Australia. Referendum, 1967
Question 1
Do you approve the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled ‘An Act to alter the Constitution so that the number of Members of the House of Representatives may be increased without necessarily increasing the number of Senators’?
Section 24 of the Constitution requires that the number of Members of the House of Representatives must be approximately double the number of Senators. Constitution Alteration (Parliament) 1967 sought to alter the Constitution so as to remove this ‘nexus’.
Australia. Referendum, 1967. Question 1
| State | Number on rolls | Ballot papers issued | For (v) | For (%) | Against (v) | Against (%) | Informal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 2 315 828 | 2 166 507 | 1 087 694 | 51.01 | 1 044 458 | 48.99 | 34 355 |
| Victoria | 1 734 476 | 1 630 594 | 496 826 | 30.87 | 1 112 506 | 69.13 | 21 262 |
| Queensland | 904 808 | 848 728 | 370 200 | 44.13 | 468 673 | 55.87 | 9 855 |
| South Australia | 590 275 | 560 844 | 186 344 | 33.91 | 363 120 | 66.09 | 11 380 |
| Western Australia | 437 609 | 405 666 | 114 841 | 29.05 | 280 523 | 70.95 | 10 302 |
| Tasmania | 199 589 | 189 245 | 42 764 | 23.06 | 142 660 | 76.94 | 3 821 |
| Total for Commonwealth | 6 182 585 | 5 801 584 | 2 298 669 | 40.25 | 3 411 940 | 59.75 | 90 975 |
Obtained majority in one State and an overall minority of 1 113 271 votes.
Not carried
Question 2
Do you approve the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled ‘An Act to alter the Constitution so as to omit certain words relating to the people of the Aboriginal race in any state so that Aboriginals are to be counted in reckoning the population’?
Constitution Alteration (Aboriginals) 1967 sought to give the Commonwealth Parliament power to make laws with respect to Aboriginal people wherever they lived in Australia. It also sought to make it possible to include Aboriginal people in national censuses. The amendment deleted part of section 51 (xxvi) and repealed section 127.
Australia. Referendum, 1967. Question 2
| State | Number on rolls | Ballot papers issued | For (v) | For (%) | Against (v) | Against (%) | Informal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 2 315 828 | 2 166 507 | 1 949 036 | 91.46 | 182 010 | 8.54 | 35 461 |
| Victoria | 1 734 476 | 1 630 594 | 1 525 026 | 94.68 | 85 611 | 5.32 | 19 957 |
| Queensland | 904 808 | 848 728 | 748 612 | 89.21 | 90 587 | 10.79 | 9 529 |
| South Australia | 590 275 | 560 844 | 473 440 | 86.26 | 75 383 | 13.74 | 12 021 |
| Western Australia | 437 609 | 405 666 | 319 823 | 80.95 | 75 282 | 19.05 | 10 561 |
| Tasmania | 199 589 | 189 245 | 167 176 | 90.21 | 18 134 | 9.79 | 3 935 |
| Total for Commonwealth | 6 182 585 | 5 801 584 | 5 183 113 | 90.77 | 527 007 | 9.23 | 91 464 |
Obtained majority in all six States and an overall majority of 4 656 106 votes.
Carried