1919 Australian referendum (Legislative Powers)

The Constitution Alteration (Legislative Powers) Bill 1919,[1] was an unsuccessful proposal to alter the Australian Constitution to temporarily extend Commonwealth legislative powers with respect to trade and commerce, corporations, industrial matters and trusts that was put to voters for approval in a referendum held in 1919. If approved, the amendments would have operated for a maximum of 3 years. The 1919 referendum was held in conjunction with the 1919 federal election.

Australian Legislative Powers referendum, 1919
19 December 1919 (1919-12-19)
Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled —

"Constitution Alteration (Legislative Powers) 1919" ?
Results
Choice
Votes %
Yes 911,357 49.65%
No 924,160 50.35%
Valid votes 1,835,517 90.38%
Invalid or blank votes 195,394 9.62%
Total votes 2,030,911 100.00%
Registered voters/turnout 2,849,862 71.26%

Question

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Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled 'Constitution Alteration (Legislative Powers) 1919'?

Results

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Result [2]
State Electoral roll Ballots issued For Against Informal
Vote % Vote %
New South Wales 1,079,439 717,565 259,751 39.95 390,450 60.05 67,132
Victoria 837,408 638,098 369,210 64.65 201,869 35.35 66,227
Queensland 389,200 330,231 175,225 57.35 130,299 42.65 24,397
South Australia 268,235 178,092 40,520 25.28 119,789 74.72 17,656
Western Australia 163,544 103,235 48,142 51.75 44,892 48.25 9,854
Tasmania 112,036 65,716 18,509 33.43 36,861 66.57 10,128
Total for Commonwealth 2,849,862 2,032,937 911,357 49.65 924,160 50.35 195,394
Results Obtained majority in three states and an overall minority of 12,803 votes. Not carried

References

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  1. ^ "Constitution Alteration (Legislative Powers) Bill 1919". Retrieved 22 April 2019 – via legislation.gov.au.
  2. ^ Handbook of the 44th Parliament (2014) "Part 5 - Referendums and Plebiscites - Referendum results". Parliamentary Library of Australia.