The 1933 Western Australian secession referendum was held on 8 April 1933 on the question of whether the Australian state of Western Australia should leave the Australian federation. Nearly two-thirds of electors voted in favour of secession, but efforts to implement the result proved unsuccessful.
The Western Australian secession movement emerged soon after the federation of the Australian colonies in 1901. Existing grievances over the impacts of the federal constitution and the federal government's economic policies were exacerbated by the Great Depression. The Dominion League of Western Australia was established in 1930 to lobby for secession, with leading campaigners including newspaper editor James MacCallum Smith and businessman Keith Watson. Their efforts led state premier James Mitchell to legislate for a secession referendum in 1932, although the vote was not binding on either the state government or the federal government.
The referendum saw a turnout of 91.6 percent of registered voters, with 66.2 percent voting in favour of secession. A second question on whether a national constitutional convention should be held was rejected by 57.4 percent of voters. The referendum was held simultaneously with the 1933 Western Australian state election, with Mitchell losing office to Philip Collier, who opposed secession. Collier's government nonetheless passed the Secession Act 1934, which authorised a delegation to petition the parliament of the United Kingdom for an amendment to the Australian constitution, which had originally been passed as a British act of parliament. A parliamentary joint select committee ultimately ruled that the Statute of Westminster 1931 had rendered the British parliament powerless to unilaterally amend the constitution.
Background
Western Australia was the last of the British colonies in Australia to agree to join the new federation in 1901. Secessionist sentiment was quick to arise, driven by the detrimental impact of the federal government's protectionist economic policies on the state's agricultural and mining sectors. As early as 1906, the Western Australian Legislative Assembly passed a resolution calling for a secession referendum, although no action was taken by the state government. Dissatisfaction with the federal government continued throughout the first decades after federation. Lobbying from Western Australians led to two royal commissions into the Australian constitution in the 1920s, but no changes were forthcoming.
The Great Depression had a significant impact on Western Australia, leading to increased dissatisfaction with the federal government and support for secession. In May 1930, secessionists established the Dominion League of Western Australia, which called for the state to leave the federation and become a separate self-governing dominion with the British Empire. The Dominion League "held frequent and well-attended public rallies, at which League speakers emphasised that the only real solution to Western Australia's problems lay in secession". The Sunday Times and its editor James MacCallum Smith had been advocates of secession for several decades and lent their support to the League. In June 1930, the Primary Producers' Association and Federated Chambers of Commerce also came out in favour of secession, following the Scullin government's announcement that it would continue its high-tariff policy and would not provide support for primary producers.
In November 1930, state premier James Mitchell declared his personal support for secession. A bill for a secession referendum was introduced in November 1931 and passed by the Legislative Assembly, but initially failed to pass the Legislative Council. A second bill was passed in November 1932 as the Secession Referendum Act 1932, specifying that the referendum would be held at the same time as the next state election. Secession enjoyed the strong support of the Country Party, which governed in coalition with Mitchell's Nationalist Party. The Nationalists did not take an official position, whereas the opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) led by Philip Collier was against secession.
Campaign
The campaign for secession was led by the Dominion League, which focused on Western Australia's "traditional grievances" with federation and the constitution. Anti-secessionist organisations included the Federal League and the Unity League, both of which had limited resources. State premier James Mitchell and opposition leader Philip Collier both played little role in the campaign, with Mitchell not wanting to alienate anti-secessionist elements in the Nationalist Party and Collier not wanting to alienate pro-secessionist voters.