[2] Lang was defeated at the 1927 election and in 1929 the parliament passed an amendment to the Constitution Act which inserted section 7A, requiring a referendum before the Legislative Council could be abolished.

[6] The bills repealing Section 7A and abolishing the Legislative Council could not therefore be presented to the Governor for assent until they had been passed in a referendum.

The response of Stevens was to propose major reforms, replacing the appointed council with one indirectly elected to 12 year terms and reducing the number to 60.

[11][12] James Scullin, leader of the federal party, stated that the proposal was a violation of democratic principle and that it was the right of the people to elect their representatives.

[17] The election was held at a joint sitting of parliament in November 1933 with the United Australia and Country coalition winning 35 of the 60 seats.

[20] However, later that day the leader of the opposition in the Legislative Council, Hector Clayton, started legal action seeking to prevent a referendum.

[24] The referendum, while defeated, sparked discussion on future reform of the then indirectly elected Council, culminating in the 1978 referendum which overwhelmingly endorsed the reforms proposed by the Neville Wran Labor government including the direct election of members.