Secret documents show Andrews government approved a move to allocate $6.5m to support ‘a ‘Yes’ vote for Voice
The state government signed off on $6.5m in taxpayer funding in a last-ditch attempt to pump up the Yes vote weeks out from the Voice referendum, documents reveal.
Victoria
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The former Andrews government approved more than $6m in taxpayer funds for the “Yes” vote in the lead-up to the Voice to Parliament referendum, secret documents have revealed.
Hidden files, uncovered under Freedom of Information laws and seen by the Herald Sun, show the state government signed off on $6.5m in taxpayer funds in a last-minute bid to pump up the Yes vote.
The funding boost, approved just three weeks before the vote, came as shock polling revealed rapidly declining support for Anthony Albanese’s proposed Indigenous voice.
The ministerial briefing shows former assistant treasurer Danny Pearson had signed off on a request to reprioritise $6.5m initially allocated to communicating the state’s Indigenous Treaty process to support “a ‘Yes’ vote for the Commonwealth government’s proposed Voice referendum”.
The request by then-minister for treaty and first peoples Gabrielle Williams was approved on September 25, 2023, less than three weeks before an overwhelming rejection of the proposal, including 55 per cent of Victorians who voted No.
However, a state government spokesperson on Tuesday claimed the money was never spent and was returned to communications for Treaty.
“The Victorian Government did not spend any money on the Commonwealth Voice referendum,” she said.
Prominent Indigenous No campaigner Warren Mundine said the fact that the government had approved the funding was a “disgrace”.
“It was quite definite that the Voice was going to be thrown away,” he said.
“The Victorian government are happy to just leak money.”
The First Peoples Assembly was contacted for comment.
Originally published as Secret documents show Andrews government approved a move to allocate $6.5m to support ‘a ‘Yes’ vote for Voice
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