Green Party co-leader, Russel Norman, says they have the numbers to force the Govt to go to the polls. They say they've got the numbers and they're ready to go.
Norman says “we do have the numbers, we have about 390,000 signatures, we need 309,000 valid signatures.”
Nearly a year has passed since the Greens initiated a petition against the sale of Meridian Energy, Mighty River Power, Genesis Energy and Solid Energy.
The Greens claim this is an abuse of power and the Government knows most of New Zealand are absolutely opposed to what they are doing.
The petition will be submitted to the Office of the Clerk. If all is correct, it will then be presented to the House of Representatives.
The Government must then hold a referendum within a year, where voters will get to have their say. However, the catch of the results of the referendum are non-binding on the Government.
Norman says if Government chooses to ignore the referendum results, it could be the nail in the coffin for John Key's government.
The petition will be submitted to the Office of the Clerk on March 12 and will be a true test of whether the pen can prove mightier than the sword.