Cannabis Referendum Order 2020

2020/47

Coat of Arms of New Zealand

Cannabis Referendum Order 2020

Patsy Reddy, Governor-General

Order in Council

At Wellington this 23rd day of March 2020

Present:
The Right Hon Jacinda Ardern presiding in Council

This order is made under section 8 of the Referendums Framework Act 2019 on the advice and with the consent of the Executive Council and on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice.

Order

1 Title

This order is the Cannabis Referendum Order 2020.

2 Commencement

This order comes into force on 23 April 2020.

3 Declaration of referendum for purposes of Referendum Frameworks Act 2019

A referendum on the question set out in clause 4 is a referendum for the purposes of the Referendums Framework Act 2019.

4 Wording of question to be put to electors

The wording of the question to be put to electors in the referendum is—

“Do you support the proposed Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill?”

5 Wording of options for which electors may vote

The wording of the 2 options for which electors may vote in response to the question is—

“Yes, I support the proposed Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill.”

“No, I do not support the proposed Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill.”

Michael Webster,
Clerk of the Executive Council.

Explanatory note

This note is not part of the order, but is intended to indicate its general effect.

This order comes into force on 23 April 2020. The order declares a referendum on the question “Do you support the proposed Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill?”, which is to be put to electors at the next general election, to be a referendum for the purposes of the Referendums Framework Act 2019 (the Act). The order also specifies the options for which voters may vote in response to that question.

The order has the effect that the referendum will be conducted in accordance with the Act, which sets out the law governing the conduct of referendums held alongside the 2020 general election.

A copy of the draft Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill can be found at—

Issued under the authority of the Legislation Act 2012.

Date of notification in Gazette: 26 March 2020.

This order is administered by the Ministry of Justice.