Have you had a chance yet to join Kanga and Emmy on their constitutional referendum adventure number 4, Episode 4?
If your answer is Yes, then you will understand that becoming an informed voter before you vote in a referendum is not quite as simple as you may have thought. We are now really starting to delve into important constitutional facts.
The drafters of the Constitution put in things like the Double Majority requirement to protect smaller States (if you don’t know what that is by now you really need to watch Episode 4 and check out Fact Sheets 7 and 8!) which makes understanding how a referendum works really important. For example, when counting the number of states voting for or against a proposed change to the Constitution, Tasmania, the smallest state by population, has the same say as New South Wales, the biggest state.
We have also discovered that voting in plebiscites is a completely different situation to that of a referendum. Referendums are held after the Government, and then the Parliament, have decided to put the question of changing the Constitution, which is an issue of major national significance, to the Australian people.
We encourage our Civics Australia followers, who are joining us on our referendum 2023 constitutional treasure hunt, to have conversations with colleagues, friends, and family regarding referendums. Have a look at the great information in the eight fact sheets our program has delivered so far. Then maybe use the four quizzes as a family game and find out who really does know their constitutional facts!
In our quest to become an informed voter by referendum day we have now completed Module 1 of our edutainment program: Referendums-Yes or No? People Power in the Australian Constitution. We hope you will join us for Module 2 of our program and answer another vital Constitutional question: How does the Australian Constitution provide checks and balances on the powers of the three key institutions of government? Before we embark, do you know what the three key institutions are? Can you name them?
