1913 Australian referendum (Trusts)

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox referendum The Constitution Alteration (Trusts) Bill 1912,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> was an unsuccessful referendum held in 1913 that sought to alter the Australian Constitution to give the Commonwealth legislative power in respect to trusts.

Question

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

Proposed Changes to the Constitution

The proposal was to alter the text of section 51 of the Constitution to read as follows:<ref>Template:Cite news.</ref> (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:

(xl.) Trusts, combinations, and monopolies in relation to the production, manufacture, or supply of goods, or the supply of services.

Results

The referendum was not approved by a majority of voters, and a majority of the voters was achieved in only three states.Template:RefnTemplate:Refn

ResultTemplate:HspTemplate:RefnTemplate:Refn

State	Electoral roll	Ballots issued	For		Against		Informal
			Vote	%	Vote	%
New South Wales	1,036,187	717,855	319,150	47.12	358,155	Template:No	39,294
Victoria	830,391	626,861	301,729	49.71	305,268	Template:No	19,536
Queensland	363,082	280,525	147,871	Template:Yes	122,088	45.22	10,345
South Australia	244,026	195,463	96,400	Template:Yes	90,185	48.33	8,661
Western Australia	179,784	132,149	67,342	Template:Yes	58,312	46.41	6,162
Tasmania	106,746	80,398	314,839	45.38	41,935	Template:No	3,498
Total for Commonwealth	2,760,216	2,033,251	967,331	49.78	975,943	Template:No	87,496
Results	Obtained majority in three states and an overall minority of 8,612 votes. Not carried

Discussion

The 1911 referendum asked a single question that dealt with the acquisition of monopolies. This resolution separated laws in relation to monopolies and the acquisition of monopolies into different questions. Like its forebear, neither resolution was 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.<ref name="Handbook"/>

• 1911 referendum on monopolies

See also

• Politics of Australia
• History 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.
• 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.

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