Referendums in Oceania

Comprising countries as different as rich larger nations like New Zealand and Australia and poorer countries like PNG, Oceania is heterogeneous as regards the use of referendums. In this chapter, the focus is mainly on the region’s largest country. Despite the origins as a mechanism proposed by Labor, referendum has been a conservative force in Australian politics. Most referendums held have resulted in a defeat for the proposal espoused by this party. The main conclusion is that there is no general pattern of the use of the referendum. Thus, its use has varied enormously. While Micronesia is one of the most frequent users of referendums in the world, no nationwide referendum has yet been held in Papua New Guinea. It is concluded that it is difficult to draw any specific conclusions regarding the causes of the use of direct democracy in Oceania apart from the obvious that this device remains a potent weapon for politicians to neutralize a complex and controversial issue.