View source for 1944 Australian Post-War Reconstruction and Democratic Rights referendum

{{Short description|Unsuccessful referendum in Australia}}
{{Use Australian English|date=October 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{infobox referendum
| name          = 1944 Australian Post-War Reconstruction and Democratic Rights referendum
| title         = Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled —<br><br>''"Constitution Alteration (Post-War Reconstruction and Democratic Rights) 1944"'' ?
| date          = {{start date|1944|08|19|df=y}}
| country       = Australia
| yes           = 1,963,400
| no            = 2,305,418
| invalid       =    56,633
| electorate    = 4,483,949
| outcome       = 
}}
The ''Constitution Alteration (Post-War Reconstruction and Democratic Rights) Bill 1944''<ref name="Reconstruction Bill"/> was an unsuccessful proposal to alter the [[Australian Constitution]] to give the Commonwealth an additional 14 powers for a period of five years, with Prime Minister [[John Curtin]] saying that maintaining wartime controls was necessary for Australia to re-adjust to peacetime conditions. It was put to voters for approval in an [[Referendums in Australia|Australian referendum]] held on 19 August 1944.

==Question==

''Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled 'Constitution Alteration (Post-War Reconstruction and Democratic Rights) 1944'?''

==Proposed amendment==
The referendum was known as the "14 powers", or the "14 points referendum". It sought to give the federal government power, over a period of five years, to legislate on a wide variety of matters.<ref name="Age June 44">{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206780230 |title=Referendum Proposals: Meaning of the Fourteen Points |newspaper=[[The Age]] |date=21 June 1944 |access-date=4 July 2018 |page=2 |via=Trove}}</ref>

==The 14 powers==
The powers the government sought to gain through the referendum included:

* The rehabilitation of former servicemen
* National health
* Family allowances
* Employment and unemployment
* The ability to legislate for 'The People Of The Aboriginal Race'
* [[Corporation]]s, or combines
* Foreign investment
* [[Trust law]]s
* [[Monopolies]]
* Air transport
* Uniformity of railway gauges
* Marketing of commodities
* Manufacturing (production) and sales of goods
* National infrastructure (subject to state approval)

Many of these powers also included limitations as safeguards against the abuse of legislative power.

==Restrictions on government power==
* [[Freedom of speech]]

Freedom of speech and freedom of expression were restrictions on state and government power that the commonwealth sought to legislate on.

* [[Freedom of religion]]
The government also sought to apply the right to freedom of religion to state governments.<ref name="Reconstruction Bill">{{url|http://www.aph.gov.au/binaries/library/intguide/law/docs/1944referendumbills.pdf|''Constitution Alteration (Post-war Reconstruction) Bill'' 1944}} (Cth).</ref>

==Referendum==
All of these points (the proposed heads of power and restrictions on power) were put to referendum in the form of a single question. It is notable that the points referring to aviation, employment, marketing, trusts, corporations, combines and monopolies had previously been the subject of referendums advanced by both Labor and conservative parties that had not been carried.

The 14 proposals covered the participation of the federal government in postwar reconstruction, including control over employment, profiteering and prices, and related subjects. 
<ref name="SMH June 44">{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27939328 |title=Opening of Campaign. Official Booklet on Referendum |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=19 June 1944 |access-date=4 July 2018 |page=4 |via=Trove}}</ref>

==For and against==
The proposal was put forward and supported by the [[Australian Labor Party]] government. It was opposed by the federal opposition ([[United Australia Party]] and the [[Australian Country Party (1920)|Country Party]]).

