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Encyclopedia > Referendums in Australia

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Federal Referendums

In Australia, referendums are nationwide polls held to approve government-proposed changes to the Australian constitution. As for an Australian general election, voting in a referendum is compulsory. 44 referendums have been held in Australia as of 2005, of which only 8 have been carried. Judicial High Court Lower Courts Constitution State and territory governments Executive Governors and Administrators Premiers and Chief Ministers Legislative Parliaments and Assemblies State electoral systems ACT - NSW - NT - Qld. ... A how-to-vote card from the Australian federal election of 2004, showing voters how to fill in the squares on the ballot paper if they wish to vote for the Liberal Party of Australia. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...


The constitution specifies (Section 128) that amendments to itself must be approved by a referendum. A bill containing the amendment must first be passed by both houses of parliament or, in certain limited circumstances, by only one house of parliament. The Governor General must then decide whether or not to submit the referendum to the people (this is done on the advice of the Prime Minister). If approved, it is then submitted to a referendum. Parliament House Canberra: The main entrance and the flag The Parliament of Australia is the legislative branch of Australia. ...


In order to pass a referendum, the bill must ordinarily achieve a double majority: a majority of those voting throughout the country, as well as separate majorities in each of a majority of states (4 of 6). Where any state or states are affected by a referendum then a majority of voters in those states must also agree to the change. This is often referred to as the "triple majority" rule. Prior to the 1977 referendum residents within Australia's territories did not vote at referendums. However since this referendum was approved residents of territories are counted but only towards the national total and not against the totals of any of the states. The Australian States and Territories make up the Commonwealth of Australia under a federal system of government. ... Constitution Alteration (Referendums) 1977 proposed to allow residents in the territories to vote in referendums. ...


When a referendum question is carried, it is presented for the Royal Assent, given in the monarch's name by the Governor-General. The granting of Royal Assent is the formal method by which the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, or the Sovereigns representative in Commonwealth Realms, completes the process of the enactment of legislation by formally assenting to an Act of Parliament. ... Michael Jeffery, the current Governor-General of Australia The Governor-General of Australia is the representative in Australia of Australias head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, who lives in the United Kingdom. ...


Similar to a referendum is a plebiscite which is conducted by the government to determine a matter relating to statute law rather than the constitution. Plebiscites can offer a variety of options, rather than a simple yes/no question. Three plebiscites have occurred as of 2005. Unlike in referendums, voting in a plebiscite is optional. A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ... A statute is a formal, written law of a country or state, written and enacted by its legislative authority, perhaps to then be ratified by the highest executive in the government, and finally published. ...


In 1998 the Howard government amended the Flags Act, requiring a referendum to change the Flag of Australia. There is some debate over the constitutional validity of this legislation, since it involves Parliament acting to bind its own legislative power. 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian politician and is currently the Prime Minister of Australia. ... Flag ratio: 1:2 The Australian Flag at full mast. ... Parliament House Canberra: The main entrance and the flag The Parliament of Australia is the legislative branch of Australia. ...


The No vote

Australians have in most instances voted No to referendum questions: only 8 out of 44 referendums since 1906 have been carried. In Sir Robert Menzies' words, "to get an affirmative vote from the Australian people on a referendum proposal is one of the labours of Hercules". Rt Hon Robert Menzies Sir Robert Gordon Menzies (20 December 1894 – 14 May 1978), Australian politician, was the twelfth and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Heracles. ...


Many attribute this to the difficulty of getting the double majority necessary for a referendum to be approved. There have been five instances, in 1937, twice in 1946, 1977 and 1984, where a national Yes vote has been overridden by failing to win a majority of states. In three of these instances, the referendum would have been passed if the requirement was for a majority, plus at least three out of six states agreeing. The converse situation, where there is a majority of states but not a majority of the population, has not occurred. Constitution Alteration (Aviation) 1936 sought to give the government legislative power with respect to air navigation and aircraft. ... The 1946 Australian Referendum was held on 28 September 1946. ... Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) 1977 proposed for the second time that the Constitution be altered to ensure that elections for both houses of parliament occurred simultaneously. ... Constitution Alteration (Terms of Senators) 1984 proposed for the third time that Senate and House elections be constitutionally enforced to occur on the same day. ...


Apart from 1937, these cases have followed a consistent pattern: a yes vote in the two most populous states (NSW and Victoria), and a no vote in most or all of the other, less populous states. So the rejection of these referendums was at least partly due to the less populous states not wanting to lose autonomy or influence. Constitution Alteration (Aviation) 1936 sought to give the government legislative power with respect to air navigation and aircraft. ...


Similarly, a contributing factor to the predominance of the No vote likely comes from the unwillingness of the public to extend the powers of government. The majority of the referendum questions involved granting additional powers over commerce and industry to the government, and in no referendum were these questions carried.


