Office of Economic and Statistical Research

discover more about historical Queenslanddiscover more about historical Queenslanddiscover more about historical Queenslanddiscover more about historical Queensland

Q150 Digital Books – Section Details

Name: Queensland Past and Present: 100 Years of Statistic s, 1896–1996

Section name: Chapter 4, Politics and Government, Section 1

Pages: 93–101

Printing Notes (Adobe Acrobat): For best results “Page Scaling” should be set to “Fit to Printable Area”. “Auto Rotate and Center” should also be checked. Licence for use: This document is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au. You are free to copy, communicate and adapt the work, as long as you attribute the authors.

Return to Q150 Collection:http://www.oesr.qld.gov.au/q150

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/ The State of Queensland 2009

CHAPTER 4

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Two enduring themes which run through Queensland's constitutional history started morethan four centuries ago with England's first expansion overseas. The instrument that authorisedcolonisation of Newfoundland in 1578 laid down the principle that no colonial legislation couldbe contrary to 'the laws of England'. The last step to establish the complete legislativeindependence of Queensland and Australia from the United Kingdom was not taken until1986. The instrument founding the colony of Virginia in 1606 recognised that its settlers carriedwith them 'the rights of Englishmen' so that they and their descendants should 'have andenjoy all Liberties, Franchises, and Immunities... as if they had been abiding and born, withinthis our realm of England'.1 Resolving exactly what that meant for colonial Australians tookmuch of the century following 1788.

ORIGINS

Representative and responsible governmentNew South Wales became the first colony to be founded under the authority of the WestminsterParliament and, though it was apparently being settled by Englishmen, without the constitutionalarrangements previously held appropriate to a settled colony. As the only free 'settlers'were officials and soldiers guarding the convicts and were under a duty to obey the Governor,initially the form of government in New South Wales was that used for military bases likeGibraltar.

Early in the nineteenth century the administration of colonial affairs began to change. In 1812a Secretary of State and an Under Secretary to deal with business in the Westminster Parliamentwere introduced, and in 1825 a permanent Under Secretary to head the tiny bureaucracy. Thenew, more efficient machinery combined with enthusiasm for reform of Britain's ownconstitutional arrangements to smooth the path for demands for 'the rights of Englishmen'from Australian emancipists and free settlers. Their growing numbers had begun to changethe society on which a more advanced constitutional order might rest. A nominated LegislativeCouncil with limited powers was created in 1823 in New South Wales, which then covered theeastern two-thirds of the continent. The Council was enlarged and the system improved in1828, and a majority of elected members was introduced in 1842.

93

QUEENSLAND PAST AND PRESENT

The Australian Constitutions Act (No. 2) 1850 (Imp) provided for the separation of Victoriafrom New South Wales and gave the existing Australian legislatures power to alter their ownstructure. Out of the deliberations of a Select Committee of the New South Wales LegislativeCouncil and debate in the Westminster Parliament and within the Colonial Office emerged abicameral legislature, with a nominated Legislative Council and a wholly elected LegislativeAssembly. The novel principles of responsible government would, as they did in Britain, relyfor the most part on conventions rather than statutory provisions. In little more than half acentury the Australian colonists had secured governmental institutions which closely resembledthose of the United Kingdom.2

Separation and establishment of QueenslandColonists in the Moreton Bay District, who from 1855 had elected nine members of the NewSouth Wales Legislative Assembly, sought the status of a separate colony. The AustralianConstitutions Act 1842 (Imp) had empowered the Queen, that is, the British executive, to cutoff the area north of 26°S; the Australian Constitutions Act 1850 (Imp) moved the frontierdown to 30°S. The process began when Letters Patent of 6 June 1859 made the area north of28°8'S a new colony and appointed its first Governor, and an Order-in-Council made underthe New South Wales Constitution Act 1855 (Imp) gave the new colony a bicameral legislaturesimilar to that of New South Wales with power to make laws for the peace, welfare and goodgovernment of the colony.

The Governor of New South Wales was authorised to take the necessary steps to set up thenew legislature, draw boundaries and compile rolls for the election of members of the Houseof Assembly for five-year terms and appoint members of the Legislative Council, initially alsofor five-year terms but thereafter for life membership. A proclamation by the New SouthWales Governor on 20 December 1859 divided Queensland into 16 electoral districts, three ofwhich returned three members, four returned two members, and nine returned one membereach, and applied the New South Wales 1858 electoral legislation for the first election of theAssembly. However, the new colony did not proceed immediately to the manhood suffragerecently adopted in New South Wales but retained the older property qualifications laid downin the 1856 New South Wales legislation. Imperial legislation was subsequently required toensure the validity of that choice. A proclamation on 1 May 1860 appointed the initial 11members of the Council.

In 1867 as part of a general review of the laws, the Queensland Parliament tidied the record byconsolidating these instruments in the Constitution Act 1867 and at the same time gave somerecognition to the principles of responsible government in the Legislative Assembly Act 1867by mentioning officers who were liable to retire on 'political' grounds, that is, when they hadlost the confidence of the Assembly.3

The basic constitutional instruments have been extensively amended since 1867, but it was notuntil 1989 that the various documents in their current form were published together in a singlevolume. In 1993 a new consolidation was recommended,4 but at time of publication the matterwas still under review.

The creation of additional Australian colonies ended with Queensland's separation. Forthe remainder of the nineteenth century groups in central and northern Queenslandadvocated secession, but improved communications and changing political divisions

94

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

A large crowd at the Courier-Mail Building to see the referendum results,Brisbane, 1909. There were 31,478 yes's and 26,990 no's, but regional

differences were significant.