===For===

Prime Minister [[John Curtin]] gave his broadcast to the nation on 25 July 1944. The Prime Minister said ''to abandon wartime controls on the declaration of peace would cause disorganization to the social system and destroy the capacity of the system to meet the need of the first few disturbed years after the war.''<ref name="Tele July 44">{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article189868685 |title=Prime Minister states case why referendum necessary |newspaper=[[Telegraph (Brisbane)|The Telegraph]] |date=26 July 1944 |access-date=4 July 2018 |page=6 |via=Trove}}</ref>

===Against===

The Country Party leader, [[Arthur Fadden]], gave his broadcast against the motion, stating :
''Its proposal means that in peacetime, you will work under government compulsion, you will eat and wear what the bureaucrats ration out to you: you will live in mass-produced government dwellings: and your children will work wherever the bureaucrats tell them to work! If granted nothing can be made, produced, built or grown without permission. Everything that is grown or made, carried or carted, sold or exchanged will be under government control. A yes vote would enable the Government to implement Labor's policy of socialization. Nationalization of Industry would follow.''<ref name="Can Times July 44">{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2684364 |title=The Referendum: "Socialisation" if carried |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |date=25 July 1944 |access-date=4 July 2018 |page=3 |via=Trove}}</ref>

==Results==
''Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled 'Constitution Alteration (Post-War Reconstruction and Democratic Rights) 1944'?''

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Result{{hsp}}{{refn|name=Handbook}}
|- align=center 
! rowspan="2" | State
! rowspan="2" | Electoral roll
! rowspan="2" | Ballots issued
! align=center colspan="2" | For
! align=center colspan="2" | Against
! align=center rowspan="2" | Informal
|-
! align=center | Vote
! align=center | %
! align=center | Vote
! align=center | %
|- align="right"
! style="text-align:left;" | New South Wales
| 1,758,166
| 1,694,119
| 759,211
| align="center" | 45.44
| 911,680
| {{no|'''54.56'''}}
| 23,228
|- align="right"
! style="text-align:left;" | Victoria
| 1,266,662
| 1,227,571
| 597,848
| align="center" | 49.31
| 614,487
| {{no|'''50.69'''}}
| 15,236
|- align="right"
! style="text-align:left;" | Queensland
| 633,907
| 599,568
| 216,262
| align="center" | 36.52
| 375,862
| {{no|'''63.48'''}}
| 7,444
|- align="right"
! style="text-align:left;" | South Australia
| 403,133
| 392,443
| 196,294
| {{Yes|'''50.64'''}}
| 191,317
| align="center" | 49.36
| 4,832
|- align="right"
! style="text-align:left;" | Western Australia
| 278,722
| 272,339
| 140,399
| {{Yes|'''52.25'''}}
| 128,303
| align="center" | 47.75
| 3,637
|- align="right"
! style="text-align:left;" | Tasmania
| 143,359
| 139,411
| 53,386
| align="center" | 38.92
| 83,769
| {{no|'''61.08'''}}
| 2,256
|- align="right"
! style="text-align:left;" | Armed forces{{efn|Armed forces totals are also included in their respective states.}}
| &nbsp;
| 417,082
| 218,452
| &nbsp;
| 195,148
| &nbsp;
| 3,482
|- bgcolor="#FFE0C0" align="right"
! style="text-align:left" | Total for Commonwealth
| 4,483,949
| 4,325,451
| 1,963,400
| align="center" | 45.99
| 2,305,418
| {{no|'''54.01'''}}
| 56,633
|-
! style="text-align:left;"| Results
| colSpan="8" | ''Obtained majority in two states and an overall minority of 342,018 votes.'' '''Not carried'''
|}

{{Notelist}}

==See also==
*[[Curtin government]]

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
{{refn|name=Handbook|Handbook of the 44th Parliament (2014) {{cite web |url=http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22handbook%2Fnewhandbook%2F2014-10-31%2F0049%22 |title=Part 5 - Referendums and Plebiscites - Referendum results |publisher=[[Parliamentary Library of Australia]]}}}}
}}

{{Australian Referendums}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Australian Referendum 1944}}
[[Category:1944 referendums]]
[[Category:Constitutional referendums in Australia|1944]]
[[Category:1944 elections in Australia|Referendum]]
[[Category:August 1944 in Australia]]