Upcoming Lecture

Can the Senate initiate a constitutional referendum?

In 1914, when the Senate sought to initiate a constitutional referendum unilaterally, the Governor-General, having received ministerial advice, declined to put the referendum to the people. Since then, it has been assumed that the Senate cannot initiate a constitutional referendum, because the Governor-General would be bound by ministerial advice to refuse it. But new evidence about the 1914 precedent suggests that this is not the case. This talk will discuss what really happened in 1914, and its relevance today.