The 1992 Australian Capital Territory electoral system referendum was a referendum held on 15 February 1992, asking voters in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

(ACT) to choose their

electoral system An electoral or voting system is a set of rules used to determine the results of an election. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political elections may take place in business, nonprofit organizations and inf ...

. The referendum took place alongside the 1992 ACT election. Voters were asked to choose between the proportional Hare–Clark system or single-member electorates (using

preferential voting Preferential voting or preference voting (PV) may refer to different election systems or groups of election systems: * Any electoral system that allows a voter to indicate multiple preferences where preferences marked are weighted or used as cont ...

). The winning option would replace the modified d'Hondt system (which was introduced at the 1989 election). By a comfortable margin, voters chose Hare–Clark, which came into effect at the 1995 ACT election. A second referendum, also held in 1995, saw voters support entrenching the principles of Hare–Clark.

Background

Under Hare–Clark, the ACT would be divided into two five-member electorates and one seven-member electorate (these became Brindabella, Ginninderra and Molonglo respectively). The only other Australian jurisdiction using Hare–Clark was

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, which used the system for its

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

. Under single-member electorates, 17 different seats would be created, each electing one MLA. This was the system used in the lower houses of all Australian states (excluding Tasmania, which used it for its

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

) and the federal

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

Campaign

Beginning in 1990, ongoing debate took place about the ACT's electoral system. Opinion polling in 1990 and 1991 showed single-member seats with a significant lead, including as high as 53% compared to 27% for Hare–Clark. However, this began to change as the referendum date approached. A January 1992 poll showed single-member seats with only a one-point lead, and in the final ''

Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in 1 ...

''/Datacol poll conducted just days before the vote, Hare–Clark had taken the lead with 51% compared to 29% for single-member seats.

Result

Hare–Clark was comfortably chosen as the preferred system, with 65.3% of voters supporting it, while 34.7% voted in favour of single-member electorates. The result was projected on the night of the referendum, with Hare–Clark supporters declaring it as a victory for "people power". The referendum, like the election, was conducted by the

Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government responsible for the management and oversight of Australian federal elections, plebiscites, referendums and some trade union A ...

(AEC).

Endorsements

Hare–Clark

Political parties

* ACT Liberal Party *

Australian Democrats The Australian Democrats is a centrist political party in Australia. Founded in 1977 from a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, both of which were descended from Liberal Party splinter groups, it was Australia's lar ...

* Better Management Team * Fair Elections Coalition * Michael Moore Independent Group * New Conservative Group * New Left Party *

Residents Rally The Residents Rally (RR), officially known as the Residents Rally for Canberra Inc and also known simply as the Rally, was an Australian political party that was active during the early years of self-government in the Australian Capital Territor ...

Organisations

* Australian Conservation Foundation *

Proportional Representation Society of Australia Proportional Representation Society of Australia Inc. (PRSA Inc.) is an electoral reform organisation in Australia. Its membership includes people that have successfully promoted electoral reform. The Society regularly reviews and makes submissi ...

* The Wilderness Society

Individuals

* Ted Mack (federal

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

MP) * Malcolm Mackerras (political analyst and psephologist)

Newspapaers

*''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in 1 ...

Single-member

Political parties

* ACT Labor Party

Opinion polling

Voting intention

Results by party affiliation

References

External links

Official referendum bookletarchived
on 4 October 2024) {{Australian Capital Territory elections Referendums in the Australian Capital Territory AustralianCapitalTerritory AustralianCapitalTerritoryreferendum Referendum1992