Australian referendum, 1951

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.

Proposed amendment

The referendum contained one 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'?

The Constitution Alteration (Powers to deal with Communists and Communism) 1951 sought to increase the power of the parliament to make laws with respect to communists and communism where this was necessary for the security of the Commonwealth.

Results

Source: Australian Parliament

State	On rolls	Ballots issued	For		Against		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.