Another factor could be that many of the referendum questions were repeats of questions that been rejected before or were only slightly modified. With the exception of the 1977 (Referendums) question, all such repeat questions were again rejected. Constitution Alteration (Referendums) 1977 proposed to allow residents in the territories to vote in referendums. ...


Referendums and plebiscites by year

(Bold entries denote proposals that were carried)

The Australian referendum of the 12th December, 1906 approved an amendment to the Australian constitution related to the terms of office of federal senators. ... The Australian referendum of the 12th December, 1906 approved an amendment to the Australian constitution related to the terms of office of federal senators. ... The 1910 Australian Referendum was held on 13 April 1910. ... The referendum of the 13 April 1910 approved an amendment to the Australian constitution. ... Constitution Alteration (Finance) 1909 sought to amend section 87 (the Braddon Clause) which was due to lapse in 1910. ... The 1911 Australian Referendum was held on 26 April 1911. ... Constitution Alteration (Legislative Powers) 1910 attempted to extend the governments power over trade and commerce, the control of corporations, labour and employment and combinations and monopolies. ... Constitution Alteration (Monopolies) 1910 attempted to give the government the power to nationalize any corporation deemed by both houses of parliment to be a monopoly. ... The 1913 Australian Referendum was held on 31 May 1913. ... The government sought to extend its power over trade and commerce in Constitution Alteration (Trade and Commerce) 1912. ... Constitution Alteration (Corporations) 1912 sought to extend the Commonwealth Parliaments power to make laws with respect to corporations. ... Constitution Alteration (Industrial Matters) 1912 sought to extend the Commonwealth Parliaments power to make laws with respect to industrial matters. ... Constitution Alteration (Trusts) 1912 sought to give the Commonwealth Parliament power to make laws with respect to trusts. ... Constitution Alteration (Nationalisation of Monopolies) 1912 sought to give the Commonwealth Parliament power to make laws with respect to monopolies. ... Constitution Alteration (Railways Disputes) 1912 sought to give the Commonwealth Parliament power over industrial relations in the State railway services. ... The 1916 Australian plebiscite was held on 28 October 1916. ... The 1916 Australian plebiscite was held on 28 October 1916. ... The 1917 Australian plebiscite was held on 20 December 1917. ... The 1917 Australian plebiscite was held on 20 December 1917. ... The 1919 Australian Referendum was held on 13 December 1919. ... Constitution Alteration (Legislative Powers) 1919 sought temporarily extend the governments legislative powers with respect to trade and commerce, corporations, industrial matters and trusts. ... Constitution Alteration (Nationalisation of Monopolies) 1919 sought to extend the governments power to legislate monopolies. ... The 1926 Australian Referendum was held on 4 September 1926. ... Constitution Alteration (Industry and Commerce) 1926 sought to extend the governments legislative powers with respect to corporations, and to give it the power to make laws with respect to trusts and combinations in restraint of trade, trade unions and employer associations. ... Constitution Alteration (Essential Services) 1926 sought to give the government power to protect the public from any actual or probable interruption of essential services. ... The referendum of the 17th November, 1928 approved an amendment to the Commonwealth of Australia and its states. ... The referendum of the 17th November, 1928 approved an amendment to the Commonwealth of Australia and its states. ... The 1937 Australian Referendum was held on 6 March 1937. ... Constitution Alteration (Aviation) 1936 sought to give the government legislative power with respect to air navigation and aircraft. ... Constitution Alteration (Marketing) 1936 sought to remove the restraints imposed on Parliament by section 92 of the constitution. ... The 1944 Australian Referendum was held on 19 August 1944. ... The 1944 Australian Referendum was held on 19 August 1944. ... The 1946 Australian Referendum was held on 28 September 1946. ... Constitution Alteration (Social Services) 1946 proposed to extend the powers of government over a range of social services. ... Section 42 of the Australian Constitution limited the governments power to make laws with respect to the organised marketing of primary products. ... Constitution Alteration (Industrial Employment) 1946 sought to give the government legislative powers over the terms and conditions of industrial employment, but not so as to authorise any form of industrial conscription. ... The 1948 Australian Referendum was held on 29 May 1948. ... The 1948 Australian Referendum was held on 29 May 1948. ... The 1951 Australian Referendum was held on 22 September 1951. ... The 1951 Australian Referendum was held on 22 September 1951. ... The 1967 Australian Referendum was held on 27 May 1967. ... Held within the Australian referendum, 1967 was a question about the so-called Nexus. ... The referendum of 27 May 1967 approved two amendments to the Australian constitution relating to Aboriginal people. ... The 1973 Australian Referendum was held on 8 December 1973. ... Constitution Alteration (Prices) 1973 sought to give the government legislative power over prices. ... Constitution Alteration (Incomes) 1973 sought to give the government legislative power over incomes. ... The 1974 Australian Referendum was held on 18 May 1974. ... Elections to the House and the Senate are usually held simultaneously although this was a matter of convention rather than constitutional law. ... Since federation, voters in the Australian Teritories had been excluded from voting in referendums. ... Constitution Alteration (Democratic Elections) 1974 sought to modify the method of determining the size of electorates within each state, from being based on the number of voters to the total population. ... Constitution Alteration (Local Government Bodies) 1974 attempted to amend the constitution to allow the federal government to grant financial assistance to any local government body, and to make loans on their behalf. ... The 1977 Australian Referendum was held on 21 May 1977. ... Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) 1977 proposed for the second time that the Constitution be altered to ensure that elections for both houses of parliament occurred simultaneously. ... The referendum of the 21st May, 1977 approved an amendment to the Australian constitution concerning the filling of casual vacancies in the Senate. ... Constitution Alteration (Referendums) 1977 proposed to allow residents in the territories to vote in referendums. ... The legislation Constitution Alteration (Retirement of Judges) 1977 proposed to create a retirement age of 70 for judges in federal courts. ... As an additional question in the 1977 referendum, the voters were polled on which song they would prefer to be used to mark occasions where a particularly Australian national identity was desired. ... The 1984 Australian Referendum was held on 21 May 1984. ... Constitution Alteration (Terms of Senators) 1984 proposed for the third time that Senate and House elections be constitutionally enforced to occur on the same day. ... The constitution places some restraints on the ability of the states and the federal governments to freely cooperate. ... The 1988 Australian Referendum was held on 3 September 1988. ... Constitution Alteration (Parliamentary Terms) 1988 proposed to alter the constitution such that Senate terms be reduced from six to four years, and House of Representative terms be increased from three years to four years. ... Constitution Alteration (Fair Elections) 1988 proposed to enshrine in the constitution an guarantee that all Commonwealth, State and Teritory elections would be conducted democraticaly. ... The Constitution recognises Government at Federal and State levels, but makes no mention of local government. ... The proposed legislation Constitution Alteration (Rights and Freedoms) 1988 sought to enshrine in the constitution various civil rights, including freedom of religion, rights in relation to trials, and rights regarding the compulsory acquisition of property. ... The 1999 Australian Referendum was held on 6 November 1999. ... The 1999 Australian republic referendum was a two question referendum held on 6 November 1999. ... Constitution Alteration (Preamble) 1999 proposed the addition of a preamble to the Australian constitution, recognising Indigenous Australians as the traditional land owners before European settlement. ...

