E-Petitions – making it easier to have your say
13 September 2010
The National Assembly for Wales is re-launching its e-petitions system along with a new video explaining how the people of Wales can have their say on issues affecting them.
E-petitions are designed to be quick and easy way for people to gain support and take some of the leg-work out of the traditional paper petitions. E-petitions can also be quickly shared and distributed across the internet to reach many more people over a wider area.
Petitions can be started and signed through the National Assembly for Wales website www.assemblywales.org. All petitions, both written and online, then go through a process to assess their eligibility before relevant ones are considered by the Assembly’s Petitions Committee.
Previous issues considered by the Committee include banning single use plastic bags, saving a Cardiff pub and establishing a Wales-wide cycle network.
Christine Chapman AM, Chair of the Petitions Committee, said: “Everyone believes passionately in something and because we are all different we all believe in and support different things.“Sometimes it can be difficult to get your voice heard and that is exactly why the Petitions Committee was established, to give people a way of bringing their ideas to the fore and affecting real change in Wales.
“We believe e-petitions make the process of highlighting issues to the Assembly easier and will become an increasingly important part of democracy in Wales.”
Peter Black AM, Commissioner for the Assembly and the Citizen, said: “One of the National Assembly’s key objectives is to make it easier for the people of Wales to access the democratic process.
“E-petitions are a big part of our e-democracy strategy which is designed to engage people through online and multimedia.
“With elections and referendums just around the corner it is vital for people to be able to access and understand how the Assembly works for them and how they can get involved.”