Right digs deep to fund No campaign on Voice to parliament

The No campaign has already received a $1m donation and attracted more than 35,000 supporters.

Nationals MPs and Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who has welcomed support for the No campaign. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

The campaign to oppose an Indigenous voice to parliament has ­received a $1m donation and attracted more than 35,000 supporters in recent months, as the right-wing activist group Advance and the Institute of Public Affairs join forces to lead the No vote push.

The Albanese government’s decision not to fund the Yes and No campaigns is expected to open the floodgates for private donations from corporate Australia, activist groups and wealthy backers.

Legislation setting out referendum machinery provisions ­tabled in parliament on Thursday prohibits foreign donations over $100 for either campaigns. It also establishes a financial dis­clo­sure framework to support “transparency and accountability”.

Advance executive director Matthew Sheahan said the No campaign had received “tens of thousands of grassroots donations” and was “building the most powerful centre-right movement this country has ever seen to fight the voice referendum”.

The $1m donation, only the second million-dollar donation received by Advance, has fuelled concerns inside the Yes campaign that cashed-up Australians could bankroll mass media campaigns across the country ahead of the referendum expected to be held late next year.

Northern Territory senator ­Jacinta Nampijinpa Price – who led the pushback against the voice inside the Nationals partyroom – said it was “heartening to know that everyday Australians are prepared to stand up for an Australia that’s not divided by race”.

“The No campaign will be driven by everyday Australian people of all backgrounds. These Australians are prepared to dig deep and give everything they can to fight for a united Australia based on our nation’s shared values,” Senator Price told The Australian.

“It will be a grassroots campaign as opposed to one driven by the out-of-touch wealthy corporations, the public service and the Aboriginal grievance industry.”

Senator Price claimed it was “disingenuous of the PM to claim Labor won’t fund either a Yes or No campaign when they have dedicated over $235m” to the voice referendum. Mr Sheahan said Anthony Albanese was “dead wrong to think they can strongarm us into defacing our Constitution with identity politics”.

Advance has commissioned the IPA to help inform its campaign, which will launch early next year. IPA deputy executive director Daniel Wild said the campaign would include analysis of the history of constitutional recognition, including “New Zealand’s experience of race-based governance”.

Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister Patrick Gorman defended the bill – which axes the distribution of pamphlets to voters explaining their MPs’ stance on a referendum – saying “modern technology allows parliamentarians to express their views to voters directly and regularly through a wide range of sources, such as television, email and social media”.

“The government has no intention of funding Yes and No campaigns (but will) fund educational material … to ensure Australians understood the referendum process,” Mr Gorman said.

However, opposition legal aff­airs spokesman Julian Leeser warned the legislation “puts a successful referendum at risk”.

“Why are they changing the rules? Why won’t there be an ­official booklet explaining the changes?” Mr Leeser said.

Special Minister of State Don Farrell said the Referendum Act was “out of step” with modern electoral laws.

The bill has been referred to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters.