1967 Australian referendum

This article is about the both questions asked in the 1967 referendum. For the first part, increasing the number of Members in the House of Representatives, see 1967 Australian referendum (Parliament). For the second part of the 1967 referendum, regarding certain matters on Indigenous Australians, see 1967 Australian referendum (Aboriginals).

The 1967 Australian referendum occurred on 27 May 1967 under the Holt government. It contained three topics asked about in two questions, regarding the passage of two bills to alter the Australian Constitution.[1]

The first question (Constitution Alteration (Parliament) Bill 1967) sought to increase the number of Members in the House of Representatives.[1] The second question (Constitution Alteration (Aboriginals) Bill 1967) related to Indigenous Australians (referred to as "the Aboriginal Race") and was in two parts: whether to give the Federal Government the power to make laws for Indigenous Australians in states, and whether in population counts for constitutional purposes to include all Indigenous Australians.[1][2][3]

Results [4]
Question NSW Vic Qld SA WA Tas States in favour Voters in favour Result
(25) Parliament Yes No No No No No 1:5 40% Not carried
(26) Aboriginal people Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 6:0 91% Carried


Results in detail

Parliament

This section is an excerpt from 1967 Australian referendum (Parliament) § Results
Result[4]
State Electoral roll Ballots issued For Against Informal
Vote % Vote %
New South Wales 2,315,828 2,166,507 1,087,694 51.01 1,044,458 48.99 34,355
Victoria 1,734,476 1,630,594 496,826 30.87 1,112,506 69.13 21,262
Queensland 904,808 848,728 370,200 44.13 468,673 55.87 9,855
South Australia 590,275 560,844 186,344 33.91 363,120 66.09 11,380
Western Australia 437,609 405,666 114,841 29.05 280,523 70.95 10,302
Tasmania 199,589 189,245 42,764 23.06 142,660 76.94 3,821
Total for Commonwealth 6,182,585 5,801,584 2,298,669 40.25 3,411,940 59.75 90,975
Results Obtained majority in one state and an overall minority of 1,113,271 votes. Not carried

Aboriginal people

This section is an excerpt from 1967 Australian referendum (Aboriginals) § Results
Result [4]
State Electoral roll Ballots issued For Against Informal
Vote % Vote %
New South Wales 2,315,828 2,166,507 1,949,036 91.46 182,010 8.54 35,461
Victoria 1,734,476 1,630,594 1,525,026 94.68 85,611 5.32 19,957
Queensland 904,808 848,728 748,612 89.21 90,587 10.79 9,529
South Australia 590,275 560,844 473,440 86.26 75,383 13.74 12,021
Western Australia 437,609 405,666 319,823 80.95 75,282 19.05 10,561
Tasmania 199,589 189,245 167,176 90.21 18,134 9.79 3,935
Total for Commonwealth 6,182,585 5,801,584 5,183,113 90.77 527,007 9.23 91,464
Results Obtained majority in all six states and an overall majority of 4,656,106 votes. Carried

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Constitution Alteration (Parliament) 1967 and Constitution Alteration (Aboriginals) 1967 Referendums: The Arguments For and Against the Proposed Alterations Together with a Statement Showing the Proposed Alterations". Commonwealth of Australia. 1967. Retrieved 15 August 2020 – via Austlii.
  2. ^ Arcioni, Elisa (1 September 2012). "Excluding Indigenous Australians from 'The People': A Reconsideration of Sections 25 and 127 of the Constitution". Federal Law Review. 40 (3): 287–315. doi:10.22145/flr.40.3.1. S2CID 210774854. (2012) 40(3) Federal Law Review 287. ISSN 1444-6928. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  3. ^ Thomas, Matthew (25 May 2017). "The 1967 Referendum". Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 27 May 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Handbook of the 44th Parliament (2014) "Part 5 - Referendums and Plebiscites - Referendum results". Parliamentary Library of Australia.

Further reading