LOCATING PLEBISCITES IN THE AUSTRALIAN CONSTITUTION

The plebiscite is well understood by political actors as a means of breaking parliamentary deadlocks or as a tool for government to establish a mandate. While it is recognised that a plebiscite may be lawfully procured by different means (by legislation or under the executive power), the law in Australia has so far struggled to characterise the substance of these activities. What is a vote may be a poll, a plebiscite or the gathering of statistics. Few detailed treatments of the topic exist. After identifying the different competences which support these activities, and after drawing together current understandings, this article offers a survey of the constitutional work performed by plebiscites in Australia and seeks to evaluate their place, as a species of political participation, within the normative system of representative government described by the Constitution.