yelled "I am a Maori". Hugh

*Although the majority of NZr's voted for this National crowd, it's clear that the vast majority of voters didn't agree with selling our assets. The election vote was interpreted by the Gnats to be their mandate for doing whatever they like. A binding referendum would surely cancel that. Who was the minister that privatised the power companies, telling NZ that it would give cheaper power? The Gnats stupidity has now spiralled into a worse scenario with the Maoris etc wanting to own the water --- all in the name of stopping asset sales. It would of been more appropriate if Key honoured his other pre-election dribble by not giving the wealthy tax cuts. Suckholing up to certain minor parties has brought dissenion across our nation. Ray

*Yes definitely. Just as we have a public referendum (general vote) to elect a government. Grahame

*But they won't, of course. Geoffrey

*Has anyone ever questioned if John Key has any maori blood in him? I suspect he has and that is why he is so intent on giving NZ back to them on a golden platter. Jayne

*If this is Godzone? Please God deal to the idiots who call themselves politicians... Christopher

*Absolutely, I dont trust The national party and their mates in the Maori party one bit. Colin

*But they won't. Many people keep making the erroneous assumption that we live in a democracy. We don't. In fact, we haven't lived in one for the better part of 40 years now. Better that people accept the fact that we live in a UN-run dictatorship that simply has the veneer of "democracy" draped over it for appearance sake only. And even the UN is only a thinly-disguised cover for the Bilderbergers, the Club of Rome et al. Oh sure, people roll out the big C word when one mentions the emperor's-clothes truth about the globalists who run our planet. But just because an idea is frightening in its appearance doesn't make it any less the truth. Sadly, by the time the "west" wakes up and realises that they live in a rapidly-shrinking gold cage, they will have lost so many freedoms and be such the slaves of the globalists that it will be too late. And lest we hope that the answer lies in a "western spring", its worth noting that the goal of the globalists, thru their socialist indoctrination centres (schools), is for a passive, dull, easily-led populace, who is also poor due to massive taxation (via big governments with their expansive "social" policies and retarded "green initiatives"). If we are going to break the bonds that enslave and trap us, now is the time for action - while some of the populace are still mostly awake... Peter

*Politicians are the most untrusting of all New Zealander. Bill

This week's poll asks:

Should the government be required to hold a binding public referendum to pass a new constitution into law?

*Starting with "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security" because I could not write it better. Lionel

*The present climate which encourages and financially supports a host of claims by maori is not the right time to consider any change. Until such time as a government can act for ALL New Zealanders without any racial bias, we will be stuck in this continual grab for power by our brown friends. Ray

*This Government seems to be handing NZ to the Maori people who just took it from the Morioris without any payment. They are happy to accept all the advantages brought by the Western world.The more you give the more they want. Mary

*Once the suggested constitution is published we should vote. Frank

*Along with many other NZers, I despair that we will ever be free from the greedy asset-grabbing being perpetuated by various Maori groups. They are able to do this with the sinister connivance of our political "leaders" and the appalling apathy of the general public. John

*No constitution without a referendum! John

*Fat chance that it will happen though. Tim

This week's poll asks:

Should the government be required to hold a binding public referendum to pass a new constitution into law?

*They should be but it won’t happen as Govt, particularly the left, already know what is best for us even though we don’t, we are slowly turning into a sad little country, well overdue for a party that has a primary goal of closing down the gravy train (water on the table, air will be next). John

*It is imperative that any constitutional change is through a referendum. That is the only safeguard the public have to ensure that politicians put in place arrangements that benefit all New Zealanders and not just the politicians. Sandra

*It would be good in any new constitution to include - as per the Swiss - a citizens veto. Ian

*We must have the right to approve or reject the Maori Party's constitution - surely the National Party is not so hungry for power that they will sacrifice our right to live in a country where we are all treated equally for a race-based future? If they allow such a thing to happen, just watch the exodus of kiwis to Aussie! John

*No minor political party should have the power that the Maori Party is being given - shame on National for what they are doing. Simon

*People I know think a new constitution is a good idea. They don't realise that the process has been hijacked by the Maori sovereignty movement. Peter

*MPs only pay lip service to public opinion - except at election time, of course - so it will be interesting to see whether they put the rights of the public ahead of their own convenience. I sure hope they do - for the future of NZ! Gordon