No matter how obscure the matter at hand, any petition you may want to submit to parliament will probably get a fair hearing.
A new specialist committee established in this parliament to receive and consider petitions has already reported back on 226 petitions so far in the 53rd Parliament. This is more petitions processed than in any other Parliament in New Zealand history.
The Dawn Raids petition garnered 7366 signatures. Photo: RNZ / Daniela Maoate-Cox
A petition is a basic way for any member of the public to raise a matter of concern with Parliament. Some petitions aim for new legislation, some for a new government policy, some seek an acknowledgement.
A quick look at the petitions section of Parliament's website shows a great range of petitioning underway, including to require businesses to accept cash, to build a memorial on Raoul Island for Peruvian slave trade victims buried there, a petition to make military service mandatory for all people aged 18, and many others.
Anything at all
“It can be about any subject at all, anything at all, “ said the petition committee’s chair, Jacqui Dean.
“It’s about an individual, or a group of individuals - two or three people or thousands of people. It is about something that is under the control of the crown, under the control of the government, that people want changed, or who want to raise with us that they’re unhappy about it."
People need to be heard, she explained, regardless of how many signatures the petition has.
“We treat each and every petition on its own merits,” she explained, adding that it is common for petitions to be referred on to another Select Committee if the subject of the petition is a matter that committee is particularly familiar with.
Sometimes the scope of a petition means the matter is best dealt with directly by the government so the committee can refer the petition in question, for example to a minister.
Being heard
Ultimately, not all petitioners get what they are seeking.
“All we can do is report back to the House. We have no powers to make any change. That’s up to the government of the day.
“But we really need and want to be able to report back to the House and therefore back to the petitioner, so that they know they have been heard and their issue has been considered in a timely manner. We don’t want to hang on to petitions, because it’s not fair on people.”
Asked whether some petitions were simply a waste of the committee’s time, Jacqui Dean felt this wasn't a helpful way to look at any petition.
“Our job is to hear people, and it’s about being accessible, hearing people and treating people with respect.”
Jacqui Dean in the House Photo: ©VNP / Phil Smith
