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Difficulty: MediumChanging the Constitution: Referendums

Suppose a referendum is held to change the Australian Constitution. While a majority of voters across the whole of Australia vote 'Yes', only three out of the six states have a majority of voters who agree to the change. What is the outcome of this referendum?

  1. A
    The proposed change is referred to the Governor-General, who makes the final decision based on the national majority.
  2. The proposed change to the Constitution is rejected because a majority of voters in at least 44 states did not vote 'Yes'.Answer
  3. C
    The proposed change to the Constitution is accepted because more than 50%50\% of the total Australian population supported it.

Answer

The proposed change to the Constitution is rejected because it failed to achieve a majority of 'Yes' votes in at least four out of the six states.
For a referendum to succeed in Australia, it must achieve a 'double majority'. This means a majority of voters across the entire country must vote 'Yes', AND a majority of voters in a majority of states (at least 44 out of 66 states) must also vote 'Yes'. In this scenario, while the national majority was achieved, the state majority was not, as only 33 states voted in favor.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the national voting result from the scenario.
A majority of voters across Australia voted 'Yes'.
This satisfies the first part of the 'double majority' requirement.
2
Identify the state voting results from the scenario.
Only 33 out of 66 states had a majority of 'Yes' votes.
The second part of the 'double majority' rule requires at least 44 out of 66 states to agree.
3
Compare the scenario results to the constitutional requirements.
The state majority requirement was not met.
Since both parts of the 'double majority' were not satisfied, the referendum fails and the Constitution remains unchanged.

Key Concept

The Double Majority Requirement

Hints

1
Remember that changing the Constitution requires a very specific type of majority called a 'double majority'.
2
A 'double majority' means you need a 'Yes' from more than half of all Australians AND a 'Yes' from a majority of the 66 states.
3
Calculate how many states constitute a 'majority of states' out of the 66 Australian states. Does 33 meet that requirement?

Practice More

Review the history of Australian referendums to see how many have actually succeeded under the double majority rule.
Estimated Time:1m 15s
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Topics

Changing the Constitution: Referendums

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