1911 Australian referendum (Monopolies)

The Constitution Alteration (Monopolies) Bill 1910,[1] was put to voters for approval in a referendum held in 1911 that sought to alter the Australian Constitution to give the Commonwealth power to nationalise any corporation deemed by both houses of parliament to be a monopoly.

1911 Australian Monopolies referendum
26 April 1911 (1911-04-26)
Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled —

"Constitution Alteration (Monopolies) 1910" ?
Results
Choice
 Votes  %
Yes 488,668 39.86%
No 737,392 60.14%
Valid votes 1,226,060 98.25%
Invalid or blank votes 21,854 1.75%
Total votes 1,247,914 100.00%
Registered voters/turnout 2,341,624 53.29%

Question

Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled 'Constitution Alteration (Monopolies) 1910'?

The proposal was to add section 51a to the Constitution to read as follows:[2]

51a. When each House of the Parliament, in the same session, has by Resolution declared that the industry or business of producing manufacturing or supplying any specified goods, or of supplying any specified services, is the subject of a monopoly, the Parliament shall have power to make laws for carrying on the industry or business by or under the control of the Commonwealth, and acquiring for that purpose on just terms any property used in connexion with the industry or business.

Results

The referendum was not approved by a majority of voters, and a majority of the voters was achieved in only one state, Western Australia.[3][4]

Result [3][4]
State Electoral roll Ballots issued For Against Informal
Vote  % Vote  %
New South Wales 868,194 384,188 138,237 36.72 238,177 63.28 7,618
Victoria 723,377 448,566 171,453 38.95 268,743 61.05 8,041
Queensland 293,003 162,135 70,259 44.26 88,472 55.74 3,200
South Australia 216,027 133,802 50,835 38.42 81,479 61.58 1,344
Western Australia 138,697 61,482 33,592 55.84 26,561 44.16 898
Tasmania 102,326 58,053 24,292 42.43 32,960 57.57 753
Total for Commonwealth 2,341,624 1,248,226 488,668 39.89 736,392 60.11 21,854
Results Obtained majority in one state and an overall minority of 247,724 votes. Not carried

Discussion

This was the first of many times that similar questions were asked at a referendum. On every occasion the public decided not to vest power in the government over monopolies.

See also

References
  1. "Constitution Alteration (Monopolies) Bill 1910". Retrieved 22 April 2019 – via www.legislation.gov.au.
  2. "Notification of the receipt of a Writ for a Referendum" (PDF). Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. 19 March 1911. p. 761 – via www.legislation.gov.au.
  3. "Result of the Referendum". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. No. 38. 3 June 1910. pp. 1157–8 – via www.legislation.gov.au.
  4. Handbook of the 44th Parliament (2014) "Part 5 - Referendums and Plebiscites - Referendum results". Parliamentary Library of Australia.

Further reading
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