The 1913 Australian referendum was held on 31 May 1913. It contained six referendum questions and was held in conjunction with the 1913 federal election.

Background

Having failed with the 1911 referendum, the Attorney-General,

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia, in office from 1915 to 1923. He is best known for leading the country during World War I, but ...

, tried again, breaking each of the changes into separate questions. The changes were said to be necessary because the Commonwealth's powers had been cut down by successive decision of the High Court in applying the inter-governmental immunities and reserved state powers doctrines until they were said to be futile. The cases referred to by the Attorney-General were: ::* Union label case (1908) - trade marks ::*

Huddart, Parker & Co Ltd v Moorehead ''Huddart, Parker & Co Pty Ltd v Moorehead''. is a List of High Court of Australia cases, leading decision by the High Court of Australia that dealt with two issues under the Australian Constitution, the identification and extent of judicial pow ...

(1909) - control of corporations ::* SS Kalibia v Wilson (1910) - navigation power ::*

Melbourne Steamship Co Ltd v Moorehead ''Melbourne Steamship Co Ltd v Moorehead''. was the last of a series of cases in which members of a cartel, described as the "Coal Vend" were prosecuted under the ''Australian Industries Preservation Act''. The majority of the High Court held t ...

(1912) - trade & commerce power ::* Railway servants Case (1906) - State railways employees could not be part of an interstate industrial dispute ::* Jumbunna Coal Mine NL v Victorian Coal Miners’ Association (1908) - appeal from the Court of Conciliation and Arbitration ::*

R v Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration; Ex parte BHP ''R v Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration; Ex parte BHP'', was an early decision of the High Court of Australia concerning the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration in which the High Court controver ...

(1909) - prohibition against the Court of Conciliation and Arbitration ::* Federated Sawmill Employees Association v James Moore & Sons Pty Ltd (1909) - federal award could not be inconsistent with a State wages board determination ::*

Australian Boot Trade Employees' Federation v Whybrow & Co ''Australian Boot Trade Employees Federation v Whybrow & Co'', commonly known as Whybrow's case or the Boot Trades case was the third of a series of decisions of the High Court of Australia in 1910 concerning the boot manufacturing industry an ...

(1910) - Court of Conciliation and Arbitration could not make a common-rule award to prevent industrial disputes ::* Federated Engine Drivers' & Firemen's Association of Australasia v Broken Hill Pty Co Ltd (1911) - a union in different industries could not be registered ::* R v Barger (1908) - the new Protection policy, in which protection was linked to paying fair & reasonable wages, was invalid

The results

Aftermath

Writs were issued for a further referendum to be held on 11 December 1915 to cover substantially the same questions as were rejected in 1911 and 1913, however the referendum was cancelled and the writs withdrawn.

Background

The results

Aftermath

See also

References

Further reading