Australian referendum, 1913 (Industrial Matters)

The Constitution Alteration (Industrial Matters) 1912 was an Australian referendum held in the 1913 referendums which sought to alter the Australian Constitution to give the Commonwealth legislative power in respect to industrial matters.

Question

Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled 'Constitution Alteration (Industrial Matters) 1912'?

The proposal was to alter the text of section 51 of the Constitution to read as follows:^[1]

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.) Conciliation and arbitration for the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes extending beyond the limits of any one State:

Labour, and employment, and unemployment, including-

(a) the terms and conditions of labour and employment in any trade, industry, occupation, or calling;

(b) the rights and obligations of employers and employés;

(c) strikes and lockouts;

(d) the maintenance of industrial peace; and

(e) the settlement of industrial disputes.

Results

The referendum was not approved by a majority of voters, and a majority of the voters was achieved in only three states.^[2][3]

Result

State |	On rolls	Ballots issued	For		Against		Informal	Result
				%		%
New South Wales	1,036,187	717,855	318,622	46.88	361,044	53.12	36,933	No
Victoria	830,391	626,861	297,892	49.02	309,804	50.98	18,837	No
Queensland	363,082	280,525	147,171	54.36	123,554	45.64	9,579	Yes
South Australia	244,026	195,463	96,626	51.40	91,361	48.60	7,259	Yes
Western Australia	179,784	132,149	66,451	52.71	59,612	47.29	5,753	Yes
Tasmania	106,746	80,398	34,839	45.20	42,236	54.80	3,197	No
Total for Commonwealth	2,760,216	2,033,251	961,601	49.33	987,611	50.67	81,558	No
Obtained majority in three States and an overall minority of 26,010 votes.
Not carried

Discussion

The 1911 referendum asked a single question that dealt with trade and commerce, corporations and industrial matters. This resolution separated each of those matters into a different question. 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.^[3]

• 1911 referendum on trade and commerce

See also

• Politics of Australia
• History of Australia

References

1. "Notification of the receipt of a Writ for a Referendum". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette (30). 25 April 1913. pp. 1097–8 – via www.legislation.gov.au..
2. "Result of the Referendum". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette (55). 2 August 1913. p. 1792 – via www.legislation.gov.au..
3. Handbook of the 44th Parliament (2014) "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. Australian Government Printing Service, Canberra.
• Handbook of the 44th Parliament (2014) "Part 5 - Referendums and Plebiscites". Parliamentary Library of Australia.
• Bennett, Scott (2003). Research Paper no. 11 2002–03: The Politics of Constitutional Amendment Australian Department of the Parliamentary Library, Canberra.
• Australian Electoral Commission (2007) Referendum Dates and Results 1906 – Present AEC, Canberra.