Referendums in Australia

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[edit] 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.

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.

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.

When a referendum question is carried, it is presented for the Royal Assent, given in the monarch's name by the Governor-General.

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.

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.

[edit] 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".

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.

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.

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.

[edit] Referendums and plebiscites by year

(Bold entries denote proposals that were carried)

[edit] 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:

  • 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].

[edit] External links

Federal Referendums

State and Territory Referendums

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