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Flat White

Australians do not vote blindly

It is not true that Australians blindly vote No at referendums, or that the double majority requirement precludes constitutional change

14 October 2023

6:50 AM

14 October 2023

6:50 AM

Many commentators claim that it is a badge of shame for Australians that there have been only eight successful referendums to amend our Constitution since 1901. Yet it is worth noting that there have been only been twelve amendments to the US Constitution in the same period – and two of them related to the same subject (the introduction in 1919 of ‘prohibition’, and its repeal in 1933).

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