1910 Australian referendum

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

1910 Australian referendum (short version)

The referendum was held on 13 April 1910, alongside the federal election. Australians were asked to approve two proposed changes to the Constitution.

Question 1: State Debts
- What it meant: If approved, the Commonwealth could take over the debts of the states and repay them from national funds.
- Result: Carried (national majority in favour).
- Voting by state:
- New South Wales: No (66.66% against)
- Victoria: Yes (64.59% in favour)
- Queensland: Yes (64.57% in favour)
- South Australia: Yes (73.18% in favour)
- Western Australia: Yes (72.80% in favour)
- Tasmania: Yes (80.97% in favour)
- National totals: 715,053 Yes, 586,271 No; 96,209 informal. About 54.95% Yes and 45.05% No.
- Overall: Five states voted Yes; one state (NSW) voted No. The proposal was approved nationwide.

Question 2: Surplus Revenue
- What it meant: If approved, the Constitution would be altered to change how surplus revenue was handled (Constitution Alteration (Finance) 1909).
- Result: Not carried (no national majority in favour; the No side won).
- Voting by state:
- New South Wales: Yes 47.35%, No 52.65%
- Victoria: Yes 45.26%, No 54.74%
- Queensland: Yes 54.58%, No 45.42%
- South Australia: Yes 49.06%, No 50.94%
- Western Australia: Yes 61.74%, No 38.26%
- Tasmania: Yes 59.99%, No 40.01%
- National totals: 645,514 Yes, 670,838 No; 82,437 informal. About 49.04% Yes and 50.96% No.
- Overall: The proposal did not pass; it did not reach a national majority.