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1988 Australian referendum (Local Government)

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The Constitution Alteration (Local Government) Bill 1988,[1] was an unsuccessful proposal to alter the Australian Constitution to recognise local government. It was put to voters for approval in a referendum held on 3 September 1988. The structure of the Constitution recognises government at federal and state levels, but makes no mention of local government.

1988 Australian Local Government referendum
3 September 1988 (1988-09-03)
A Proposed Law: To alter the Constitution to recognise local government.

Do you approve of this proposed alteration?
OutcomeNot carried, A majority "no" vote nationally and in all six states.
Results
Choice
 Votes %
Yes 3,163,488 33.61%
No 6,248,166 66.39%
Valid votes 9,411,654 98.68%
Invalid or blank votes 126,071 1.32%
Total votes 9,537,725 100.00%
Registered voters/turnout 10,362,959 92.04%
Note: Saturation of colour denotes strength of vote

The "no" campaign in 1988 argued that this change would undermine states' rights, i.e. that it would move – or make it possible to move – some power from state governments to local governments.

Question

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A Proposed Law: To alter the Constitution to recognise local government.

Do you approve this proposed alteration? The proposal was to add a new provision to the Constitution as follows :[2]

119A. Each State shall provide for the establishment and continuance of a system of local government, with local government bodies elected in accordance with the laws of the State and empowered to administer, and to make by-laws for, their respective areas in accordance with the laws of the State.

Results

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Result [3][4]
State Electoral roll Ballots issued For Against Informal
Vote % Vote %
New South Wales 3,564,856 3,297,246 1,033,364 31.70 2,226,529 68.30 37,353
Victoria 2,697,096 2,491,183 882,020 36.06 1,563,957 63.94 45,206
Queensland 1,693,247 1,552,293 590,868 38.31 951,332 61.69 10,093
South Australia 937,974 873,511 256,421 29.85 602,499 70.15 14,591
Western Australia 926,636 845,209 247,830 29.76 584,863 70.24 12,516
Tasmania 302,324 282,785 76,707 27.50 202,214 72.50 3,864
Australian Capital Territory [5] 166,131 149,128 58,755 39.78 88,945 60.22 1,428
Northern Territory [5] 74,695 56,370 21,449 38.80 33,826 61.20 1,095
Total for Commonwealth 10,362,959 9,537,725 3,163,488 33.61 6,248,166 66.39 126,071
Results Obtained a majority in no state and an overall minority of 2,335,741 votes. Not carried

Discussion

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This was the second unsuccessful referendum on the subject of Local Government. The 1974 referendum on Local Government Bodies sought to allow the Commonwealth to grant financial assistance to local government bodies, and to borrow money on their behalf.[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Constitution Alteration (Local Government) Bill 1988 (Cth)
  2. ^ "Notification of particulars of writs for referendums". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette Special. No. S212. 25 July 1988. p. 3. Retrieved 15 November 2019 – via Trove.
  3. ^ a b Handbook of the 44th Parliament (2014) "Part 5 - Referendums and Plebiscites - Referendum results". Parliamentary Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "Result of referendum with respect to Local Government". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. No. S324. 27 October 1988. p. 3. Retrieved 23 October 2021 – via Trove.
  5. ^ a b Following the 1977 referendum, votes cast in the territories count towards the national total, but are not counted toward any state total.

Further reading

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