1910 Australian referendum (State Debts)

Last updated

1910 Australian State Debts referendum
Flag of Australia (converted).svg
13 April 1910 (1910-04-13)

Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled —

"Constitution Alteration (State Debts) 1909" ?
Results
Choice
Votes %
Check-71-128-204-brightblue.svgYes715,05354.95%
Light brown x.svgNo586,27145.05%
Valid votes1,301,32493.12%
Invalid or blank votes96,2096.88%
Total votes1,397,533100.00%
Registered voters/turnout2,258,48261.88%

The referendum of 13 April 1910 approved an amendment to the Australian constitution. The referendum was for practical purposes a vote on the Constitution Alteration (State Debts) Bill 1909, which after being approved in the referendum received the Royal Assent on 6 August 1910. [1]

Contents

Upon the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia, the federal government was given the power to assume any pre-existing debts held by the state governments at that time. The Act altered section 105 of the Constitution to extend this power so that the Commonwealth could take over any debts incurred by a state at any time. On the same day the referendum was held on the state debts amendment, a proposed surplus revenue amendment was also put to the electorate but was defeated.

The referendums were held on the same day as the 1910 federal election, which Alfred Deakin's Commonwealth Liberal Party lost to Andrew Fisher's Labour Party, with Fisher being sworn in as prime minister on 29 April.

Overview

Ensuring the future financial good health of the states was a matter of great importance to the writers of the constitution, and they worked hard to produce a workable Finance and Trade chapter (Chapter IV). Two important provisions of the chapter were section 87, which required the return of surplus tariff funds to the states, and section 105, which provided for the Commonwealth to take over state debts that existed at the time of Federation. By the end of the Commonwealth's first decade it was clear that Chapter IV had serious flaws, and in 1910 attempts were made to amend sections 87 and 105.

In mid-1909, Alfred Deakin succeeded Andrew Fisher as prime minister for what would be his third and final time. Impetus had built in recent years for changes to state-federal financial relations, and Deakin made several important administrative decisions on this matter. Negotiations between Deakin, Forrest and state premiers produced the financial agreement of 1909, which gave the states per capita grants of 25 shillings annually. [2] Deakin proposed two constitutional amendments at the 1910 ballot to ratify these administrative changes, though the second question was much more pressing than the first. It failed, but in practice the agreement set Commonwealth-State financial relations until 1927. The first question on the state debts proposal dealt with a perceived need to expand the operation of Section 105 to allow the Commonwealth to take over state debts whenever they were incurred. [3]

The state debts amendment was carried by a 'yes' vote of approximately 55 per cent, with only New South Wales in opposition. According to a historian of the Loan Council, this indicated that the nation had "decisively favoured a scheme on the basis of s. 105 to relieve the States of some of their financial burden". [4] Despite the smooth passage of the amendment, it was more than a decade before the specifically endowed powers were used. The state debts amendment was important in giving greater potential flexibility to Chapter IV of the constitution, and became an important aspect of federal-state intergovernmental financial relations. [5]

Referendum results

Question:Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled 'Constitution Alteration (State Debts) 1909?

Result [6] [7]
StateElectoral rollBallots issuedForAgainstInformal
Vote %Vote %
New South Wales834,662512,802159,27533.34318,41266.6634,060
Victoria703,699468,535279,39264.59153,14835.4133,824
Queensland279,031170,634102,70564.5756,34635.439,971
South Australia207,655110,05372,98573.1826,74226.8210,252
Western Australia134,97983,89357,36772.8021,43727.204,324
Tasmania98,45657,60943,32980.9710,18619.033,778
Total for Commonwealth2,258,4821,403,976715,05354.95586,27145.0596,209
ResultsObtained majority in 5 states and an overall majority of 128,782 votes.Carried.

Changes to the text of the constitution

Deletion from Section 105 (removed text stricken): [8]

The Parliament may take over from the States their public debts as existing at the establishment of the Commonwealth, or a proportion thereof according to the respective numbers of their people as shown by the latest statistics of the Commonwealth, and may convert, renew, or consolidate such debts, or any part thereof; and the States shall indemnify the Commonwealth in respect of the debts taken over, and thereafter the interest payable in respect of the debts shall be deducted and retained from the portions of the surplus revenue of the Commonwealth payable to the several States, or if such surplus is insufficient, or if there is no surplus, then the deficiency or the whole amount shall be paid by the several States.

See also

Related Research Articles

Australian constitutional law is the area of the law of Australia relating to the interpretation and application of the Constitution of Australia. Legal cases regarding Australian constitutional law are often handled by the High Court of Australia, the highest court in the Australian judicial system. Several major doctrines of Australian constitutional law have developed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1967 Australian referendum (Aboriginals)</span> 1967 constitutional referendum on the legal status of Indigenous Australians

The second question of the 1967 Australian referendum of 27 May 1967, called by the Holt government, related to Indigenous Australians. Voters were asked whether to give the Commonwealth Parliament the power to make special laws for Indigenous Australians in states, and whether Indigenous Australians should be included in official population counts for constitutional purposes. The term "the Aboriginal Race" was used in the question.