State and Territory Referendums

States and Territories of Australia may also hold referendums. Most are detailed in the external links. Some of the most important ones were: The Australian States and Territories make up the Commonwealth of Australia under a federal system of government. ...

  • In the years leading up to the Federation of Australia in 1901, all six colonies (as the States were then called) passed referendums in favour of Federation.
  • In a referendum in April 1933, 68% of Western Australian voters voted for their state to leave the Commonwealth of Australia with the aim of returning to the British Empire as an autonomous territory. The State Government sent a delegation to Westminster, however the British Government refused to intervene and therefore no action was taken to implement this decision.
  • In 1967, voters in north east New South Wales were asked if they favoured creating a new state in their region. The no vote won, with 55% of the formal vote [1].
  • In 1981, the Tasmanian government held a controversial referendum to decide the location of a hydro-electric dam on the Franklin River. With the electorate simply given a choice of two different dams, approximately 33% of the electorate voted informal by writing "No Dams" on their ballot paper [2].

The federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed a federation. ... 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Secessionist How To Vote card, 1933 Secessionism has been a recurring feature of Western Australias political landscape since shortly after European settlement in 1829. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Franklin River lies in the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park in the heart of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. ...

External links

Federal Referendums

State and Territory Referendums


  Results from FactBites:
 
Referendum Information (4159 words)
A referendum (plural: 'referendums' or 'referenda' [N.B. referenda implies a plurality of issues]) or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita, originally a decree of the Concilium Plebis) is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal.
A further perceived flaw of the referendum is that in some circumstances the democratic spirit of the referendum may be flouted by the repeated submission to the referendum of a proposal until it is eventually endorsed, perhaps due to a low turn-out or public fatigue with the issue.
Referendums are rare and only once has a referendum proposal been put to the entire electorate of the UK; this was a referendum in 1975 on continued membership of the European Economic Community.
referendum (2346 words)
A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal.
Although some advocates of direct democracy would have the referendum become the dominant institution of government, in practice, in modern times, the referendum exists solely as a complement to the system of representative democracy, in which most major decisions are taken by an elected legislature.
For example two multiple choice referendums held in Sweden, in 1957 and 1980, offered voters a choice of three options, and in 1977 a referendum held in Australia to determine a new national anthem was held in which voters were presented with four choices.
  More results at FactBites »

 

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