What do you think?
Rate this book
People Power: How Australian Referendums Are Lost and Won
WHY HAS SUCCESS BEEN SO RARE IN AUSTRALIAN REFERENDUMS?
From the failed attempt to ban communism in 1951 to the unsuccessful Voice referendum in 2023, Australians have been cautious about constitutional change, voting ‘Yes’ to only eight out of 45 referendum proposals.
In People Power, the only full history of constitutional change in Australia, constitutional experts George Williams and David Hume closely examine our referendum record and explain why success is difficult to achieve. They interview leading proponents for constitutional change and analyse each referendum campaign, the public response and the forces that shaped the outcome.
This comprehensively updated edition of People Power includes analysis on the 2023 Voice referendum along with discussion of the rise of interest in state and territory referendums, and the 2017 national plebiscite on same-sex marriage.
And the answer to holding a successful referendum in Australia? Truly engaging the people in the political process.
From the failed attempt to ban communism in 1951 to the unsuccessful Voice referendum in 2023, Australians have been cautious about constitutional change, voting ‘Yes’ to only eight out of 45 referendum proposals.
In People Power, the only full history of constitutional change in Australia, constitutional experts George Williams and David Hume closely examine our referendum record and explain why success is difficult to achieve. They interview leading proponents for constitutional change and analyse each referendum campaign, the public response and the forces that shaped the outcome.
This comprehensively updated edition of People Power includes analysis on the 2023 Voice referendum along with discussion of the rise of interest in state and territory referendums, and the 2017 national plebiscite on same-sex marriage.
And the answer to holding a successful referendum in Australia? Truly engaging the people in the political process.
Kindle Edition
Published September 1, 2024
2 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
George Williams
335 books2 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 18, 2024
Personally, I found this very interesting and enlightening. The old adage "those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it" is once again proven to be accurate at this book dissects the trends of referendum defeats over Australia's history. It provides a good amount of nuance into the complexities of a referendum campaign and the competing vested interests that I hadn't considered before. I recommend this as essential reading for those interested in the topic of Australian referendums.
Displaying 1 of 1 review