Australian referendum, 1913 (Trade and Commerce)

The government sought to extend it's power over trade and commerce in "Constitution Alteration (Trade and Commerce) 1912".The question was put to a referendum in the Australian referendum, 1913.

Question

"Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled 'Constitution Alteration (Trade and Commerce) 1912'?"

Issues

The 'Yes' Case
*The trade and commerce power is the keystone of the powers of the federalparliament. The present limitation to inter-state trade and commerceparalyses the parliament's action in almost every direction.
*The present division of the trade and commerce power between federation andstates is artificial, indefinite, illogical and mischievous.
*Trade and commerce are national matters and state laws are not adequate.The 'No' Case
*If passed, this proposal will vest in the federal government the control of allbusiness within the Commonwealth. This will mean that the centralisedgovernment will dominate all trade and commerce, including that which iscarried on within state borders.
*The proposal will lead to a great deal of legal uncertainty and will no doubt bechallenged in the High Court.
*The new power will enable the federal parliament to pass legislation whichwill profoundly disturb trade and commerce within the states.

Results

This referendum was not carried. It obtained a majority in three states and anoverall minority of 24,196 votes.

Discussion

This resolution, like the similar forebarer, did not pass. However, although many at the time felt strongly about the need for the Commonwealth to have limited control over commerce between the states, the High Court eventually gave much of the power to Commonwealth indirectly through later decisions, thus effectively removing the need for the Constitution to be changed anyway.

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