1995 New Zealand firefighter referendum

The first Citizens Initiated Referendum was held in New Zealand on 2 December 1995 (1995-12-02), based on the question:

1995 New Zealand firefighter referendum
2 December 1995 (1995-12-02)

"Should the number of professional firefighters employed full time in the New Zealand Fire Service be reduced below the number employed on 1 January 1995?"

Results
Choice
Votes %
Yes 79,475 12.18%
No 572,919 87.82%
Valid votes 652,394 100.00%
Invalid or blank votes 0 0.00%
Total votes 652,394 100.00%
Registered voters/turnout 2,419,958 26.96%
Results by electorate

Should the number of professional firefighters employed full time in the New Zealand Fire Service be reduced below the number employed on 1 January 1995?

Results

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The referendum returned an extremely low voter turnout, with less than 27% of enrolled voters casting a vote.

Results of the referendum, overall and by electorate[1]
Electorate  Y % Votes  N % Votes Total valid votes Electors on Roll Turnout
Total 12.18% 79,475 87.82% 572,919 652,394 2,419,958 26.96%
Albany 9.95% 1,180 90.05% 10,675 11,855 38,960 30.43%
Aoraki 11.75% 1,428 88.25% 10,722 12,150 38,960 31.83%
Auckland Central 11.09% 991 88.91% 7,945 8,936 38,599 23.15%
Banks Peninsula 15.95% 2,335 84.05% 12,307 14,642 42,408 34.53%
Bay of Plenty 11.60% 1,027 88.40% 7,828 8,855 38,333 23.10%
Christchurch Central 10.87% 1,163 89.13% 9,538 10,701 35,478 30.16%
Christchurch East 7.89% 1,058 92.11% 12,355 13,413 37,077 36.18%
Clutha-Southland 13.90% 1,184 86.10% 7,335 8,519 38,158 22.33%
Coromandel 11.67% 1,160 88.33% 8,781 9,941 40,996 24.25%
Dunedin North 10.02% 1,360 89.98% 12,213 13,573 37,976 35.74%
Dunedin South 8.13% 1,334 91.87% 15,084 16,418 40,672 40.37%
Epsom 21.79% 1,873 78.21% 6,723 8,596 39,957 21.51%
Hamilton East 11.51% 1,058 88.49% 8,734 9,792 37,349 26.22%
Hamilton West 8.11% 835 91.89% 9,465 10,300 38,732 26.59%
Hunua 10.70% 962 89.30% 8,032 8,994 35,006 25.96%
Hutt South 18.11% 1,894 81.89% 8,566 10,460 36,669 28.53%
Ilam 20.61% 2,724 79.39% 10,496 13,220 41,867 31.58%
Invercargill 8.66% 1,054 91.94% 11,113 12,167 38,171 31.87%
Kaikoura 15.55% 1,481 84.45% 8,045 9,526 39,131 24.34%
Karapiro 10.69% 883 89.31% 7,376 8,259 38,203 21.62%
Mahia 10.15% 863 89.85% 7,639 8,502 33,316 25.52%
Mana 15.85% 1,507 84.15% 8,001 9,508 32,950 28.86%
Mangere 7.83% 452 92.17% 5,317 5,769 29,385 19.63%
Manukau East 9.56% 744 90.44% 7,036 7,780 36,906 21.08
Manurewa 6.26% 455 93.74% 6,814 7,269 31,324 23.21%
Maungakiekie 9.48% 864 90.52% 8,254 9,118 36,313 25.11%
Napier 9.74% 1,155 90.26% 10,706 11,861 37,594 31.55%
Nelson 14.45% 1,605 85.55% 9,504 11,109 39,510 28.12%
New Lynn 6.95% 710 93.05% 9,509 10,219 35,016 29.18%
New Plymouth 9.54% 1,217 90.56% 11,540 12,757 39,913 31.96%
North Shore 14.26% 1,751 85.74% 10,530 12,281 40,741 30.14%
Northcote 9.62% 1,082 90.38% 10,164 11,246 38,524 29.19%
Northland 13.27% 926 86.73% 6,051 6,977 34,814 20.04%
Ohariu-Belmont 23.36% 2,409 76.64% 7,904 10,313 37,715 27.34%
Otago 12.36% 1,337 87.64% 9,483 10,820 42,047 25.73%
Otaki 16.15% 1,914 83.85% 9,934 11,848 40,005 29.62%
Owairaka 9.65% 939 90.35% 8,794 9,733 37,337 26.07%
Pakuranga 11.72% 1,218 88.28% 9,175 10,393 38,815 26.78%
Palmerston North 12.25% 1,412 87.75% 10,118 11,530 38,355 30.06%
Port Waikato 8.56% 688 91.44% 7,351 8,039 34,068 23.60%
Rakaia 17.21% 1,748 82.79% 8,406 10,154 38,878 26.12%
Rangitikei 12.42% 1,405 87.68% 9,911 11,316 38,277 29.56%
Rimutaka 13.00% 1,565 87.00% 10,476 12,041 36,794 32.73%
Rodney 9.89% 1,156 90.11% 10,530 11,686 42,522 27.48%
Rongotai 17.65% 1,934 82.35% 9,021 10,955 40,477 27.06%
Rotorua 12.17% 1,115 87.85% 8,046 9,161 35,443 25.85%
Tamaki 17.98% 1,659 82.02% 7,567 9,226 35,924 25.68%
Taranaki-King Country 12.49% 905 87.51% 6,338 7,243 33,883 21.38%
Taupo 13.05% 998 86.95% 6,647 7,645 35,412 21.59%
Tauranga 11.26% 1,269 88.74% 10,002 11,271 43,475 25.93%
Tukituki 11.66% 1,203 88.31% 9,117 10,320 37,321 27.65%
Waimakariri 11.24% 1,499 88.76% 11,841 13,340 39,119 34.10%
Waipareira 6.32% 648 93.68% 9,610 10,258 38,561 26.60%
Wairarapa 14.90% 1,626 85.10% 9,287 10,913 38,204 28.57%
Waitakere 7.41% 809 92.69% 10,115 10,924 36,593 29.85%
Wellington Central 33.33% 3,738 66.67% 7,476 11,214 44,328 25.30%
West Coast-Tasman 11.21% 1,115 88.79% 8,830 9,945 36,004 27.62%
Whanganui 9.06% 1,098 90.94% 11,022 12,120 37,954 31.93%
Whangarei 9.53% 1,137 90.47% 10,788 11,925 38,878 30.67%
Wigram 8.08% 1,139 91.92% 12,952 14,091 39,983 35.24%
Te Puku O Te Whenua 8.19% 278 91.81% 3,117 3,395 25,691 13.21%
Te Tai Hauauru 7.50% 266 92.50% 3,280 3,546 30,916 11.47%
Te Tai Rawhiti 7.92% 281 92.08% 3,269 3,550 30,097 11.80%
Te Tai Tokerau 8.18% 336 91.82% 3,772 4,108 30,094 13.56%
Te Tai Tonga 6.78% 316 93.22% 4,342 4,658 28,564 16.31%

Aftermath

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The referendum was rejected with a huge margin, but career firefighter numbers were reduced regardless. There were 1819 career firefighters on 1 January 1995, 1573 in 1998 and 1702 in 2009.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "7.1 Returns of Citizens Initiated Referendum Poll Votes" (PDF). Elections New Zealand. 2 December 1995. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  2. ^ Collins, Simon (17 November 2009). "Group calls for veto of referendum". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 9 January 2013.