No campaign aims to match advertising funding of Yes campaign in SA and Tasmania

The No campaign against an Indigenous voice to parliament has asked supporters to help meet a ‘crucial $3m campaign funding target’ in the must-win states of SA and Tasmania.

No campaigner Jacinta Nampijinpa Price. Picture: NCA NewsWIRE/ Morgan Sette

The No campaign against an Indigenous voice to parliament has asked supporters to help meet a “crucial $3m campaign funding target” in the must-win states of South Australia and Tasmania, as volunteers are advised to make the campaign personal by delivering handwritten notes in mailboxes.

In a mail-out to supporters this week, Advance Australia director Matthew Sheahan said the referendum would be “going down to the wire” and resources needed to be urgently funnelled into the two battleground states.

“Last weekend, the Yes campaign revealed it is unleashing a $20m advertising campaign, backed by the mainstream media and big companies like Qantas. They have big money and big celebrities on their side and they are letting us know it,” he said in the email, seen by The Australian.

“The Yes campaign needs to spend big across the country, but in South Australia and Tasmania – the states you and I need to win to defeat the voice – they will only spend about $3m on TV and radio advertising.

“We need resources on the ground to win every vote we can. Your fully tax-deductible contribution to the Fair Australia No campaign will go straight to the front lines and help meet a crucial $3m campaign funding target that will be critical for victory.”

The Australian understands the $3m figure used in the email has been extrapolated by the No campaign based on estimates of how a national $20m TV and radio buy is typically distributed among states.

The email also revealed donations would be doubled by a $250,000 matching fund provided by former fund manager, Simon Fenwick.

“The full $250,000 Match Fund will only be released if friends like you respond to this challenge by midnight on Friday, 22 September, which is why your support today is so important – whatever portion of the fund is not matched will be lost,” the email stated.

“By investing your $500 today, thanks to the Match Fund your gift will be doubled to become $1000.”

A spokesman for Yes23 said “Australians should be aware that the No campaign is being backed by the likes of Clive Palmer, who spent over $120m during the 2022 federal election”.

The No campaign and Peter Dutton have previously claimed the Yes camp had about $100m in funding for the referendum, which has been denied by key figures including Rachel Perkins.

The Advance Australia donation drive follows the launching of training courses for No supporters, who are coached on what to say on the phone and during doorknocking.

Advance Australia campaigning chief Chris Inglis told volunteers in a zoom session this week to consider delivering handwritten notes to letterboxes in their neighbourhoods because it would add a “human element” to the No campaign.

“There are two types of contact in a campaign: hard voter contact and soft voter contact. Hard voter contact is based on human connection … the human delivery of the campaign message,” he said. “This includes phone calls … even some forms of direct mail. If you’re signing a letter, that’s hard voter contact because it delivers an emotion.”

Mr Inglis was quizzed on whether the script for cold calling and door knocking would change in the wake of “slip ups” by key No campaigners like Warren Mundine, who last week split from key conservatives in saying he was in favour of changing the date of Australia Day. Mr Inglis said the script would not be changed, and Mr Mundine’s comments reflected “how he feels” and not the broader campaign.