Donors’ big spend on Voice campaign

The Yes campaign spent almost $55m on the failed Voice to Parliament referendum, newly released financial disclosures reveal, more than twice the expenditure of the No campaign.

Under the law, any disclosures over $15,2000 must be declared to the Australian Electoral Commission, which published the list on Tuesday, almost six months after the proposal to insert an Indigenous voice into the constitution was defeated 60-40.

Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition, which ran the Yes23 campaign, received $47.5m in donations and spent $43.8m.

The University of New South Wales, which housed the Uluru Statement from the Heart, received $11.12m and spent $10.3m.

Meanwhile, No campaign groups spent more than $25m.

Australians for Unity, also known as Fair Australia, spent $11.1m. Advance Australia spent $10.3m, despite only receiving $1.3m in donations during the reporting period.

The biggest individual donor was the philanthropic Paul Ramsay Foundation, which donated $7.01m to Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition.

Givia Pty Ltd ATF Yajilarra Trust donated $4.45m to UNSW.

ANZ (2.45m), Woodside Energy ($2.18m), Commonwealth Bank ($2.05m) and Westpac ($2.048m) all donated to entities associated with the Yes campaign.

Wesfarmers, BHP and Rio Tinto all donated about $2m to yes campaign groups, and Woolworths gave $1.56m.

No advocate Clive Palmer’s Mineralogy spent $1.93m during the campaign.

A number of unions pitched in to the Yes campaign, with the federal branch of the Australian Education Union spending more than $1m, and the Australian Council of Trade Union spending $883,685.

The Liberal Party of Australia received $1.9m and spent $1.91 during the campaign. The Nationals spent $572,947.

The Australian Labor Party spent $684,936.