AK's Australian Election Series - 1992 Referendum
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  AK's Australian Election Series - 1992 Referendum
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Poll
Question: On electoral reform
#1
A - YES
 
#2
A - NO
 
#3
B - YES
 
#4
B - NO
 
#5
C - YES
 
#6
C - NO
 
#7
D - YES
 
#8
D - NO
 
Show Pie Chart
Partisan results

Total Voters: 24

Calculate results by number of options selected
Author Topic: AK's Australian Election Series - 1992 Referendum  (Read 716 times)
Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends
Anton Kreitzer
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« on: November 17, 2014, 09:13:21 PM »

For the first time since 1973, the left won the two-party preferred vote in Australia - although Progress remained the largest party, it bled votes to both Labor and the Patriotic Front, and even the re-branded National Party, although the National Party only made modest gains votewise, and lost seats. This resulted in Progress falling below 30% for the first time, their worst result since they became Australia's major right-wing party in 1982. The Australia Party also took a hit to their vote, mainly to Labor and Natural Law. The Australia Party would only win 8 seats in the new Parliament, their worst total in the House of Representatives since first winning seats back in 1976, and the Patriotic Front were up to seven seats, following another gain in Queensland.

Summary of 1991 election:

House of Representatives
Labor – 58 (+8)
Progress – 35 (-4)
National Country – 22 (-4)
Natural Law – 17 (+4)
Australia Party – 8 (-6)
Patriotic Front – 7 (+1)
Communist – 4 (+1)

Senate
1988: 9 Progress, 8 Natural Law, 6 Labor, 5 Australia Party, 5 National, 2 Patriotic Front, 1 Communist
1991: 10 Progress, 9 Labor, 7 Natural Law, 6 National, 5 Australia Party, 2 Patriotic Front,  1 Communist
Total: 19 Progress, 15 Natural Law, 15 Labor, 11 National, 10 Australia Party, 4 Patriotic Front, 2 Communist

Two-party preferred vote: 53.53-46.47

After their worst result since 1976, Don Chipp announced he was stepping down as the Australia Party's leader, to be replaced by Deputy Leader Janine Haines, who as a result would become the first female leader of a political party at the Commonwealth level. Labor and Natural Law now held 75 seats between them, or one short of a majority. As a result, the incumbent Labor-Natural Law-Australia Party government was reconstituted, with a total strength of 83 seats in the House of Representatives, and 40 seats (15/ 15/ 10) in the Senate, for majorities of 15 and 4 respectively.

Once Parliament reconvened in July of 1991, electoral reform was the hot topic in the Parliament. It was agreed that a referendum would be set for sometime in 1992, but what it would contain was a whole other can of worms - the three parties forming the government had radically different ideas on reforming the voting system. Natural Law wanted to abolish the Senate alogether, and reform the House to a proportionally-elected 200-member chamber, Labor favoured the status quo, while the Australia Party favoured keeping the House at its current size, but introducing a "top-up" system, and reducing the number of electorates to 100. The negotiations for what to include in the referendum would dominate Parliamentary discussion, and it seemed at first that no easy agreement would be made.

Finally, in late August, a proposal was agreed to for the electoral reform referendum, it would consist of four questions, and aimed to cover each party's views, one way or another, on electoral reform:
  • Question 1 - Do you support changing the voting system for the House of Representatives to optional preferential voting? (Backed by Progress, although some Labor MPs are open to this)
  • Question 2 - Do you support abolishing the Senate? (Backed by Natural Law, the Patriotic Front and the Communists)
  • Question 3 - Do you support allocating one-third of the seats in the House of Representatives, for election by proportional representation? (Backed by the Australia Party)
  • Question 4 - Do you support expanding the size of the House of Representatives to 200 members? (Backed by Natural Law)

Although outrage would be inevitable, some MPs, journalists and critics calling the referendum a "dog's breakfast", PM Hawke, despite three of the questions not being favoured by his party, and a fourth only partially, stated that "this should answer the question of electoral reform more than sufficiently". It was announced the referenda would be set for February of 1992, to allow enough time for campaigning, and for voters to go into the booth with informed decisions.

With unemployment still climbing, and around 8.5% by October of 1991, the main focus would remain on how to get Australia through the recession, with the least amount of harm. Inflation remained low though, and seemed to get even lower throughout 1991. Bills to repeal the GST began to be debated, although a question of how the shortfall in revenue would be made up, at a time of recession, was asked. The government came back with new taxes on precious metals, an increase in the top tax rate to 55%, and a slight increase in tariffs. The debates would carry on throughout the remainder of 1991.

