A Constitution covers three main parts:
1. Basic Rights and Responsibilities of Citizens
2. The structure and powers of Government
3. Government Elections
1. The Basic Rights and Responsibilities of Citizens
New Zealand already has legislation which covers human rights and other fundametal rights of citizens such as The NZ Bill of Rights 1993, The Human Rights Act 1993, The Resource Management Act and The Employment Relations Act 2003 to name a few. However, these laws fall short of the promises made when we signed the International Declaration of Human Rights and can easily be changed or repealed by any government at any time. We believe that the rights expressed in should be included along with some of these additional rights:
1. A right to the basic necessities of life including a basic education of their choice.
2. Defined minimum and maximum prison sentences
3. Non-compulsion - noone should be forced to go to school against their or their parents' wishes
4. Abolish limited liability protection for company shareholders where laws have been broken.
5. Residential tenants must be given further rights such as that they be unable to be evicted; have their rent-rises limited to inflation and have the right of purchase at market value after 3 years continuous tenancy.
6. Those with disabilities must be given further rights such as mobility and healthcare to live a close to normal life.
7. Criminal witnesses and victims must be given more protection and receive adequate compensation.
8. Immmigration should be capped at a level agreed to by referendum to maintain a stable and healthy culture.
9. A universal right to legal advice and representation so the law works equally for everyone.
10. A Binding Referendum must be available to any petition which garners support from 1% of eligible voters.
2. Structure and Powers of Government
Government must be divided into four separate parts to ensure independence of each function and to limit corruption. Local government must be abolished in favour of their services being administered by the Executive and all bylaws made on a national scale rather than regionally because we all deserve the best local services and our laws must apply equally to everyone, everywhere. The Legislature (Parliament) shall consist of 100 members The Legislature would have just two main roles - to approve funding to the Executive (President) and to pass any laws which are in line with the constitution. It shall not pass any law which directs or restricts the Executive's ability to do it's job. Funding for the Legislature shall be approved and provided by the Chief of Indepedence. Increase the majority required to pass laws in the Legislature to 66% to enforce consensus decision-making. The Executive consisting of a single President serving a four year term would have responsibility for the public service and military, and hold emergency legislative powers. All funding for Executive operation shall be approved by the Legislature and supplied by the Chief of Indepedence. The exact responsibilities of the Executive shall be defined in the Constitution and include such things as:
- Protect the people, environment and economic interests of New Zealand from all threats to health and life.
- Enforce all laws made by the New Zealand Legislature
- Invest in public infrastructure, eg. transport, ICT, water, sanitation ect
- To fund events, organisations and infrastructure which have a potential for broad public benefit
- To represent New Zealand in all international and diplomatic matters
An Independent Judiciary led by 7 independently elected supreme Court judges, would run the judicial system of NZ using funds approved and supplied by the Chief of Indepedence. A Chief of Independence (COI) would have sole power to fund itself and to have the responsibility and power to: Oversee and enforce the constitution, Run the Human Rights Commission, Monitor all government activities, Call elections for the Judiciary, Executive or Legislature at any time, Adminster elections, Collect and redistribute taxation revenues, Manage the monetary system of the country including creating and distributing new money, Manage the finances of all other government departments, Collect and manage all information collected from the public, Fund an independent and media for the benefit of our democratic freedom, Fund all independent Research and Investigations in the public interest.
3. Electoral Rules
We must abolish any and all restrictions on who can run as a candidate or form a political party so that our democracy is truly free and fair. We must also provide equal public funding for those political parties and candidates that agree to forgo the right to collect any donations. This will prevent money influencing our elections and support minor parties. Legislature - elected by a single national representative party vote where each person chooses one party, and votes are talled to achieve a percentage for each party. The minimum votes required to achieve representation would be one seat, or 1% of the vote. President - The President can only be elected twice in his/her lifetime. Elections for President shall be by national preference voting.ach voter shall rank as many candidates as they want and the candidate achieving the highest vote count above 66% of votes shall be declared the President. Should no one candidate achieve a 66% majority after first preferences are counted, second preferences are added to the first and so-on, until a President is found. Judiciary- Elected for a 6 year terms by the same method as the president except there can be multiple winners who all must exceed the 66% threshold. Chief of Independence - Elected for a 4 year term by the same method as the president. The term would commence two years after or before that of the President so that tenure shall not be over the same periods. Local Government - No local government.