Australian referendum, 1977

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The 1977 Australian Referendum was held on 21 May 1977. It contained four referendum questions and one non-binding plebiscite.

Referendums in Australia

Referendums in Australia are polls held in Australia to approve parliament-proposed changes to the Constitution of Australia or to the constitutions of states and territories. Polls conducted on non-constitutional issues are usually referred to as plebiscites.

Contents

Result [1]
Question NSW Vic Qld SA WA Tas Majority of states? Majority of voters? Result
(33) Simultaneous Elections YesYesNoYesNoNoNoYesNot carried
(34) Senate Casual Vacancies YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesCarried
(35) Referendums YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesCarried
(36) Retirement of Judges YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesCarried

This referendum had a particularly strong "Yes" vote. All but one of the referendum questions was carried, and the only one to not be carried had a clear national majority, but was held back by not achieving a majority of the states. No referendum since then has been successful. [1]

Plebiscite [1]
  NSW Vic Qld SA WA Tas ACT NT Total voters
National Song (Song with most votes) Advance Australia Fair Advance Australia FairAdvance Australia Fair Song of Australia Advance Australia FairAdvance Australia Fair Waltzing Matilda Advance Australia FairAdvance Australia Fair

The four referendum questions were only voted on in the states; voters in the territories only gained the right to vote on constitutional changes as a result of the Referendums amendment passing. Voters in the territories, however, were able to vote on the plebiscite. [1]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 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..

Further reading