21 February 2018

New Zealanders’ right to democratic process

The Care Alliance calls on the Justice Select Committee to make an official media announcement about the extended submission period for the End of Life Choice Bill. Care Alliance Secretary, Dr Peter Thirkell, is concerned that the general public needs to be made aware that the closing date for submissions is now midnight on Tuesday 6 March.

He also calls on the Committee to publish on its website the nearly 11,500 submissions received and processed so far, which is usual practice but not yet carried out.

“It’s important that the Justice Committee recognises that every voice counts in what is meant to be a democratic process,” says Dr Thirkell, “and that the process should be open, accessible and equitable.”

“Providing early access to all submissions on the website can only help to better inform everyone about the issues at stake in this Bill. We’ve found that the more people get to know about it, the less they like it.”

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