Australian referendum, 1977
Encyclopedia
The 1977 Australian Referendum was held on 21 May 1977. It contained four referendum questions and one non-binding plebiscite.
Referendums:
Plebiscite:
This referendum had a particularly strong 'Yes' vote. All but one of the referendum questions was carried, and the only one to not be carried had a clear national majority, but was held back by not achieving a majority of the states. No referendum since then has been successful.
The four referendum questions were only voted on in the states; voters in the territories only gained the right to vote on constitutional changes as a result of the Referendums amendment passing. Voters in the territories, however, were able to vote on the plebiscite.
Referendums:
- (33) Simultaneous ElectionsAustralian referendum, 1977 (Simultaneous Elections)Constitution Alteration 1977 proposed for the second time that the Constitution be altered to ensure that elections for both houses of parliament occurred simultaneously...
(not carried) - (34) Senate Casual VacanciesAustralian referendum, 1977 (Senate Casual Vacancies)The referendum of 21 May 1977 approved an amendment to the Australian constitution concerning the filling of casual vacancies in the Senate. Technically it was a vote on the Constitution Alteration 1977 which, after being approved in the referendum, became law on 29 July of the same year.Prior to...
(carried) - (35) ReferendumsAustralian referendum, 1977 (Referendums)Constitution Alteration 1977 proposed to allow residents in the territories to vote in referendums. Residents in territories were to be counted towards the national total, but would not be counted toward any state total...
(carried) - (36) Retirement of JudgesAustralian referendum, 1977 (Retirement of Judges)The legislation Constitution Alteration 1977 proposed to create a retirementage of 70 for judges in federal courts.The question was put to a referendum in the Australian referendum, 1977.-Results:...
(carried)
Plebiscite:
- (3) National SongAustralian plebiscite, 1977 (National Song)As an additional question in the 1977 referendum, the voters were polled on which song they would prefer to be used to mark occasions where a particularly Australian national identity was desired. Voting on this question was not compulsory...
(Advance Australia FairAdvance Australia Fair"Advance Australia Fair" is the official national anthem of Australia. Created by the Scottish-born composer, Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed in 1878, but did not gain its status as the official anthem until 1984. Until then, the song was sung in Australia as a patriotic song...
)
This referendum had a particularly strong 'Yes' vote. All but one of the referendum questions was carried, and the only one to not be carried had a clear national majority, but was held back by not achieving a majority of the states. No referendum since then has been successful.
The four referendum questions were only voted on in the states; voters in the territories only gained the right to vote on constitutional changes as a result of the Referendums amendment passing. Voters in the territories, however, were able to vote on the plebiscite.