Australian referendum, 1951

1951 Australian referendum
22 September 1951

Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled 'Constitution Alteration (Powers to deal with Communists and Communism) 1951'?

Results
	Votes	%
Yes	2,317,927	7001494400000000000♠49.44%
No	2,370,009	7001505600000000000♠50.56%
Valid votes	4,687,936	7001986000000000000♠98.60%
Invalid or blank votes	66,653	7000140000000099999♠1.4%
Total votes	4,754,589	100.00%
Registered voters/turnout	4,974,337	7001955800000000000♠95.58%

Results by state

Yes — No

Note: Saturation of colour denotes strength of vote

The 1951 Australian Referendum was held on 22 September 1951 and sought approval for the federal government to ban the Communist Party of Australia. It was not carried.

Background

In 1951 the Menzies government passed a law banning the Communist Party of Australia. The party challenged the law in the High Court, which ruled that it was constitutionally invalid. Following this defeat, the government sponsored this referendum in an attempt to overcome this constitutional obstacle. The referendum question was opposed, not surprisingly, by the Communist Party. It was also opposed by the Australian Labor Party and even the Young Liberals, on the grounds that it would restrict freedoms of speech and association.

Question

Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled 'Constitution Alteration (Powers to deal with Communists and Communism) 1951'?

Results

Result
State	On rolls	Ballots issued	For		Against		Invalid
State	On rolls	Ballots issued		%		%	Invalid
New South Wales	1,944,219	1,861,147	865,838	47.17%	969,868	52.83%	25,441
Victoria	1,393,556	1,326,024	636,819	48.71%	670,513	51.29%	18,692
Queensland	709,328	675,916	373,156	55.76%	296,019	44.24%	6,741
South Australia	442,983	427,253	198,971	47.29%	221,763	52.71%	6,519
Western Australia	319,383	305,653	164,989	55.09%	134,497	44.91%	6,167
Tasmania	164,868	158,596	78,154	50.26%	77,349	49.74%	3,093
Armed Forces*		9,472	6,478		2,917		82
Total for Commonwealth	4,974,337	4,754,589	2,317,927	49.44%	2,370,009	50.56%	66,653
Obtained majority in three States and an overall minority of 52 082 votes.
Not carried

* Armed forces totals are also included in their respective states.

Source: Australian Parliament - Referendum results.^[1]

References

↑ Referendum results (24) Communists and Communism at Parliament of Australia official website

Elections and referendums in Australia

Federal elections	1901 1903 1906 1910 1913 1914 1917 1919 1922 1925 1928 1929 1931 1934 1937 1940 1943 1946 1949 1951 1953 1954 1955 1958 1961 1963 1964 1966 1967 1969 1970 1972 1974 1975 1977 1980 1983 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1998 2001 2004 2007 2010 2013 2016 next by-elections

Referendums	1906 1910 1911 1913 1916 1917 1919 1926 1928 1937 1944 1946 1948 1951 1967 1973 1974 1977 1984 1988 1999

Elections in: Australian Capital Territory New South Wales Northern Territory Queensland South Australia Tasmania Victoria Western Australia

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