A panel of politicians has been examining whether the island’s e-petitions system is working well – but one Minister has argued it is a “waste of time” with a “100% failure rate”.

Express took a look…

A brief history of e-petitions

Following a proposition from former Deputy Scott Wickenden in 2017, States Members agreed that e-petitions could be submitted to the Assembly.

The Privileges and Procedures Committee, which oversees the procedures of the States Assembly, brought proposals for the required law changes the following year.

The system enables islanders aged 16 or over to create online petitions via the States website, with those that reach 1,000 signatures drawing a response from the relevant minister.

Pictured: Some of the recent petitions that have received a ministerial response.

Petitions that surpass 5,000 signatures become eligible for an in-committee debate in the Chamber, which has no time limit and no vote.

Since the online petition system was launched, around 90 topics have received ministerial responses, of which seven have also passed the threshold to be the subject of an in-committee debate.

These were:

  • To introduce rental price caps.
  • To extend the “hit-and-run” law to include cats.
  • To make Green Street a one-way road.
  • For the Courts to impose higher sentences for child-sex offences.
  • To write off prior-year income tax liability for those that were moved to the current-year basis.
  • To make old age pensions exempt from tax.
  • A reduction in road fuel duty.

The review

A few months ago, PPC announced a review to “ensure that the petition process works well for all islanders” and to “identify areas for improvement”.

This included a survey that ran until the end of March, which sought feedback on the process for lodging petitions online as well as in paper.

PPC chair Karen Stone said: “Since its introduction, the online petition system has been a popular method for islanders to lobby States Members and help shape the political discussion.”

She added: “Petitions are a fantastic way of ensuring topics that are important to islanders are put on the political agenda, but it is timely that we seek the views of those who have engaged with the system, as well as those who have not, to consider how we might improve it for all islanders going forward.”

“Direct democracy” or a “waste of time”?

In a recent comment on social media, Housing Minister Sam Mézec described the petitions system as a “waste of time” with a “100% failure rate”.

Speaking to Express, he argued that the system was “no substitute” for other methods of democratic engagement, describing Jersey as a “small society” with elected representatives who were “more accessible” than in other jurisdictions.

“The most effective way to get change is to work with politicians to get propositions proposed and then voted on [by the States Assembly],” added Deputy Mézec.

The Minister suggested that “co-ordinated campaign groups” were a better way of engaging islanders in debates, adding that it would also be “more effective to pick up the phone and call one of your politicians” or raise issues via constituency sessions.

“Come and talk to us,” he urged.

Pictured: Following a proposition from former Deputy Scott Wickenden in 2017, States Members agreed that e-petitions could be submitted to the Assembly.

Mr Wickenden, meanwhile, said that e-petitions were “a great way of direct democracy”.

“It’s about making it easier for people to put their hands up and say I believe in something or would like to see change happening,” he added.

However, he agreed that the system needed to be reviewed – including examination of whether the number of signatures needed to trigger a ministerial response or in-committee debate should be lowered.