The Australian referendum of 12 December 1906 approved an amendment to the Australian constitution related to the terms of office of federal senators. Technically it was a vote on the Constitution Alteration Bill 1906, which after being approved in the referendum received the royal assent on 3 April 1907. The amendment moved the date of the beginning of the term of members of the Senate from 1 January to 1 July so that elections to the federal House of Representatives and the Senate could occur simultaneously.

The 1910 Australian referendum was held on 13 April 1910, in conjunction with the 1910 federal election. It contained two referendum questions.

The 1911 Australian referendum was held on 26 April 1911. It contained two referendum questions.

The Constitution Alteration Bill 1928, was approved by referendum on 17 November 1928. The amendment to the Australian constitution concerned financial relations between the Commonwealth of Australia and the Australian states. It became law on 13 February 1929.

The Constitution Alteration Bill 1946, was a successful proposal to alter the Australian Constitution to give the Commonwealth power over a range of social services. The question was put to a referendum in the 1946 Australian referendum with two other (unrelated) questions. It was carried and inserted into section 51 of the Australian Constitution.

The Constitution Alteration (Finance) Bill 1909, was an unsuccessful Australian referendum which sought to alter the Australian Constitution to amend section 87 which was due to lapse in 1910. It was to add to the Constitution a financial agreement reached between the States and the Commonwealth to replace the section.

The Constitution Alteration Bill 1910, was put to voters for approval in a referendum held in the 1911 referendums. The bill sought to alter the Australian Constitution to extend the Commonwealth power in respect of trade and commerce, the control of corporations, labour and employment and combinations and monopolies. All of the proposed changes were contained within the one question.

The Constitution Alteration (Monopolies) Bill 1910, was put to voters for approval in a referendum held in 1911 that sought to alter the Australian Constitution to give the Commonwealth power to nationalise any corporation deemed by both houses of parliament to be a monopoly.

The Constitution Alteration Bill 1912, was an unsuccessful referendum held in 1913 that sought to alter the Australian Constitution to extend Commonwealth legislative power in respect to trade and commerce.

The Constitution Alteration (Corporations) Bill 1912, was an unsuccessful proposal to alter the Australian Constitution to extend the Commonwealth legislative power in respect to corporations that was put to voters for approval in a referendum held in 1913.

The Constitution Alteration Bill 1912, was an unsuccessful referendum held in 1913 that sought to alter the Australian Constitution to give the Commonwealth legislative power in respect to industrial matters.

The Constitution Alteration (Trusts) Bill 1912, was an unsuccessful referendum held in 1913 that sought to alter the Australian Constitution to give the Commonwealth legislative power in respect to trusts.

The Constitution Alteration Bill 1912, was an unsuccessful referendum held in 1913 that sought to alter the Australian Constitution to give the Commonwealth legislative power in respect to monopolies.

The Constitution Alteration Bill 1912  was an unsuccessful referendum held in 1913 that sought to alter the Australian Constitution to give the Commonwealth legislative power over industrial relations in the state railway services. The question was put to a referendum in the 1913 Australian referendum.

The Constitution Alteration (Marketing) Bill 1936, was an unsuccessful proposal to alter the Australian Constitution to ensure that the Commonwealth could continue legislative schemes for the marketing of agricultural produce such as the quota for dried fruits. It was put to voters for approval in a referendum held on 6 March 1937.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1910 Australian federal election</span> Election for the 4th Parliament of Australia

The 1910 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 13 April 1910. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party led by Prime Minister Alfred Deakin was defeated by the opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) led by Andrew Fisher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitution of Australia</span> Supreme law of Australia

The Constitution of Australia is the supreme law of Australia. It is a written constitution that sets down the political structure of Australia as a federation under a constitutional monarchy governed with a parliamentary system and outlines the structure and powers of the Commonwealth of Australia's three constituent parts: the executive, legislature, and judiciary.

The Constitution Alteration Bill 1988, was an unsuccessful proposal to alter the Australian Constitution to recognise local government. It was put to voters for approval in a referendum held on 3 September 1988. The structure of the Constitution recognises government at federal and state levels, but makes no mention of local government.

References

  1. "Constitution Alteration (State Debts) Act 1909" . Retrieved 22 April 2019 via legislation.gov.au.
  2. Norris, R (1981). Alfred Deakin in Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne.
  3. Bennett, Scott (2003). Research Paper no. 11 2002–03: The Politics of Constitutional Amendment Australian Department of the Parliamentary Library, Canberra.
  4. Gilbert, R (1973). The Australian Loan Council in Federal Fiscal Adjustments, 1890–1965. ANU Press, Canberra. p.423
  5. Mathews, R. and Jay, W. (1972) Federal Finance. Intergovernmental financial relations in Australia since Federation. Nelson, Melbourne, pp. 65–122.
  6. "Result of the Referendum". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. No. 38. 3 June 1910. pp. 1157–8 via www.legislation.gov.au.
  7. Handbook of the 44th Parliament (2014) "Part 5 - Referendums and Plebiscites - Referendum results". Parliamentary Library of Australia.
  8. "Notification of the receipt of a Writ for a Referendum". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. No. 15. 1 March 1910. pp. 666–7 via www.legislation.gov.au..

Further reading

 

Amendments to the Constitution of Australia
1st amendment
(1907)
1st State Debts amendment
1910
3rd amendment
(1928)