House of Representatives Committees

| House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs

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

11 December 2009

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

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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)