No they didn ' t . It was the right call . <| sep |> Oh you sweet summer child <| sep |> Why the hell was 40 % of this article waffle about a spat around an inquiry in the UK ? If the author wanted to make the point that NZ public servants are overpaid , they could have done it in a much more concise fashion . <| sep |> I don ' t think that an uneducated public with a bias towards the status quo voting down reform really constitutes a mandate for the existing system . That ' s my biggest referendum concern . Mandates for change don ' t work that way , those wanting change have to make the case for it . If they fail to do that , even in the face of low turn out or bias towards the status quo , that is on those pushing change . It is always assumed that a mandate exists for the status quo , the opposite is what has to be proven , so no matter how low the turnout for a referendum , or how poor the public education , a no change vote is still legit .