Nearly two-thirds of NZers have voted in favour
of the End of Life Choice Act 2019 coming into force.
The End of Life Choice Bill led by ACT leader David Seymour
has caused robust debates and made voters re-think their moral values.
However, when it comes to the cannabis legislation
the nos get the nod at 53 per cent
while only 46 per cent voted in favour.
Joining us from the Wellington newsroom
is reporter Eruera Rerekura.
Eru, what's been the reaction to the preliminary results?
Euthanasia opponents are not surprised by the result
but believe those people who voted yes too early
could be disappointed with themselves.
Legalising cannabis on the other hand
the reaction I got was kind of 50/50 and represents this result.
A resounding victory for the End of Life Choice Bill.
The ACT leader has been championing the bill since forever.
But this euthanasia opponent isn't surprised.
However, she agrees that it's up to the individual.
The preliminary votes for cannabis were kind of equal.
However, not all the referendum votes have been counted.
It's not until next Friday that the official result,
with special votes counted,
comes out.
But if the majority have voted in support of legalisation,
then the whole legislative process will start to kick into gear.
Thank you for the update,
Eruera Rerekura.
Now from the reaction.
Let's breakdown and recap these results now
starting with the End of Life Choice Act 2019.
Nearly two-thirds of NZers supporting the bill
with more than 65 per cent of votes in favour
while only 33 per cent voted against the bill coming into force.
Let's take a look now at the cannabis referendum.
It's quite a different story with only a seven per cent difference,
more than 46 per cent voted yes
while more than 53 per cent voted against the bill moving forward.
So, where to from here?
These are the preliminary results the special and official results
will be counted next Friday week.
What's interesting here
is that those votes do tend to support the left
and perhaps we could see a slight lift in support
for the proposed Cannabis Legislation and Control Bill.