Wednesday, 28 October 2015
Citizen group to hold TPPA Referendum
Citizen group Real Choice announced today they will hold a nationwide referendum on the TPPA. Real Choice, under the
name Show us Ya Text, previously attempted a citizen’s search and seizure of TPPA documents at MFAT offices in
Wellington and an occupation of John Key’s electorate office in Helensville.
Spokeswoman Lizzie Sullivan said, “democracy isn’t a game that only a few get to play. The government is refusing to do
democracy properly, so we’re doing it for them.”
“From Monday 23rd till Monday the 30th of November, we’ll be holding our own referendum on whether the NZ government
should hold a binding referendum on ratifying the TPPA”, said Sullivan.
“We live in a democracy and that means more than just voting every 3 years. The government thinks they're giving us real
choice on changing the flag, but we need real choice on the bigger issues at stake.”
“We expect more from our elected representatives, we expect them to be open and transparent with their plans, and this
agreement has been anything but. So we’ve said flag that, we want real choice. We’re hitching a ride on the flag
referendum and running our own.”
“We will set up a secure online voting platform and will have volunteers to set up polling stations around the country
to collect votes during polling week.This is too important to be left up to a small group of MPs to decide, and they
should put it to a binding referendum vote.”
“If the government really believes in democracy, it would put this agreement to the test and allow its constituents to
have a say on this incredibly important issue. We’re giving Kiwis the chance to show the government we want a say on the
TPPA. We want real choice, because that would be real choice”, said Sullivan.
ENDS.