1961 New South Wales Referendum
A referendum concerning the abolition of the New South Wales Legislative Council was put to New South Wales voters on 29 April 1961. The abolition was specifically rejected by voters. The text of the question was: Do you approve of the Bill entitled "A Bill for an Act to Abolish the Legislative Council to provide that another Legislative Council shall not be created, constituted or established nor shall any Chamber, Assembly or House, other than the Legislative Assembly, designed to form part of the Legislative Parliament of New South Wales, be created, constituted or established until a bill for the purpose has been approved by the electors in a referendum to amend the Constitution Act, 1902 and certain other Acts; and for purposes connected therewith." Background The abolition of the New South Wales Legislative Council had been on the Labor Party agenda since at least federation. However, attempts to abolish the Council did not occur until Labor Premier Jack Lang’s first te ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a new policy or specific law, or the referendum may be only advisory. In some countries, it is synonymous with or commonly known by other names including plebiscite, votation, popular consultation, ballot question, ballot measure, or proposition. Some definitions of 'plebiscite' suggest it is a type of vote to change the constitution or government of a country. The word, 'referendum' is often a catchall, used for both legislative referrals and initiatives. Etymology 'Referendum' is the gerundive form of the Latin verb , literally "to carry back" (from the verb , "to bear, bring, carry" plus the inseparable prefix , here meaning "back"Marchant & Charles, Cassell's Latin Dictionary, 1928, p. 469.). As a gerundive is an adjective,A gerundiv ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Commonwealth Law Reports
The Commonwealth Law Reports (CLR) () are the authorised reports of decisions of the High Court of Australia. The Commonwealth Law Reports are published by the Lawbook Company, a division of Thomson Reuters. James Merralls AM QC was the editor of the Reports from 1969 until his death in 2016. The current editors are Christopher Horan KC and Paul Vout KC. Each reported judgment includes a headnote written by an expert reporter (by convention, a practising barrister) which, as an authorised report, has been approved by the High Court. The current reporters are as follows: * Roshan Chaile * Ella Delany * Bora Kaplan * Rudi Kruse * James McComish * William Newland * Alistair Pound SC * Daniel Reynolds * Alexander Solomon-Bridge * Julia Wang * Michael Wells * Jillian Williams * Radhika Withana The headnotes include a summary of counsel's legal arguments. The Reports also include tables of cases reported, affirmed, reversed, overruled, applied or judicially commented on and cited ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Voter Turnout
In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford University political scientists Adam Bonica and Michael McFaul, there is a consensus among political scientists that "democracies perform better when more people vote." Institutional factors drive the vast majority of differences in turnout rates.Michael McDonald and Samuel Popkin"The Myth of the Vanishing Voter"in American Political Science Review. December 2001. p. 970. For example, simpler parliamentary democracies where voters get shorter ballots, fewer elections, and a multi-party system that makes accountability easier see much higher turnout than the systems of the United States, Japan, and Switzerland. Significance Some parts of society are more likely to vote than others. As turnout approaches 90%, significant differences between vot ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Robert Askin
Sir Robert William Askin, GCMG (4 April 1907 – 9 September 1981), was an Australian politician and the 32nd Premier of New South Wales from 1965 to 1975, the first representing the Liberal Party. He was born in 1907 as Robin William Askin, but always disliked his first name and changed it by deed poll in 1971. Before being knighted in 1972, however, he was generally known as Bob Askin. Born in Sydney in 1907, Askin was educated at Sydney Technical High School. After serving as a bank officer and as a Sergeant in the Second World War, Askin joined the Liberal Party and was elected to the seat of Collaroy at the 1950 election. Askin quickly rose through party ranks, eventually becoming Deputy Leader following Walter Howarth's resignation in July 1954. When long-serving party leader Vernon Treatt announced his resignation in August 1954, Askin put his name forward to replace him. At the vote, he became deadlocked against Pat Morton and Askin asked his former commanding officer ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hector Clayton
Major Sir Hector Joseph Richard Clayton, ED (3 June 188518 July 1975) was an Australian politician, solicitor and soldier. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council for 36 years from 1937 to 1973 representing the Liberal Party and its predecessor, the United Australia Party, becoming Leader of the New South Wales Opposition in the Legislative Council from 1960 until 1962. Early years and military career Hector Joseph Richard Clayton was born in Surry Hills, New South Wales in 1885, the son of solicitor John Horatio Clayton and Isabel Woodward. After being educated at Sydney Grammar School, Clayton undertook studies at the University of Sydney, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (1907) and a Bachelor of Laws (1910). After qualifying as a solicitor in 1911, Clayton was made a partner in his father's firm, ''John H.Clayton and Son'' from 1911 until 1920. When the First World War broke out in 1914, Clayton immediately signed up to the First Australian Imperial Fo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Donald Cochrane (politician)