Courier-Mail referendum results board.

undermined their cause. In 1890 Sir Samuel Griffith proposed Queensland be turned into aminiature federation of three provinces, but Colonial Office opposition ended the idea.Instead the campaign for a federation of the six existing colonies—and possibly New Zealand—became the main issue. When that was put to a vote on 2 September 1899 the SouthernDivision was marginally against federation with only 46.0% of voters in favour of theConstitution Bill (table 4.1). However, the Central and Northern divisions were moresubstantially in favour of it (60.3% and 83.5% respectively). Outside the Southern Division,only Rockhampton and Rockhampton North voted against federation. The vote for national

95

QUEENSLAND PAST AND PRESENT

Table 4.1 Voting in the federation referendum by division and district, Queensland,2 September 1899

District For—

Againstnumber

Total(a)

—

Votedin

favour%

Southern DivisionAlbertAubignyBalonneBrisbane NorthBrisbane South

BulimbaBullooBundabergBundambaBurnett

BurrumCambooyaCarnarvonCunninghamDalby

Toowoomba (b)EnoggeraFassifernFortitude ValleyGympie

IpswichLockyerLoganMaranoaMaryboroughMoreton

MurillaMusgraveNundahOxleyRosewoodStanley

ToombulToowongWarregoWarwickWide BayWoolloongabba

Total

491169609

1,028960

534283793272727

732278542715324

982299253960

1,337

622385257562

1,165483

318629303368144194

502643587529443543

20,965

613974187

1,1821,651

79323

320497343

288938134638324

1,129619729

1,646712

1,146887514404449771

192205683690668589

8171,116

176209395971

24,622

1,1041,143

7962,2102,611

1,327306

1,113769

1,070

1,0201,216

6761,353

648

2,111918982

2,6062,049

1,7681,272

771966

1,6141,254

510834986

1,058812783

1,3191,759

763738838

1,514

45,587

44.514.876.546.536.8

40.292.571.235.467.9

71.822.980.252.850.0

46.532.625.836.865.3

35.230.333.358.272.238.5

62.475.430.734.817.724.8

38.136.676.971.752.935.9

46.0

District

Central DivisionBarcooClermontFitzroyGregoryLeichhardt

MitchellNormanbyPort CurtisRockhamptonR'hamptonNth

Total

Northern DivisionBo wenBurke

CairnsCarpentariaCharters TowersCookCroydon

HindersHerbertKennedyMackayTownsvilleWoothakata

Total

QueenslandSouthernCentralNorthern

TOTAL

For—

579832

1,254359350

721271590982368

6,306

516394

931273

2,581503809

684484418

1,3371,494

793

11,217

20,9656,306

11,217

38,488

Againstnumber

35237357952

215

326223210

1,290530

4,150

9619

8926

8635341

8651

18030735954

2,224

24,6224,1502,224

30,996

VotedTotal in

(a) favour—

9311,2051,833

411565

1,047494800

2,272898

10,456

612413

1,020299

3,444556850

770535598

1,6441,853

847

13,441

45,58710,45613,441

69,484

%

62.269.068.487.361.9

68.954.973.843.241.0

60.3

84.395.4

91.391.374.990.595.2

88.890.569.981.380.693.6

83.5

46.060.383.5

55.4

(a) Excludes informal votes.(b) Includes Drayton.

Source: Votes and Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, vol. 1, 1899, p. 753.

96

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Table 4.2 Voting in the federation referendum by colony, Australia, 2 September1899

ForAgainstTotalFor (%)

New SouthWales

107,42082,741

190,16156.5

Victoria Queensland

152,6539,805

162,45894.0

—

38,48830,99669,484

55.4

South WesternAustralia Australia (a)

number —

65,99017,05383,043

79.5

44,80019,69164,491

69.5

Tasmania

13,437791

14,22894.4

Total (b)

422,788161,077583,865

72.4

(a) The referendum in Western Australia was held on 31 July 1900 and results were cabled to London after the delegation with theother results had left for the United Kingdom.(b) Excludes informal votes.

Source: Quick & Garran, The Annotated Constitution of the Australian Commonwealth, p. 225.

federation was carried with an overall majority of 55.4% but Queensland had the lowest majorityof any State (table 4.2).

A small memorial to secessionist feeling remains in the second paragraph of section 7 of theCommonwealth Constitution which allowed Queensland to divide itself into divisions for theelection of senators rather than elect them at large as would be required of the other States,but it was never activated. Queensland's electoral districts at the time of the referendum werebased on the Electoral District Acts 1887 (Qld) and are shown in figure 4.1. The boundaries ofthe Northern, Central and Southern divisions are also shown.

Headquarters of the Queensland Federation League,AMP Building, Brisbane, 1899.

97

QUEENSLAND PAST AND PRESENT

PRINTED AT THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. FOR, & ISSUED BY THEC E N T R A L Q U E E N S L A N D T E I R I T O R 1 A L S E P A R A T I O N L E A G U l

QUEENSLAND

Figure 4.la Map of Queensland electoral districts at time of federation referendum

98

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

MAP SHOWINGE L E C T O R A L DiSTRiCTSElector&l Districts Act i387

MB P 3

Figure 4.1b Electoral districts

99

QUEENSLAND PAST AND PRESENT

Figure 4. Ic Electoral districts

100

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Figure 4.Id Electoral districts

101