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Australian Referendums Constitutional Process

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Australian Referendums Constitutional Process

Chloe, Isla and Amira are helping their netball club understand how Australia can change its Constitution. Read the information, follow the referendum pathway and answer the questions. A proposed change only succeeds if it meets the double majority.

How a referendum works

Section 128 of the Australian Constitution sets out the process for changing it. A proposed change must first pass both houses of the Australian Parliament, usually by an absolute majority. In some circumstances, it may proceed after one house passes it twice. The proposal is then put to voters in a referendum. The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) runs the vote and counts the ballots. To pass, the change needs a double majority: more than half of all formal votes nationally must be Yes, and Yes must win in at least four of the six states. Votes in the territories count towards the national majority, but not the state count. If both tests are met, the change receives Royal Assent.

The national and state results are checked

A successful change receives Royal Assent

The proposal passes Parliament

The AEC conducts the referendum

The 1967 referendum

On 27 May 1967, Australians voted on constitutional changes concerning Aboriginal people. The changes removed the exclusion of Aboriginal people from the Commonwealth’s power to make laws for people of particular races, and removed the clause that excluded Aboriginal people from being counted in population counts used for certain constitutional purposes. More than 90 per cent of formal votes nationally were Yes, and Yes won in every state. The vote did not itself grant voting rights: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people already had the right to vote in federal elections, although state voting rules had varied.

1.Which section of the Australian Constitution sets out how it can be changed?

Section 51
Section 109
Section 128
Section 116

2.Number these stages from 1 to 4: the AEC conducts the referendum; the proposal passes Parliament; a successful change receives Royal Assent; the national and state results are checked.

3.At the netball club, Isla explains a result: Yes receives 53% of formal votes nationally and wins in three states. Has the proposal passed? Explain which part of the double majority is missing.

4.Yes wins nationally and in four states. It loses in both territories. Does the proposal meet the double majority? Explain how territory votes are treated.

5.Name two jobs the Australian Electoral Commission performs in a referendum.

6.The 1967 referendum itself gave Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people the right to vote in federal elections. Write true or false and correct the statement.

TrueFalse

7.The 1967 referendum received more than 90% Yes nationally and passed in every state. What does this evidence tell you about the level of support for the change?

8.Chloe says, “A referendum can change the Constitution as soon as a national Yes majority is reached.” Use the double-majority rule to explain what is missing from her claim.

9.Why might Australia require both a national majority and support from a majority of states before changing the Constitution? Give one reason.

10.Do you think the double-majority rule is a useful safeguard, or does it make constitutional change too difficult? Write a short argument using one detail from the process or the 1967 referendum. There can be more than one defensible view.