A constitutional referendum was held in

Niue Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...

on 3 September 1974.Niue, 3 September 1974: Constitution
Direct Democracy The constitution was approved by 65.4% of voters, and came into force on 19 October.

Background

The proposed constitution was drafted by Robert Quentin Quentin-Baxter, a Professor of Constitutional Law and Jurisprudence at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

, in consultation with the Niue Assembly.Niue moves to self-government
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', August 1974, p2 The new constitution would make Niue an autonomous region under the sovereignty of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

; islanders would gain New Zealand citizenship and be able to settle freely in New Zealand. It provided for a 21-member Assembly, consisting of a Speaker and 20 elected members (14 elected from single-member constituencies based on the villages and six from a single island-wide constituency). The Assembly would elected a Premier, who would choose three other members of a four-person Executive Council. The referendum was approved by the Niue Assembly on 16 July 1974, and the proposed constitution was approved in the New Zealand Parliament through the Niue Amendment Bill and the

Niue Constitution Act The ''Schedules'' of the Niue Constitution Act 1974 form the Niue constitution. It stipulates the make-up of the executive branch of the government, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch. The Niue Constitution Act 1974 is the supreme l ...

Results

''Do you vote for self-government for Niue in free association with New Zealand on the basis of the Constitution and the Niue Constitution Act 1974?''

References

{{Niuean elections

1974 in Niue Referendums in Niue Constitutional referendums September 1974 events in Oceania