1913 Australian referendum (Railway Disputes)

October 2021 October 2021 1913 Australian Railway Disputes referendum Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled —"Constitution Alteration (Railway Disputes) 1912" ? 1913 05 31 y Australia 956,358 990,046 84,366 2,760,216 The Constitution Alteration (Railways Disputes) Bill 1912https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2004B02243 Constitution Alteration (Railways Disputes) Bill legislation.gov.au 22 April 2019 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. Question Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled 'Constitution Alteration (Railway Disputes) 1912'? Proposed Changes to the Constitution The proposal was to alter the text of section 51 of the Constitution to read as follows:https://www.legislation.gov.au/file/1913GN30 Notification of the receipt of a Writ for a Referendum Commonwealth of Australia Gazette www.legislation.gov.au 25 April 1913 30 1097–8. (substituted text in bold) 51. The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have Legislative power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to: (xxxv.A.) Conciliation and arbitration for prevention and settlement of industrial disputes in relation to employment in the railway service of a State. Results The referendum was not approved by a majority of voters, and a majority of the voters was achieved in only three states.GazetteHandbook + ResultGazetteHandbook State Electoral roll Ballots issued For Against Informal Vote % Vote % New South Wales 1,036,187 717,855 316,928 46.70 361,743 53.30 37,928 Victoria 830,391 626,861 296,255 48.79 310,921 51.21 19,357 Queensland 363,082 280,525 146,521 54.19 123,859 45.81 9,924 South Australia 244,026 195,463 96,072 51.28 91,262 48.72 7,912 Western Australia 179,784 132,149 65,957 52.38 59,965 47.62 5,894 Tasmania 106,746 80,398 34,625 45.01 42,296 54.99 3,351 Total for Commonwealth 2,760,216 2,033,251 956,358 49.13 990,046 50.87 84,366 Results Obtained majority in three states and an overall minority of 33,688 votes. Not carried Discussion The 1911 referendum asked a single question that dealt with trade and commerce, corporations and industrial matters. This was an additional resolution that went beyond the previous proposal to directly address industrial disputes in the state railways. Like its forebear, none of these resolutions were carried. On each of the many occasions a similar question was asked at a referendum the public decided not to vest power in the Commonwealth over these matters. 1911 referendum on trade and commerce See also Politics of Australia History of Australia References Gazette https://www.legislation.gov.au/file/1913GN55 Result of the Referendum Commonwealth of Australia Gazette www.legislation.gov.au 2 August 1913 55 1792 Handbook Handbook of the 44th Parliament (2014) http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22handbook%2Fnewhandbook%2F2014-10-31%2F0049%22 Part 5 - Referendums and Plebiscites - Referendum results Parliamentary Library of Australia Further reading Standing Committee on Legislative and Constitutional Affairs (1997) Constitutional Change: Select sources on Constitutional change in Australia 1901–1997 https://web.archive.org/web/20110605092632/http://www.aph.gov.au/HOUSE/committee/laca/Inquiryinconch.htm 5 June 2011 . Australian Government Printing Service, Canberra. Bennett, Scott (2003). Research Paper no. 11 2002–03: The Politics of Constitutional Amendment https://web.archive.org/web/20120216200422/http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rp/2002-03/03RP11.htm 16 February 2012 Australian Department of the Parliamentary Library, Canberra. Australian Electoral Commission (2007) Referendum Dates and Results 1906 – Present AEC, Canberra. 1913 Referendem (Railway Disputes) Referendem (Railway Disputes) Category:1913 referendums 1913 (Railway Disputes)