Referendums in Australia - State and Territory Referendums

State and Territory Referendums

States and Territories of Australia may also hold referendums. Most are detailed in the external links. Some of the most important ones were:

• In the years leading up to the Federation of Australia in 1901, all six colonies (as the States then were) passed referendums in favour of Federation.

• In 1933, voters in Western Australia voted for their state to leave the Commonwealth of Australia with the aim of returning to the British Empire as an autonomous territory. The Western Australian Government sent a delegation to Westminster, however the United Kingdom House of Commons refused to intervene, declaring it had no power to grant secession, and therefore no action was taken to implement this decision.

• In 1967, voters in north-east New South Wales were asked if they favoured creating a new state in their region. The no vote won, with 54.1% of the formal vote.

• In 1968, Tasmanian voters took part in a referendum to approve the granting of Australia's first casino licence to the Federal Group to operate the Wrest Point Hotel Casino in Hobart. The referendum passed with 53% of the formal vote.

• In 1975, voters in Western Australia voted against permanent daylight saving/summer time.

• In 1978, the Australian Capital Territory voted at a referendum on whether the ACT should be granted self-government. Voters were given the choice of becoming a self-governing territory, a local government or continuing with the Legislative Assembly being an advisory body to the Department of the Capital Territory. 63.75% voted to continue with the then current arrangement. Despite the outcome of the referendum, the Parliament of Australia passed the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act in 1988 and the ACT became a self-governing territory in 1989.

• In 1981, the Tasmanian government held a controversial referendum to decide the location of a hydro-electric dam on the Franklin River. With the electorate simply given a choice of two different dams, approximately 33% of the electorate voted informal by writing "No Dams" on their ballot paper.

• In 1984, voters in Western Australia voted against permanent daylight saving/summer time for a second time.

• In 1992, after trialling Daylight Saving in Queensland for a total of three years, a referendum was held, with 54.5% of Queenslanders voting against daylight saving. Regional and rural areas strongly opposed daylight saving, while those in the metropolitan south-east voted in favour of it.

• In 1993, voters in Western Australia voted against permanent daylight saving/summer time for a third time.

• In 1995, voters in New South Wales voted for a fixed four year term for the state parliament.

• In 2009, after a three-year trial, voters in Western Australia voted against permanent daylight saving/summer time for a fourth time in four decades.