Australian referendum, 1910 (State Debts)
Encyclopedia
The referendum of the 13 April 1910 approved an amendment to the Australian constitution
. Technically it was a vote on the Constitution Alteration (State Debts) Act, 1909, which after being approved in the referendum
received the Royal Assent
on the 6 August.
Upon the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia, the federal government was given the power to assume any pre-existing debts held by the state governments at that time. The Act altered Section 105 of the constitution to extend this power so that the Commonwealth could take over any debts incurred by a state at any time. On the same day the referendum was held on the state debts amendment, a proposed surplus revenue amendment
was also put to the electorate but was defeated.
. By the end of the Commonwealth's first decade it was clear that Chapter IV had serious flaws, and in 1910 attempts were made to amend Sections 87 and 105.
In mid-1909, Alfred Deakin
succeeded Andrew Fisher
as Prime Minister for what would be his third and final time. Impetus had built in recent years for changes to state-federal financial relations, and Deakin made several important administrative decisions on this matter. Negotiations between Deakin, Forrest
and state premiers produced the financial agreement of 1909, which gave the states per capita grants of 25 shillings annually . Deakin proposed two constitutional amendments at the 1910 ballot to ratify these administrative changes, though the second question
was much more pressing than the first. It failed, but in practice the agreement determined Commonwealth-State financial arrangements until 1927. The first question on the state debts proposal dealt with a perceived need to expand the operation of Section 105 to allow the Commonwealth to take over state debts whenever they were incurred .
The state debts amendment was carried by a 'yes' vote of approximately 55 per cent, with only New South Wales in opposition. According to a historian of the Loan Council, this indicated that the nation had "decisively favoured a scheme on the basis of s. 105 to relieve the States of some of their financial burden" . Despite the smooth passage of the amendment, it would be more than a decade before the specifically endowed powers would be used. However, the state debts amendment was important in giving greater potential flexibility to Chapter IV of the constitution, and became an important aspect of federal-state intergovernmental financial relations .
Constitution of Australia
The Constitution of Australia is the supreme law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates. It consists of several documents. The most important is the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia...
. Technically it was a vote on the Constitution Alteration (State Debts) Act, 1909, which after being approved in the referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
received the Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
on the 6 August.
Upon the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia, the federal government was given the power to assume any pre-existing debts held by the state governments at that time. The Act altered Section 105 of the constitution to extend this power so that the Commonwealth could take over any debts incurred by a state at any time. On the same day the referendum was held on the state debts amendment, a proposed surplus revenue amendment
Australian referendum, 1910 (Surplus Revenue)
Constitution Alteration 1909 was question put to referendum in the Australian referendum, 1910. The question sought to amend section 87 which was due to lapse in 1910...
was also put to the electorate but was defeated.
Overview
Ensuring the future financial good health of the states was a matter of great importance to the writers of the constitution, and they worked hard to produce a workable Finance and Trade chapter (Chapter IV). Two important provisions of the chapter were Section 87, which required the return of surplus tariff funds to the states, and Section 105, which provided for the Commonwealth to take over State debts that existed at the time of FederationFederation of Australia
The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
. By the end of the Commonwealth's first decade it was clear that Chapter IV had serious flaws, and in 1910 attempts were made to amend Sections 87 and 105.
In mid-1909, Alfred Deakin
Alfred Deakin
Alfred Deakin , Australian politician, was a leader of the movement for Australian federation and later the second Prime Minister of Australia. In the last quarter of the 19th century, Deakin was a major contributor to the establishment of liberal reforms in the colony of Victoria, including the...
succeeded Andrew Fisher
Andrew Fisher
Andrew Fisher was an Australian politician who served as the fifth Prime Minister on three separate occasions. Fisher's 1910-13 Labor ministry completed a vast legislative programme which made him, along with Protectionist Alfred Deakin, the founder of the statutory structure of the new nation...
as Prime Minister for what would be his third and final time. Impetus had built in recent years for changes to state-federal financial relations, and Deakin made several important administrative decisions on this matter. Negotiations between Deakin, Forrest
John Forrest
Sir John Forrest GCMG was an Australian explorer, the first Premier of Western Australia and a cabinet minister in Australia's first federal parliament....
and state premiers produced the financial agreement of 1909, which gave the states per capita grants of 25 shillings annually . Deakin proposed two constitutional amendments at the 1910 ballot to ratify these administrative changes, though the second question
Australian referendum, 1910 (Surplus Revenue)
Constitution Alteration 1909 was question put to referendum in the Australian referendum, 1910. The question sought to amend section 87 which was due to lapse in 1910...
was much more pressing than the first. It failed, but in practice the agreement determined Commonwealth-State financial arrangements until 1927. The first question on the state debts proposal dealt with a perceived need to expand the operation of Section 105 to allow the Commonwealth to take over state debts whenever they were incurred .
The state debts amendment was carried by a 'yes' vote of approximately 55 per cent, with only New South Wales in opposition. According to a historian of the Loan Council, this indicated that the nation had "decisively favoured a scheme on the basis of s. 105 to relieve the States of some of their financial burden" . Despite the smooth passage of the amendment, it would be more than a decade before the specifically endowed powers would be used. However, the state debts amendment was important in giving greater potential flexibility to Chapter IV of the constitution, and became an important aspect of federal-state intergovernmental financial relations .
Referendum results
Question: Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled 'Constitution Alteration (State Debts) 1909?| State | Electoral Roll | Ballots Issued | For | Against | Informal | Result | |||
| Vote | % | Vote | % | ||||||
| New South Wales | 834,662 | 512,802 | 159,275 | 33.34% | 318,412 | 66.66% | 34,060 | No | |
| Victoria | 703,699 | 468,535 | 279,392 | 64.59% | 153,148 | 35.41% | 33,824 | Yes | |
| Queensland | 279,031 | 170,634 | 102,705 | 64.57% | 56,346 | 35.43% | 9,971 | Yes | |
| South Australia | 207,655 | 110,053 | 72,985 | 73.18% | 26,742 | 26.82% | 10,252 | Yes | |
| Western Australia | 134,979 | 83,893 | 57,367 | 72.80% | 21,437 | 27.20% | 4,324 | Yes | |
| Tasmania | 98,456 | 57,609 | 43,329 | 80.97% | 10,186 | 19.03% | 3,778 | Yes | |
| Total | 2,258,482 | 1,403,976 | 715,053 | 54.95% | 586,271 | 45.05% | 96,209 | Yes | |
| Sources: Standing Committee on Legislative and Constitutional Affairs (1997) Constitutional Change: Select sources on Constitutional change in Australia 1901-1997. Government Printing Office. | |||||||||
Changes to the text of the constitution
Deletion from Section 105 (removed text in bold):- The Parliament may take over from the States their public debts as existing at the establishment of the Commonwealth, or a proportion thereof according to the respective numbers of their people as shown by the latest statistics of the Commonwealth, and may convert, renew, or consolidate such debts, or any part thereof; and the States shall indemnify the Commonwealth in respect of the debts taken over, and thereafter the interest payable in respect of the debts shall be deducted and retained from the portions of the surplus revenue of the Commonwealth payable to the several States, or if such surplus is insufficient, or if there is no surplus, then the deficiency or the whole amount shall be paid by the several States.