1981 New South Wales referendum
| |||||
| 1981 New South Wales referendum[1] | |||||
| 4 year terms | Pecuniary interests | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 69% | 86% | |||
| No | 31% | 14% | |||
The 1981 New South Wales referendum was held on 19 September 1981, the same day as the state election. The referendum contained two questions:
- Do you approve a Bill for an Act to extend the maximum period between general elections for the Legislative Assembly from 3 years to 4 years?[2]
- Do you approve a Bill for an Act to require Members of Parliament to disclose certain pecuniary interests and other matters?[3]
Amendments to the constitution
The primary change by the proposal to extend the maximum term was to alter section 7B of the Constitution Act 1902 to provide for a maximum term of 4 years rather than 3.[4]
The proposal to require Members of Parliament to disclose pecuniary interests was to add section 14A to the Constitution Act 1902 which provided that
- the Governor could make regulations requiring members of parliament to disclose their pecuniary interests;
- the relevant house of parliament could declare a seat vacant if the member wilfully contravened any regulation; and
- the regulations could only be disallowed by both houses of parliament.[5]
Results
Both questions were approved with large majorities.
| Question | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 year terms | No | 874,944 | 30.96% |
| Yes | 1,951,455 | 69.04% | |
| Total Formal | 2,826,399 | 96.53% | |
| Informal | 101,528 | 3.47% | |
| Pecuniary interests | No | 388,791 | 13.99% |
| Yes | 802,512 | 86.01% | |
| Total Formal | 2,779,827 | 94.94% | |
| Informal | 148,100 | 5.06% | |
| Turnout [6] | 2,927,927 | 91.16% | |
See also
References
- ^ a b "NSW Referendum - 19 September 1981". New South Wales Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 11 March 2011.
- ^ "Writ for a referendum: extend the maximum period between elections". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 126. 28 August 1981. p. 4567. Retrieved 16 October 2019 – via Trove.
- ^ "Writ for a referendum: disclosure of pecuniary interests". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 127. 28 August 1981. p. 4569. Retrieved 16 October 2019 – via Trove.
- ^ "Constitution (Legislative Assembly) Amendment Act 1981 No 102" (PDF). Legislation.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
- ^ "Constitution (disclosure by members) Amendment Act 1981 No 103" (PDF). Legislation.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
- ^ Based on a roll of 3,212,017: Green, Antony. "1981 election totals". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
