1988 Australian referendum (Local Government)
Unsuccessful constitutional proposal
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The Constitution Alteration (Local Government) Bill 1988,[1] was an unsuccessful proposal to alter the Australian Constitution to require that the states maintain a system of democratically elected local government. The amendment would have prevented states from abolishing their local governments or removing elections for them entirely if they so chose to do.[2] It was put to voters for approval in a referendum held on 3 September 1988.
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3 September 1988
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A Proposed Law: To alter the Constitution to recognise local government. Do you approve of this proposed alteration? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Outcome | Not carried, A majority "no" vote nationally and in all six states. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Results | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Results by federal electoral division | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Note: Saturation of colour denotes strength of vote | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The structure of the Constitution primarily deals with the federal level and its relationship with the states, and therefore leaves the issue of local government to the states. The failure of this did not make local government unconstitutional, state parliaments are still free to establish systems of local governments through legislation under section 107 of the Federal Constitution. Each state has provided for constitutional recognition in its respective state constitution.[3]
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
A Proposed Law: To alter the Constitution to recognise local government.
Do you approve this proposed alteration?
Proposed Changes to the Constitution
The proposal was to add a new provision to the Constitution as follows (substituted text in bold):[4]
- 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
| 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 [7] | 166,131 | 149,128 | 58,755 | 39.78 | 88,945 | 60.22 | 1,428 | |
| Northern Territory [7] | 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
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.[5]