The Constitution Alteration (Trusts) Bill 1912, was an unsuccessful referendum held in 1913 that sought to alter the Australian Constitution to give the Commonwealth legislative power in respect to trusts.

Question Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled 'Constitution Alteration (Trusts) 1912'?

Proposed Changes to the Constitution The proposal was to alter the text of section 51 of the Constitution to read as follows:. (substituted text in bold) 51. The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have Legislative power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to: (xl.) Trusts, combinations, and monopolies in relation to the production, manufacture, or supply of goods, or the supply of services.

Results The referendum was not approved by a majority of voters, and a majority of the voters was achieved in only three states.

+ Result State Electoral roll Ballots issued For Against Informal Vote % Vote % New South Wales 1,036,187 717,855 319,150 47.12 358,155

39,294 Victoria 830,391 626,861 301,729 49.71 305,268

19,536 Queensland 363,082 280,525 147,871

122,088 45.22 10,345 South Australia 244,026 195,463 96,400

90,185 48.33 8,661 Western Australia 179,784 132,149 67,342

58,312 46.41 6,162 Tasmania 106,746 80,398 314,839 45.38 41,935

3,498 Total for Commonwealth 2,760,216 2,033,251 967,331 49.78 975,943

87,496 Results Obtained majority in three states and an overall minority of 8,612 votes. Not carried

Discussion The 1911 referendum asked a single question that dealt with the acquisition of monopolies. This resolution separated laws in relation to monopolies and the acquisition of monopolies into different questions. Like its forebear, neither resolution was carried. On each of the many occasions a similar question was asked at a referendum the public decided not to vest power in the Commonwealth over these matters.

1911 referendum on monopolies

See also Politics of Australia History of Australia

References

Further reading Standing Committee on Legislative and Constitutional Affairs (1997) Constitutional Change: Select sources on Constitutional change in Australia 1901–1997 . Australian Government Printing Service, Canberra. Bennett, Scott (2003). Research Paper no. 11 2002–03: The Politics of Constitutional Amendment Australian Department of the Parliamentary Library, Canberra. Australian Electoral Commission (2007) Referendum Dates and Results 1906 – Present AEC, Canberra.