1978 Australian Capital Territory self-government referendum

The 1978 Australian Capital Territory self-government referendum was a referendum held on 25 November 1978, asking voters in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) whether the territory should be granted self-governance. Three options were presented − Proposal A (self-government), Proposal B (local government) and Proposal C ('present arrangements').

63.8% of ACT voters chose to support the present arrangements, compared to 30.5% for self-government and 5.7% for local government. As a result, no change was made to the governing structure. The ACT was later granted self-governance in 1989.

Result

The election was conducted using preferential voting, with voters numbering all options in the order of their preferred governance model. Voting was compulsory. The proposal required 50% (plus 1) of the vote to pass.

Result by federal electorate

Residents of the Jervis Bay Territory, which was part of the federal electorate of Fraser at the time, were not eligible to vote in the referendum.

Endorsements

Proposal A (self-government)

Political parties

• ACT Labor Party
• ACT Liberal Party
• Australian Democrats

Organisations

• Council of Social Services of the ACT

Individuals

• All 18 members of the ACT Legislative Assembly
• Sir Billy Snedden (Federal Liberal MP and Speaker of the House of Representatives)

Proposal B (local government)

Individuals

• John Haslem (Federal Liberal MP for Canberra)
• John Knight (Liberal senator for the ACT)

Proposal C (present arrangements)

Organisations

• No Change for Canberra Committee

Individuals

• Adrian Howie (ACT Liberal Party financial director)
• Tony Rothewell (ACT Liberal Party campaign director)

No support for any proposal

Organisations

• ACT Sports Council

Opinion polling

Voting intention

References