The ''Constitution Alteration (Industrial Employment) Bill'' 1946, (Cth). was an unsuccessful proposal to alter the

Australian Constitution The Constitution of Australia (also known as the Commonwealth Constitution) is the fundamental law that governs the political structure of Australia. It is a written constitution, which establishes the country as a Federation of Australia, ...

to give the Commonwealth power to make laws regulating employment in industry. It was put to voters for approval in a referendum held on 28 September 1946. The proposals was narrowly rejected, with a minority of 1.80% in the fourth state, South Australia.

Question

''Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled 'Constitution Alteration (Industrial Employment) 1946'?'' The proposal was to insert into section 51 that the Parliament have power to make laws with respect to:

:(xxxiv.A.) Terms and conditions of employment in industry, but not so as to authorize any form of industrial conscription;

Results

Discussion

This was the sixth occasion in which the commonwealth sought power to regulate terms and conditions of employment, rather than using the conciliation and arbitration power, having been unsuccessful in

1911 Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * January 3 ** 1911 Kebin earthquake: An earthquake of 7.7 m ...

1913 Events January * January – Joseph Stalin travels to Vienna to research his ''Marxism and the National Question''. This means that, during this month, Stalin, Hitler, Trotsky and Tito are all living in the city. * January 3 &ndash ...

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (later Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off th ...

1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...

and

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

. For a referendum to approve an amendment of the constitution, it must ordinarily achieve a ''

double majority A double majority is a voting system which requires a majority of votes according to two separate criteria. The mechanism is usually used to require strong support for any measure considered to be of great importance. Two special cases that te ...

'': approved by a majority of states (i.e., four of the six states) as well as a majority of those voting nationwide. Mode of altering the Constitution. This was the third of five referendums () to achieve an overall majority, but fail the requirement of a majority of states.Handbook of the 44th Parliament (2014)

Question

Results

Discussion

See also

References

Further reading