Skip to content Commonwealth of Australia Coat of Arms Parliament of Australia - House of RepresentativesPhoto of the House of Representatives Chamber
HomeSenateHouse of RepresentativesLive BroadcastingThis Week in Parliament FindFrequently asked questionsContact



<< Return to previous page | House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs

Note: This page contains links to PDF files. For more information, see the web page on Accessing files.

A Time for Change: Yes/No? Inquiry into the Machinery of Referendums

11 December 2009

© Commonwealth of Australia 2009
ISBN 978-0-642-79272-3 (Printed version)
ISBN 978-0-642-79273-0 (HTML version)

View the report as a single document - (PDF 1182KB)


View the report as separate downloadable parts:

Spacer Image
Preliminary Pages (PDF 84KB)

Foreword
Membership of the Committee
Committee Secretariat
Terms of reference
List of acronyms and abbreviations
List of recommendations

 
Chapter 1 Introduction (PDF 64KB)

Referral of the inquiry
Context of the inquiry
Government Advertising Guidelines
Green Paper on Electoral Reform

 
Chapter 2 History of the Yes/No pamphlet (PDF 61KB)

The use of the Yes/No pamphlet since 1912

 
Chapter 3 Current provisions - 1999 referendum (PDF 176KB)

Introduction
Unanimous passage of the amendment bill
Yes/No case optional
‘Equal’ status of the Yes and No arguments
Limitation on Government expenditure
Are the current provisions adequate?

 
Chapter 4 Alternatives and Suggestions for Change (PDF 154KB)

Drafting of the Yes/No arguments
Drafted by parliamentarians
Drafted by an independent body
Combining parliamentarians and an independent body
Experience of other jurisdictions
Content of the Yes/No pamphlets
Format of the Yes/No pamphlet
Dissemination of the Yes/No pamphlet
Constitutional engagement
Public education campaigns
Deliberative democracy
Creating a national conversation
Limitation on Government expenditure

 
Chapter 5 Committee Comment and Recommendations (PDF 131KB)

Introduction
Processes for preparing the Yes/No arguments
Dissemination of the Yes/No arguments
Limitations on Australian Government spending
Additional issue

 
Dissenting Report (PDF 72KB)
 
Appendix A - List of submissions (PDF 30KB)
 
Appendix B – List of Hearings and Witnesses (PDF 49KB)
 
Appendix C – List of Exhibits (PDF 34KB)
 
Appendix D – Section 11 of the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984 (Cth) (PDF 55KB)
 
Appendix E – Table of Australian Referendum Results (PDF 36KB)
 
Appendix F – Bibliography (PDF 59KB)

top