The referendum on ACT self-government was set for November 25, an article from this day in 1978 reported.
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The then-minister for the Capital Territory, Bob Ellicott, made the announcement on September 27.
Mr Ellicott said a statement on the referendum proposals was being prepared for distribution to all ACT households.
It was to be circulated as soon as it was settled and printed, but a precise date for distribution had not been decided.
The options in the referendum would be, broadly: state-like self-government, a form of local government or the status quo.
A survey conducted in April by the Survey Research Centre of the ANU showed, on the basis of a systematic random sample of 460 interviews with people in all the suburbs of the city, that 32 per cent favoured a transfer of powers to the Legislative Assembly, 35 per cent were opposed to it, and 32 per cent were undecided.