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The plebiscite was held due to the Australian Government's desire to increase the recruitment of forces for overseas service to a total of 7,000 men per month. It was conducted under the War Precautions (Military Service Referendum) Regulations 1917. [8] It formed part of the larger debate on conscription in Australia throughout the war.
The referendum, held on 28 October 1916, narrowly rejected the proposal. A second plebiscite, held a year later on 20 December 1917, also failed (by a slightly larger margin) to gain a majority. [2] [3] The referendums caused significant debate and division in Australian society, and within the government.
After joining with the conservative Opposition to form a nationalist government in February 1917, Hughes resolved to hold a second conscription referendum the following December. [ 2 ] The campaign was just as volatile as the first, and with the Queensland Government under Premier T.J. Ryan strongly anti-conscription, Hughes decided to tour ...
Supporters of conscription campaigning at Mingenew, Western Australia in 1917 Industrial Workers of the World anti-conscription poster, 1916. Under Labor Prime Minister Billy Hughes, full conscription for overseas service was attempted during the First World War in two referendums.
The New Southern Cross by Claude Marquet. The 1916 Australian referendum, concerning how conscripted soldiers could be deployed, was held on 28 October 1916. It was the first non-binding Australian referendum (often referred to as a plebiscite because it did not involve a constitutional question), and contained one proposition, which was Prime Minister Billy Hughes' proposal to allow ...
5 May – Queenslanders reject a referendum to abolish the state's Legislative Council. [1] 2 August – The General Strike of 1917 begins, a massive industrial action involving over 100,000 workers in support of railway workers in Sydney. 17 October – The two-halves of the Trans-Australian Railway meet.
1917 Australian conscription referendum; 1977 Australian plebiscite (National Song) Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey This page was last edited on 30 March ...
In Australia, referendums (also spelt referenda) [1] are public votes held on important issues where the electorate may approve or reject a certain proposal. In contemporary usage, polls conducted on non-constitutional issues are known as plebiscites, with the term referendum being reserved solely for votes on constitutional changes, which is legally required to make a change to the ...