The end of 1991, on Christmas Day itself, witnessed the final dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the end of communism in Eastern Europe and much of Asia, to an overwhelmingly positive response. This caused a major crisis in the Communist Party, while some members wanted to keep the Communist Party name and ideals, including current leader Eric Aarons, a majority of members supported a name change, and slight ideological change, to Socialist Alternative. Eric Aarons stepped aside when the new name came into force on the 7th of January, 1992, amd the inaugural leader of Socialist Alternative would be first term MP Colin Hesse of New South Wales, who stated "I will keep the anti-capitalist torch alive, in this post-Soviet era".

January of 1992 would witness US President George H.W. Bush    addressing the Australian Parliament, the first US President to do so, NSW Premier Nick Greiner, of the Progress Party, desiring to ban a controversial educational book on reproduction, funded by the Commonwealth Government, and on the final day of January, a withdrawal of 1 and 2 cent coins, whose value had deteriorated over the years.

A referendum, containing four questions, has been called for the 8th of February, 1992.

Question A - Do you support changing the voting system for the House of Representatives to optional preferential voting?
Question B - Do you support abolishing the Senate?
Question C - Do you support allocating one-third of the seats in the House of Representatives, for election by proportional representation?
Question D - Do you support expanding the size of the House of Representatives to 200 members?

Voting is open for 72 hours as usual.

Me: YES, NO, NO and NO.
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Goldwater
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E: 1.55, S: -4.52

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« Reply #1 on: November 17, 2014, 09:50:31 PM »

1. YES
2. NO
3. NO
4. YES
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Cranberry
TheCranberry
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« Reply #2 on: November 18, 2014, 02:12:02 PM »

No, Yes, Yes, Yes
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Supersonic
SupersonicVenue
Junior Chimp
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Posts: 5,162
United Kingdom


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E: 4.90, S: 0.35

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« Reply #3 on: November 18, 2014, 03:37:09 PM »

Yes, No, Yes, Yes.
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ElectionsGuy
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Posts: 21,107
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E: 7.10, S: -7.65

P P
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« Reply #4 on: November 18, 2014, 04:05:12 PM »

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Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends
Anton Kreitzer
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Australia


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E: 8.00, S: 3.11

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« Reply #5 on: November 19, 2014, 07:03:59 PM »

Bump.
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Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends
Anton Kreitzer
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Posts: 4,167
Australia


Political Matrix
E: 8.00, S: 3.11

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« Reply #6 on: November 20, 2014, 07:43:47 PM »

Final bump, with a reminder that voting closes in just under two hours.
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Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends
Anton Kreitzer
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Posts: 4,167
Australia


Political Matrix
E: 8.00, S: 3.11

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« Reply #7 on: November 20, 2014, 09:30:17 PM »

Voting is now closed, thank you all for your participation.
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ElectionsGuy
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Political Matrix
E: 7.10, S: -7.65

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« Reply #8 on: November 20, 2014, 09:40:22 PM »

Voting is now closed, thank you all for your participation.

What happens to Question C?
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Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends
Anton Kreitzer
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Posts: 4,167
Australia


Political Matrix
E: 8.00, S: 3.11

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« Reply #9 on: November 21, 2014, 01:05:15 AM »

Voting is now closed, thank you all for your participation.

What happens to Question C?

As Question C received a 50-50 split in this poll, it will fail, as it failed to get 50%+1 of voters.
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○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└
jfern
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E: -7.38, S: -8.36

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« Reply #10 on: November 21, 2014, 01:16:41 AM »

Voting is now closed, thank you all for your participation.

What happens to Question C?

As Question C received a 50-50 split in this poll, it will fail, as it failed to get 50%+1 of voters.

People always say 50% + 1 when they should say 50% + 1/2 or > 50%.
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Knives
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« Reply #11 on: November 21, 2014, 03:46:43 AM »

If it got 50% of the vote it'd be safe to assume it didn't get a majority of states and therefore failed... no?
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Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends
Anton Kreitzer
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Posts: 4,167
Australia


Political Matrix
E: 8.00, S: 3.11

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« Reply #12 on: November 21, 2014, 10:39:07 AM »

If it got 50% of the vote it'd be safe to assume it didn't get a majority of states and therefore failed... no?

This would also be true, it could potentially get a majority in four states, and still fail by say, a large No margin in NSW and VIC.
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