While a "pro forma" preamble prefaces the Imperial "Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900", the Australian Constitution itself does not have a preamble. There have been some calls to add one to express the spirit and aspirations embodied in the constitution. However, there has been fierce opposition, usually on the basis of the content of the preamble, as well as possible legal ramifications of this text. In 1999, a proposed preamble, written by John Howard, the then Prime Minister, was defeated in a referendum held concurrently with the Republic referendum. The "Yes" vote (in favour of the insertion of the preamble) did not achieve a majority in any of the six states.