Donald Vincent Cochrane (17 February 1904 – 29 January 1985) was an Australian politician. Born in Charters Towers to engine driver Robert Henry Cochrane and Levinia Mary Yeo, the family moved to Sydney in 1908. Cochrane was educated at Marrickville and worked at his father's returned serviceman's block in Tarcutta. In 1920 he joined the Labor Party. He worked in New South Wales and Queensland until the Depression, and was later in the battery-manufacturing business. In 1933 he was elected to Marrickville Municipal Council Marrickville Council was a local government area located in the inner west region of Sydney, Australia. It was originally created on 1 November 1861 as the "Municipality of Marrickville". On 12 May 2016, Marrickville Council was forcibly merge ..., of which he was mayor in 1944 (he would serve on council until 1957). On 10 January 1943 he married Ruth Nuttal, with whom he had a son. In 1950 he was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Council as ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Anne Press
Anne Elizabeth Press, ''née'' Speechley (25 August 1903 – 23 August 1992) was an Australian politician. She was born at Dubbo to farmers Thomas and Charlotte Speechley. She was educated privately before training at Sydney Teachers College, thereafter teaching at Condobolin (1922–23), Tichborne (1923–24) and Forbes (1924–25). On 1 September 1924 she married Thomas F. Press, a farmer, with whom she had three children. She was on the council of the New South Wales Parents and Citizens Federation from 1950 to 1953 and vice-president from 1953 to 1960, and was director of the Condobolin Hospital Board from 1953 to 1978. In 1959, Press was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Council as a member of the Labor Party. However, she opposed the Labor policy of abolishing the Legislative Council, and together with a number of other Labor MLCs was expelled from the party shortly after her election; these members formed the Independent Labor Group. Eventually t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cyril Cahill
Cyril Joseph Cahill (21 November 1900 – 18 April 1977) was an Australian politician. He was born in Inverell to schoolteacher William John Cahill and Ada, ''née'' Radford. His brother, Jim Cahill, was also a politician. He attended De La Salle College in Armidale and the University of Sydney, where he studied pharmacy. On 17 June 1925 he married Grace Daley at Ballina; they had one daughter. From 1926 he ran a pharmacy in Tamworth which he expanded to a chain across northern New South Wales. He had been a member of the Labor Party since 1940, and in 1949 he was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Council. He was expelled from the ALP in 1959 for voting against the abolition of the Legislative Council, whereafter he was a member of the Independent Labor Group The Independent Labor Group was a minor Australian political grouping in the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1959 to 1977. The group emerged when a number of Labor Party MLCs were expelled from t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Crossing The Floor
In parliamentary systems, politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a different political party than which they were initially elected under (as is the case in Canada and the United Kingdom). In Australia though, this term simply refers to Members of Parliament (MPs) who dissent from the party line and vote against the express instructions of the party whip while retaining membership in their political party (at least for the time being). Voting against party lines may lead to consequences such as losing a position (e.g., as minister or a portfolio critic) or being ejected from the party caucus. While these practices are legally permissible in most countries, crossing the floor can lead to controversy and media attention. Some countries like India, the Maldives and Bangladesh have laws that remove a member from parliament due to floor-crossing. Etymology The term originates from the British House of Commons, which is config ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tom Dougherty (union Official)
Tom Nicholson Pearce Dougherty (2 March 1902 – 14 October 1972), was an Australian trade union official and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. As National Secretary of the Australian Workers Union (AWU) from 1944 to 1972, he was one of the most powerful figures in the Australian labor movement and the Labor Party. Biography Dougherty was born in Bollon, Queensland, the son of a telegraph linesman and a schoolteacher. He left school at 13 and worked in a variety of manual jobs in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian territory of Papua New Guinea. In 1924 he married Ruby McArthur: they had three children. After his wife's death he married again, in 1951, and again in 1959. In 1932 Dougherty became an organiser for the AWU in Mackay, Queensland. He became the union's northern district secretary in 1938 and Queensland branch president in 1943. This position gave him a position on the central executive of the Queensland branch of the Labor Party. D ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Legislative Council Of New South Wales
The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. It is normal for legislation to be first deliberated on and passed by the Legislative Assembly before being considered by the Legislative Council, which acts in the main as a house of review. The Legislative Council has 42 members, elected by proportional representation in which the whole state is a single electorate. Members serve eight-year terms, which are staggered, with half the Council being elected every four years, roughly coinciding with elections to the Legislative Assembly. History The parliament of New South Wales is Australia's oldest legislature. It had its beginnings when New South Wales was a British colony under the control of the Governor, and was first established by the ''New South Wales Act ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |