political parties including the Country Party, led by Doug Anthony, also voted and supported the ‘No’ campaign as they believed that by controlling incomes and capping wages it would be more difficult to maintain productive workplaces. Other support Whilst the support for the passing of the income referendum did fall in the minority, some economists and academics in support of increasing income controls, such as Stephen J. Turnovsky and Michael Parkin, believed that the government had little choice to do anything else. Their views were that if the government did not increase their controls over income, they would have to allow for unemployment to grow and the economy to stagnate. However, they believed that if they didn’t gain control over incomes, inflation would be likely to continue escalating. Economists from The Australian Economic Review acknowledged that inflation in Australia in 1973 was a result of a ‘wage-price spiral’. They argued that the increasing price levels in Australia resulted in the Australian public demanding higher wages, thus, resulting in a "wage-price spiral". Many economists, including those at The Australian Economic Review, argued that if the Whitlam government did not step in and take control over incomes and manage this ‘wage-price spiral’, inflation would continue to escalate, and the public would be negatively impacted. Results The 1973 Referendum (Incomes) failed to achieve a ‘Yes’ majority from any state. 34.42% of voters voted ‘Yes’ to the incomes question with a minority of 2 191 770 votes. Aftermath Legacy Owing to the failure of this referendum and the majority opposition towards increased controls over income, the Labor government were unable gain control over incomes. Whitlam’s main impact on issues surrounding income was the implementation of universal healthcare and policies to improve social housing. Both of these reforms aimed to give more equal opportunities to those with lower incomes, however, they could not manage inflation. Academic Joan Rydon, writing in 1974, asserted that "Already the referendum seems to have faded into the past.", indicating the insignificant legacy of this referendum. Reasons for rejection The rejection of the income referendum was believed to be due to a multitude of reasons. Alec Robertson, a political journalist for Tribune, the newspaper for the Communist Party of Australia, stated that this rejection of the referendum would significantly impact Australians on lower wages. This was due to the disproportionate impact that inflation, and particularly "stagflation", had on those with lower