Constitution Alteration (Terms of Senators) 1984 proposed for the third time that Senate of Australia and House of Representatives

Australian House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....

 elections be constitutionally enforced to occur on the same day. The proposal was put to a referendum in the Australian referendum, 1984

Australian referendum, 1984

The 1984 Australian Referendum was held on 21 May 1984. It contained two referendum questions, neither of which passed.* Terms of Senators * Interchange of Powers ...

.

Results

An Act to change the terms of senators so that they are no longer of fixed duration and to provide that Senate elections and House of Representatives elections are always held on the same day.

Do you approve this proposed alteration?

Result

State	On rolls	Ballots issued	For		Against		Informal
				%		%
New South Wales New South Wales New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...	3,423,624	3,216,256	1,621,894	%52.86	1,446,150	%47.14	148,212
Victoria	2,617,291	2,475,891	1,244,451	%53.20	1,094,760	%46.80	136,680
Queensland Queensland Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...	1,549,749	1,447,284	642,768	%45.65	765,329	%54.35	39,187
South Australia South Australia South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...	908,424	856,226	398,127	%49.98	398,463	%50.02	59,636
Western Australia Western Australia Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...	858,763	806,637	358,502	%46.47	412,996	%53.53	35,139
Tasmania Tasmania Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...	289,142	277,100	102,762	%39.29	158,777	%60.71	15,561
Australian Capital Territory Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...	150,416	140,982	76,901	%56.68	58,764	%43.32	5,317
Northern Territory Northern Territory The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...	68,857	58,668	28,310	%51.87	26,265	%48.13	4,093
Total for Commonwealth	9,866,266	9,279,044	4,473,715	%50.64	4,361,504	%49.36	443,825
Obtained a majority in two States and an overall majority of 112,211 votes.
Not carried

Discussion

The results showed a narrow overall national majority acceptance for the proposal, however did not achieve the state majority required to be carried.

See also