Section 42 of the Australian Constitution limited the government's power to make laws with respect to
the organised marketing

Marketing

Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...

 of primary products. Constitution Alteration (Organised Marketing of Primary Products) 1946 sought to remove these restrictions.
The question was put to a referendum in the Australian referendum, 1946

Australian referendum, 1946

The 1946 Australian Referendum was held on 28 September 1946. It contained three referendum questions.* Social Services * Marketing * Industrial Employment ...

.

Results

Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled "Constitution Alteration (Organised Marketing of Primary Products) 1946"?

Result

State	On rolls	Ballots issued	For		Against		Informal
				%		%
New South Wales New South Wales New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...	1,858,749	1,757,150	855,233	%51.83	794,852	%48.17	107,065
Victoria	1,345,537	1,261,374	624,343	%52.37	567,860	%47.63	69,171
Queensland Queensland Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...	660,316	612,170	251,672	%43.74	323,678	%56.26	36,820
South Australia South Australia South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...	420,361	399,301	183,674	%48.74	193,201	%51.26	22,426
Western Australia Western Australia Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...	300,337	279,066	145,781	%56.21	113,562	%43.79	19,723
Tasmania Tasmania Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...	154,553	144,880	55,561	%42.55	75,018	%57.45	14,301
Armed Forces Armed Forces Armed Forces is Elvis Costello's third album, his second with the Attractions, and the first to officially credit the Attractions on the cover. It was released in the UK by Radar Records and in the U.S. by Columbia in 1979... *		37,021	19,924	%53.81	15,997	%43.21	986
Total for Commonwealth	4,739,853	4,453,941	2,116,264	%50.57	2,068,171	%49.43	269,506
Obtained majority in three States and an overall majority of 48,093 votes.
Not carried

* Armed forces totals are also included in their respective states.

Discussion

This was one of the few occasions when an overall national majority was evident, albeit by a small margin, but no state majority was reached resulting in the referendum being not carried.

See also