The ''Constitution Alteration (Organised Marketing of Primary Products) 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 explicit power to make laws for the organised marketing of

primary products The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining. The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy in d ...

and to exempt it from the freedom of interstate trade requirement of section 92 of the constitution. It was put to voters for approval in a referendum held on 28 September 1946.

Question

''Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled "Constitution Alteration (Organised Marketing of Primary Products) 1946"?'' The proposal was to insert into section 51 the following:

51. The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have Legislative power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to: :... :(i.A.) Organized marketing of primary products; :... :(2.) The power of the Parliament to make laws under paragraph (i.A.) of the last preceding sub-section may be exercised notwithstanding anything contained in section ninety-two of this Constitution.

Results

Discussion

This was the third occasion in which the commonwealth sought power to enact legislative schemes for the marketing of agricultural produce, having been unsuccessful in

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

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 second 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