FED: PM says govt agrees to change referendum question = 3

AAP General News (Australia)
08-09-1999
FED: PM says govt agrees to change referendum question = 3
The decision followed a meeting of the Liberal and National Party MPs and senators this
afternoon.

He said the question, set to go before parliament tonight, would read: "An Act to alter the
Constitution to establish the Commonwealth of Australia as a Republic, with the Queen and
Governor-General being replaced by a President appointed by a two-thirds majority of the
members of the Commonwealth Parliament."

Mr Howard said intellectually there was no reason to change the original question because
it was "absolutely correct".

"(But) I don't want anybody to say, if the referendum is defeated - which I hope it will be
- I don't want anybody to say that it was defeated because of trickery with the question," he
told reporters.

"There was never any trickery intended."

Mr Howard said this would be the one and only change to the question.

"We will not accept any amendments to it," he said.

"That was expressly discussed in the cabinet today - we have made the only amendment we
intend to make."

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