Voice to Parliament: Labor accused of ‘cheating' to tip scales in favour of ‘Yes’ vote

A supposedly impartial referendum website has borrowed heavily from a pro-Voice advocacy group, tilting the scales in favour of ‘Yes’ campaigners already backed by $10 million in corporate donations, it can be revealed.

Backers of the “no” case against changing the constitution to create an Indigenous Voice to Parliament have been forced to undertake a highly-targeted advertising strategy aimed at swing voters to counter a flood of pro-voice ads hitting the airwaves in cities like Sydney and Melbourne.

Details of the “no” case’s strategy emerged as it was revealed the government’s official referendum website, voice.gov.au, used language nearly identical to a pro-voice organisation, despite Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledging that no support would be given to either side.

Visitors to voice.gov.au, which is maintained by the National Indigenous Australians Agency, are told that among other things the voice “will be accountable and transparent … will work alongside existing organisations and traditional structures … (and) be empowering, community-led, inclusive (and) respectful.”

The wording appears virtually identical to that on a page on pro-voice group Reconciliation Australia’s website quoting referendum working group member Tony McAvoy’s “guiding principles of the voice”.

Matthew Sheahan, executive director of anti-voice group Advance, said the government’s information campaign was “cheating.”

The No campaign will produce ads featuring Indigenous woman and Northern Territory senator Jacinta Price.

“Anthony Albanese is putting his thumb on the scales and doing whatever he can to push the Yes side using your taxpayer dollars.”

Mr Sheahan said that the prime minister had form, noting that when Mr Albanese was Local Government Minister in 2013 he proposed giving $10 million to the backers of a referendum to recognise councils in the constitution and just $500,000 to those opposed.

Anthony Albanese has been accused of putting his ‘thumb on the scales’ of the Voice referendum. Picture: Martin Ollman/Getty Images

In March, the government announced that it would allocated $9.5 million to a “facts of the voice” campaign but denied that it would be advocating for “yes”.

Previously, Mr Albanese had said that no money would be given to either side’s campaign.

Mr Sheahan said that despite the “no” campaign fighting an uphill battle against a “yes” campaign that has reportedly raised a $10 million war chest, largely from corporate donors and philanthropists, targeted advertising to voters in states such as Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania were key to tipping the vote against the referendum.

Indigenous campaigner Dean Parkin is leading the yes campaign, which is heavily backed by corporate donations. Picture: Liam Kidston

Advance also claimed that it has signed up more than 135,000 active volunteers to spread the word about the “no” case, noting that voice advocates had to cross a high bar of getting a majority of voters in a majority of states to vote “yes”.

Dean Parkin, director of the Yes Campaign Alliance, said “(the) initial advertising campaign was a nationwide approach, with an emphasis on including some of the people who have been shut out of the conversation.”

“We are now seeing more and more individual people coming forward and chipping in, even just a few dollars – that is what we are excited about.”

The National Indigenous Australians Agency was contacted for comment.