Centenary of Federation Victoria: Federation Documents ONLINE

Sixteen Reasons for a Better Bill.
Sixteen Essentials
Why we ask you to Vote against the Premier's – Secret – Conference – Bill

Is the Draft Commonwealth Bill Possible of Improvement Now?
If the answer is No, then it will be equally impossible of improvement after September 2nd.
If the answer is Yes, then we ask:-Why not improve it before we accept it?
The question arises here: In what way can the Bill be improved, so as to make it more acceptable to the Democracy?
Our answer is as follows:-We demand

That the Federal Parliament shall consist of One Chamber,
That it shall be elected in a population basis of single-seat electorates,
That the Federal Franchise shall be One Adult One Vote, and that each vote shall have one value,
That manhood, and not mere territorial or map divisions called States, shall be the only basis of Parliamentary representation,
That in place of Government by party methods, Ministers in the Federal Parliament shall be elective,
That members of the Federal Parliament shall be paid,
That the Initiative and the Referendum shall be part of the Federal Constitution; the latter to be used when demanded by a certain proportion of the electors, or by a majority of representatives from a majority of provinces,
That the Will of the People, as disclosed in a National Referendum, shall be superior to everything:-Parliamentary dead-locks, Constitutions, Courts, and Governor-Generals,
That the Australian People shall have a voice in the appointment of the Governor General,
That the Federal Civil Service shall be removed from under the control of the Federal Government and placed under Commission,
That, as in Canada, on the consummation of Federation, the provincial Governors and Provincial Upper Houses shall be abolished,
That the decisions of the Federal High Court shall be final,
That the People shall have a number of constitutional safe-guards against the Federal army being used against civilians,
That the Constitution shall be alterable at the wish of a simple majority of the People,
That within five years of the establishment of the Federal Commonwealth, provision shall be made for the exclusion of residence and citizenship within Federal territory of undesirable alien races,
That provision shall be made for referring the Bill to the People again in the event of the Imperial Parliament so altering it as to make it distasteful to us in any way.

We demand that the Draft Commonwealth Bill shall be amended in the above particulars. With the single exception of Payment of Members – and even that is not an integral part of the Constitution – not one of the above 'Sixteen Democratic Demands' appear in the Bill. Give us a Bill containing these essentials of a true Democratic and elastic constitution, and we will accept it. Under a Constitution such as here outlined, Government of the People, for the People, by the People would be secured to the Australian Commonwealth. We believe that on a really Democratic basis a Federal Constitution will prove a lasting benefit to the people of Australia; on other lines, there is the greatest possible danger of its proving permanently inimical to their prosperity and progress. Here we advise You to vote NO to the present Bill on September 2nd, 1899.

It is not a question of 'Now, or Never,' but of 'Now and Forever!' If you make a mistake in the vote you cast on Referendum Day, you can never recall or amend it. To vote No is to vote against a Bad Bill, and in favor of a Better Bill. It is but a temporary remand; a wise delay.

"How to vote" pamphlet from Queensland for the 1899 referendum, cited in Robert Laidler & Steven White, Australia 1900-1950: Light on the Hill, Edward Arnold, Melbourne, 1991 pp. 7-8.