Full Royal Commission into the appropriate use of the Oxford comma in parliamentary legislation

The Difficult Decisions Party notes with concern the current ambiguity in legislative punctuation. On the one hand, the Oxford comma provides clarity. On the other hand, it does not. The implications for future legislation are therefore significant and warrant a full and proper consideration.

We propose the establishment of a Royal Commission, chaired by a retired civil servant of the deputy secretary grade or above, to consider all available evidence and deliver a final report to parliament no later than Q4 2029.

In the interim, all legislation will be drafted using em-dashes instead of commas, pending the outcome of the review. We believe this to be a proportionate and measured response.