Australian referendum, 1944
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The 1944 Australian Referendum was held on 19 August 1944. It contained one referendum question.
- (16) Post-War Reconstruction and Democratic Rights
Contents |
[edit] Proposed Amendment
Constitution Alteration (Post-War Reconstruction and Democratic Rights) 1944 was known as the 14 powers, or 14 points referendum. It sought to give the government power over a period of five years, to legislate on a wide variety of matters.
[edit] Results
Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled 'Constitution Alteration (Post-War Reconstruction and Democratic Rights) 1944'?
| State | On
rolls |
Ballots
issued |
For | Against | Informal | ||
| % | % | ||||||
| New South Wales | 1,758,166 | 1,694,119 | 759,211 | %45.44 | 911,680 | %54.56 | 23,228 |
| Victoria | 1,266,662 | 1,227,571 | 597,848 | %49.31 | 614,487 | %50.69 | 15,236 |
| Queensland | 633,907 | 599,568 | 216,262 | %36.52 | 375,862 | %63.48 | 7,444 |
| South Australia | 403,133 | 392,443 | 196,294 | %50.64 | 191,317 | %49.36 | 4,832 |
| Western Australia | 278,722 | 272,339 | 140,399 | %52.25 | 128,303 | %47.75 | 3,637 |
| Tasmania | 143,359 | 139,411 | 53,386 | %38.92 | 83,769 | %61.08 | 2,256 |
| Armed Forces* | 417,082 | 218,452 | 195,148 | 3,482 | |||
| Total for Commonwealth | 4,483,949 | 4,325,451 | 1,963,400 | %45.99 | 2,305,418 | %54.01 | 56,633 |
| Obtained majority in two States and an overall minority
of 342,018 votes. |
|||||||
| Not carried | |||||||
* Armed forces totals are also included in their respective states.
[edit] The 14 Powers
The powers the government sought to gain included:
- Ex-servicemen rehabilitation
- National health
- Family allowances
- the ability to legislate for Indigenous Australians
- Corporations, or Combines
- Trusts
- Monopolies
- Freedom of Speech
- Freedom of Religion
- Safeguards against the abuse of legislative power
All of these points were put to referendum in the form of a single question. It is notable that the points referring to corporations, trusts, combines and monopolies had been previously put to referendum, and had not been carried.
[edit] See also
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