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Speaking with a clarity and intelligence that could make listeners regret she was not picked as National leader, Adams told RNZ that “if we learned anything from Brexit, it’s that referenda can be very bad ways to make complex, complicated decisions”.
Thank goodness Amy Adams is leaving. What breathtaking arrogance to assume that politicians know best and that voters cannot be trusted to make the right decisions.
If NZ First had its way, […]
A referendum on legalising cannabis will be added to the 2020 election, following an agreement by Labour and the Green Party. NZ First has demanded a referendum be attached to David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill […]
NZ First leader Winston Peters has expressed a view that the public should vote on abortion.
[…] Thanks to the lobbying skills of National’s Amy Adams, Little is believed to have the numbers for the abortion bill without NZ First, although NZ First leader Winston Peters says the party still wants a referendum. But it raised the lasting question of whether referenda are the best way to resolve knotty social, political and moral questions.
Adams believes they are not.
Parliamentarians are elected to weigh up evidence, make decisions and govern on behalf of the public. They are expected to have appropriate skills and experience. They should be able to follow complex arguments rather than hand decisions that are too hard over to a less informed public.
Referenda are populist levers that appear more democratic but are often shown to be less so.
If voters are less knowledgeable about issues than professional politicians and their staff, they are more open to manipulation by political messaging. That is one of the lasting lessons of Brexit.
I
[…] Public arguments about abortion and euthanasia in New Zealand would become just as contentious. We are entitled to think our elected politicians can make these decisions.
Stuff
Have you got that voters? Amy Adams knows best and you need to keep your “less informed” and easily manipulated by “political messaging” vote out of these “complex arguments”. Don’t worry your pretty little heads about it, Aunty Adams will take care of it for you and protect you from having to think for yourselves. After all, we can’t have you all being influenced by any “populist levers” now, can we?
