Australian Communist Party ban referendum, 1951

Last updated
1951 Australian referendum
22 September 1951
Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled 'Constitution Alteration (Powers to deal with Communists and Communism) 1951'?
Results
Votes%
Yes check.svg Yes2,317,92749.44%
X mark.svg No2,370,00950.56%
Valid votes4,687,93698.60%
Invalid or blank votes66,6531.40%
Total votes4,754,589100.00%
Registered voters/turnout4,974,33795.58%
Results by state
Australian referendum, 1951.svg
  Yes    No
Note: Saturation of colour denotes strength of vote

The 1951 Australian Referendum was held on 22 September, 1951, and sought approval for the federal government to ban the Communist Party of Australia. It was not carried.

The Communist Party of Australia (CPA) was founded in 1920 and dissolved in 1991. The CPA achieved its greatest political strength in the 1940s and faced an attempted ban in 1951. Though it never presented a major challenge to the established order in Australia, it did have significant influence on the trade unions, social movements, and the national culture.

Contents

Background

In 1951, the Menzies government passed a law banning the Communist Party of Australia. The party challenged the law in the High Court, which ruled that it was constitutionally invalid. Following this defeat, the government sponsored this referendum in an attempt to overcome this constitutional obstacle. The referendum question was opposed, not surprisingly, by the Communist Party. It was also opposed by the Australian Labor Party and even the Young Liberals, on the grounds that it would restrict freedoms of speech and association.

Robert Menzies Australian politician, 12th Prime Minister of Australia

Sir Robert Gordon Menzies,, was an Australian politician who twice served as Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1939 to 1941 and again from 1949 to 1966. He played a central role in the creation of the Liberal Party of Australia, defining its policies and its broad outreach. He is Australia's longest-serving prime minister, serving over 18 years in total.

High Court of Australia supreme court

The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the states, and the ability to interpret the Constitution of Australia and thereby shape the development of federalism in Australia.

<i>Australian Communist Party v Commonwealth</i>

Australian Communist Party v The Commonwealth, also known as the Communist Party Case, was a legal case in the High Court of Australia described as "undoubtedly one of the High Court's most important decisions."

Question

Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled 'Constitution Alteration (Powers to deal with Communists and Communism) 1951'?

Results

Result [1]
StateOn

rolls

Ballots

issued

ForAgainstInvalid
%%
New South Wales1,944,2191,861,147865,83847.17%969,86852.83%25,441
Victoria1,393,5561,326,024636,81948.71%670,51351.29%18,692
Queensland709,328675,916373,15655.76%296,01944.24%6,741
South Australia442,983427,253198,97147.29%221,76352.71%6,519
Western Australia319,383305,653164,98955.09%134,49744.91%6,167
Tasmania164,868158,59678,15450.26%77,34949.74%3,093
Armed Forces* 9,4726,478 2,917 82
Total for Commonwealth4,974,3374,754,5892,317,92749.44%2,370,00950.56%66,653
Obtained majority in three States and an overall minority of 52 082 votes.
Not carried

* Armed forces totals are also included in their respective states.

Source: Australian Parliament - Referendum results. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 Handbook of the 44th Parliament (2014) "Part 5 - Referendums and Plebiscites - Referendum results". Parliamentary Library of Australia. Archived from the original on 29 September 2017..