Referendums in Tasmania
Background
Tasmanians have been asked to vote or have been given the
opportunity to indicate an opinion on State matters only three times since
statehood: in 1916 on the question of hotel closing hours; in 1968 on
the question of the issue of a casino licence for Wrest Point Hotel in
Hobart; and in 1981 on the question of dam construction and future power
options for the State.
Constitutional Position
Whilst they may occur at local government level, no formal
requirement to hold referendums exists in Tasmania. Tasmania's Constitution
Act 1934 (94/1934) may be amended by a simple majority of parliamentarians
voting in favour of a Bill to enact any changes. The only special vote
necessary is for any change to the four-year term of the House of Assembly,
which requires the approval of a two-thirds majority of the Assembly members
before alteration (Section 41A).
The referendum provisions in the different States and the
Commonwealth vary according to their individual constitutional requirements.
Local government elector polls are provided for under Division 2
of the Local Government Act 1993 and may cover any issues
within the jurisdiction of the local council, however the results are
not binding on the council.
The Referendum Process
In 1993 the Liberal Government announced that to overcome
some uncertainty in the method of holding statewide referendums it would
bring in legislation that would control them. The Referendum Procedures
Act (52/2004) sets out the rules for the conduct of such referendums.
These provisions include:
- Minimum 21 day campaign and maximum of 51-60 days before
voting, or in tandem with election writ.
- Maximum of 2,000 word arguments authorised by a majority
of MPs for and against each proposal; these must be brought to the 'notice
of voters'.
- Valid votes must have the words 'Yes' or 'No' for each
proposal on the ballot-paper.
- Conclusive results announced and published by the Chief
Electoral Officer.
- House of Assembly electoral rolls to be used to record
voters.
- Voting is compulsory.
Liquor Referendum 1916
| Polling Day: |
25 March 1916. |
| Subject: |
Hotel Closing Hours (Options: 6, 7, 8,
9, 10 or 11 p.m.). |
| Summary: |
42,713 or 58.7% for 6 p.m. |
| Option |
Bass |
Darwin# |
Denison |
Franklin |
Wilmot# |
Total |
| 6 p.m. |
8,713 |
7,425 |
10,309 |
8,627 |
7,639 |
42,713 |
| 7 p.m. |
54 |
63 |
77 |
153 |
80 |
427 |
| 8 p.m. |
186 |
217 |
165 |
356 |
169 |
1,093 |
| 9 p.m. |
379 |
384 |
246 |
558 |
304 |
1,871 |
| 10 p.m. |
5,923 |
4,966 |
5,817 |
5,099 |
4,348 |
26,153 |
| 11 p.m. |
137 |
94 |
103 |
163 |
63 |
560 |
| Total Valid Vote |
15,392 |
13,149 |
16,717 |
14,956 |
12,603 |
72,817 |
| Informal Vote |
1,040 |
1,202 |
1,285 |
1,445 |
1,132 |
6,104 |
| Grand Total |
6,432 |
14,351 |
18,002 |
16,401 |
13,735 |
78,921 |
| Turnout: |
73.53%(before compulsory voting in 1928). |
| Source: |
Parliamentary Paper No 33/1916-1917. |
| |
# Darwin became Braddon in 1954; Wilmot
became Lyons in 1984. |
Casino Referendum 1968
| Polling Day: |
Saturday 14 December 1968. |
| Subject: |
Casino Licence for Wrest Point Hotel, Hobart. |
| Summary: |
Yes: 96,839 (53%); No: 85,862 (47%) |
| Seat |
Enrolled |
Total Valid Vote |
Yes |
Yes % |
No |
No % |
| Bass |
40,472 |
34,989 |
16,622 |
47.51 |
18,367 |
52.49 |
| Braddon |
42,420 |
37,189 |
18,453 |
49.62 |
18,736 |
50.38 |
| Denison |
43,529 |
38,814 |
22,407 |
57.73 |
16,407 |
42.27 |
| Franklin |
38,248 |
34,838 |
20,856 |
59.87 |
13,982 |
40.13 |
| Wilmot* |
41,475 |
36,871 |
18,501 |
50.18 |
18,370 |
49.82 |
| State Total |
206,144 |
182,701 |
96,839 |
53.00 |
85,862 |
47.00 |
| Turnout: |
92.67%. |
| Informal: |
8,339. |
| Source: |
Parliamentary Paper No 3/1970. |
| |
* Wilmot became Lyons in 1984. |
Power Referendum 1981
| Polling Day: |
Saturday 12 December 1981. |
| Subject: |
Construction of a hydro-electricity dam. |
| Summary: |
See separate table at end. |
| Gordon River above its junction with Olga River: |
20,184 |
| Gordon River below its junction with Franklin River: |
119,875 |
| Informal Votes (Ballot Papers containing 'No Dams' etc): |
114,060 |
The very high number of informal votes is striking and was
largely the result of a strong conservationist campaign against any dam
at all. The Electoral Office originally ignored 23,839 votes with 'No
Dams' on them but further legal opinion recommended that they be recounted.
The results are presented below, but note that they had no impact on the
State Government and it was an Australian High Court ruling in 1983 that
halted the construction of the dam.
Table One: Informal vote not included.
| Seat |
Enrolled |
Gordon above Olga |
Gordon below Franklin |
| Bass |
55,584 |
4,392 (16.58%) |
22,095 (83.42%) |
| Braddon |
53,938 |
4,175 (13.73%) |
26,241 (86.27%) |
| Denison |
54,887 |
3,515 (14.14%) |
21,335 (85.86%) |
| Franklin |
56,568 |
3,820 (13.76%) |
23,934 (86.24%) |
| Wilmot* |
55,189 |
4,282 (14.02%) |
26,270 (85.98%) |
| State Total |
276,166 |
20,184 |
119,875 |
Table Two: Including 23,839 papers classified as informal ('No Dams' etc).
| Seat |
Enrolled |
Gordon above Olga |
Gordon below Franklin |
| Bass |
55,584 |
5,261 (17.17%) |
25,379 (82.83%) |
| Braddon |
53,938 |
5,057 (14.37%) |
30,131 (85.63%) |
| Denison |
54,887 |
4,364 (14.96%) |
24,800 (85.04%) |
| Franklin |
56,568 |
4,952 (14.91%) |
28,271 (85.09%) |
| Wilmot* |
55,189 |
5,210 (14.60%) |
30,473 (85.40%) |
| State Total |
276,166 |
24,844 |
139,054 |
* Wilmot became Lyons in 1984.
These first two tables may appear complicated but they become
more so when every paper bearing the words 'No Dams' is considered. The
Electoral Office sought to clarify matters by issuing the following:
Summary of Voting:
| Particulars of Count |
Number of Votes |
Percentage |
| Total Vote |
254,119 |
100.00 |
| First Option Gordon above Olga |
20,184 |
7.94 |
| Gordon below Franklin |
119,875 |
47.17 |
| Informal Vote (including 23,839 disallowed) |
114,060 |
44.89 |
| Second Option Gordon above Olga |
24,844 |
9.78 |
| Gordon below Franklin |
139,054 |
54.72 |
| Informal Vote |
90,221 |
35.50 |
| NB: Total Ballot Papers endorsed 'No Dams'
from all sources |
84,514 |
33.25 |
| Turnout: |
92.01%. |
| Source: |
Parliamentary Paper No 63/1982. |
|
