1973 Australian price control referendum
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
"Do you approve the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled "An Act to alter the Constitution so as to enable the Australian Parliament to control prices"? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Results by state | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Note: Darkness of colour denotes strength of vote | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Constitution Alteration (Prices) 1973 was a bill proposing amendments to section 51 of the Australian Constitution which would give the Commonwealth legislative power over prices. The proposed changes to the constitution were not upheld, with Australians voting against the constitutional alteration.
The Whitlam government proposed the amendments to the constitution reasoning that by granting increased power to federal government over prices they would be able to control inflation, which at the time was increasing significantly. However, it was ultimately determined by the voters that this was an unnecessary intervention by government, with concerns raised about the future possibility of the abuse of such powers.