Australian plebiscite, 1917
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The 1917 Australian plebiscite was held on 20 December 1917. It contained one question.
- Are you in favour of the proposal of the Commonwealth Government for reinforcing the Australian Imperial Force overseas?
[edit] The Plebiscite
This plebiscite was held due to the Government's desire to increase the available forces for overseas service during the ongoing World War I, to a total of 7000 men per month. It was conducted under the War Precautions (Military Service Referendum) Regulations 1917. It formed part of the larger debate on conscription in Australia throughout the war.
[edit] Results
| State | On
rolls |
Ballots
issued |
For | Against | Informal | Result | ||
| % | % | |||||||
| New South Wales | 1,055,883 | 853,894 | 341,256 | 41.16% | 487,774 | 58.84% | 24,864 | No |
| Victoria | 807,331 | 678,806 | 329,772 | 49.79% | 332,490 | 50.21% | 16,544 | No |
| Queensland | 378,378 | 310,164 | 132,771 | 44.02% | 168,875 | 55.98% | 8,518 | No |
| South Australia | 261,661 | 197,970 | 86,663 | 44.90% | 106,364 | 55.10% | 4,943 | No |
| Western Australia | 162,347 | 135,593 | 84,116 | 64.39% | 46,522 | 35.61% | 4,955 | Yes |
| Tasmania | 106,803 | 78,792 | 38,881 | 50.24% | 38,502 | 49.76% | 1,409 | Yes |
| Federal Territories | 4,037 | 3,002 | 1,700 | 58.22% | 1,220 | 41.78% | 82 | Yes |
| Total for Commonwealth | 2,776,440 | 2,258,221* | 1,015,159 | 46.21% | 1,181,747 | 53.79% | 61,315 | No |
| Obtained majority in two States and an overall minority of 166,588 votes. | ||||||||
| Not carried | ||||||||
* Including 199 677 votes by members of the Australian Imperial Force, of which 103 789 were for, 93 910 against, and 1978 informal.
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