CIR has a very long history in Australia. It was the policy of the ALP at the time of Federation and for many years thereafter. CIR Bills have been introduced numerous  times into State parliaments but, alas, none has succeeded - so far.

Australians,in general, seem well disposed to the concept of CIR but sometimes have concerns about a particular outcome. It doesn't make a lot of sense really.When a parliament passes an undesirable piece of legislation no-one calls for the abolition of parliament. Parliaments, like the electorate in general, can make mistakes. Below is a letter recently sent from us which addresses thematter.

'Have you ever considered that Citizens' Initiated Referendum (CIR) might be a vehicle for you to pursue the causes you believe in? If you haven't, please do.

As you probably know already, CIR is practiced widely and successfully around the world and it is simply a way of allowing the general population to have a direct say in the legislation which governs it. CIR, we believe, is merely the next small step for our evolving democracy.

The major political parties in Australia oppose CIR for the same reasons they oppose power sharing with anyone about anything. Power is intoxicating and highly addictive .........

The XXXX, we know, is not part of the dominant political power structure of Australia but it does have influence and ideals. It also has members who care about our society and it is for these reasons I am writing to invite you to give some thought to what CIR might actually entail.

As President of CIR Australia I spend a lot of time promoting/evangelizing the cause of CIR. I often find that my listener/victim will counter the unassailable logic of my argument with something like, 'Well, what if CIR resulted in something as obnoxious as XXX'? Their opposition to CIR is not to CIR as such but rather to some possible adverse outcome. My reply is thus:

What if parliament enacted the same odious measure? Would you advocate the abolition of parliament? Does it make sense to oppose an admirable process from fear that it may not always be perfect?

There is no reason to worry that legislation instigated by CIR would, in any way, be inferior to legislation generated by the currently dominant faction of the currently dominant political party. None what-so-ever.

Another way of looking at it is this: Based on extensive overseas experience we can predict that CIR would put about one hundred referendum questions to the electorate during any hundred year period. Of these hundred referendums only about forty would succeed. That's right, just forty new laws (or repeal of existing laws) during the course of a whole century. Of course it is very possible that you would not support one or two of these measures but it is at least equally likely that you would support perhaps ten or twenty of them.Would you forego twenty victories to avoid a couple of disappointments?

If you have concerns about anything and if you feel that the political process is not addressing those concerns CIR is something you might want to consider. You can find out more at www.CIR-Australia.net

Best wishes to you all. Thank you for reading this'.

RonaldEvans

President

CIR Australia