Key supporters of a Voice to Parliament are increasingly opposed to the taxpayer funding either side of the campaign.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney recently marshalled a working group of 20 First Nations leaders - including Noel Pearson, Marcia Langton, and Ms Burney's predecessor Ken Wyatt - to consult on Australia's next steps towards the Voice in coming months.
Members of that group are likely to play key roles in publicly advocating for the Voice during the referendum campaign.
With the Commonwealth likely to be required to provide the same taxpayer funding to both camps, The Canberra Times understands there is a growing view that it should not, and will not, provide any at all.
There are strategic, as well as moral, reasons for opposing funding.
![Anthony Albanese has pledged to hold a referendum in this term of Parliament. Picture Getty Images Anthony Albanese has pledged to hold a referendum in this term of Parliament. Picture Getty Images](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/139890989/5e6a4f27-845e-400f-99d0-b6e684e2a1a9.jpg/r0_100_4500_2640_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
And given corporate Australia is likely to provide significant backing to the Yes camp, there is also opposition to providing a leg-up to a No group starting well behind financially.
The Greens, yet to commit to backing the Voice, are also warning the government not to repeat the mistakes of the 2017 gay marriage plebiscite by "funding racism".
Ms Burney said funding was "one of a number of issues that we will be consulting on and deliberating on in the months ahead".
The prospect of a divisive referendum, potentially descending into racist rhetoric, is worrying Yes campaigners as they work through Australia's road to the Voice.
Big business has already begun backing the Voice - Ms Burney last week told corporate leaders that was "the right thing to do" - and the No camp is likely to struggle to keep up financially.
Paul Wright, national director of Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation, said a constitutionally-enshrined Voice should not be "controversial" and expected the vast majority of Australians to back it.
Mr Wright insisted ANTaR has no issue with a publicly-funded No campaign, provided it is "genuine and good faith".
"There will be legitimate questions and concerns about the Voice. If posed respectfully and with a genuine desire to understand, then it will only add to the dialogue about how we achieve real reconciliation in this generation," he said.
But Mr Wright warned Australia does not boast "a great track record" of good faith debate over First Nations rights and justice.
"There should be no publicly-funded resources for cynical spoilers who are not really interested in a genuine conversation about Voice but rather would use this as an opportunity for political gain," he said.
'Shouldn't fund racism'
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has declared her intention to lead the No campaign, the party wasting no time selling paraphernalia comparing the Voice to "apartheid" online.
Senator Hanson is not guaranteed to lead any publicly-funded No campaign, raising the prospect of an anti-Voice movement running a two-pronged attack.
![Lidia Thorpe wants a Treaty before the Voice. Picture by Keegan Carroll Lidia Thorpe wants a Treaty before the Voice. Picture by Keegan Carroll](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/139890989/935fcee6-aaff-4f29-b078-29edb56bef61.jpg/r0_256_5000_3078_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
A similar dynamic emerged during the 2015 Brexit vote, where an official Leave group worked in tandem with a more incendiary, immigration-focused campaign led by Nigel Farage.
The Greens have demanded Labor prioritise a Treaty and Truth telling process, also recommended in the Statement from the Heart, and sign the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Bill.
![Adam Bandt says the Commonwealth should not "fund racism". Picture by Sitthixay Ditthavong Adam Bandt says the Commonwealth should not "fund racism". Picture by Sitthixay Ditthavong](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/139890989/f8ab7b27-92ff-4cc5-9a3e-3175fec90301.jpg/r0_428_5500_3532_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Greens leader Adam Bandt said he was prepared to negotiate in "good faith", but hopes Labor is considering how to "avoid creating further division" during the referendum.
"The Australian government shouldn't fund racism," he told The Canberra Times.
"The marriage equality plebiscite drove division in our community and I don't want to see the same mistakes repeated as we come together to seek First Nations justice."
Greens senator Lidia Thorpe, who with Mr Bandt is negotiating with the government, has accused Ms Burney of failing to consult widely, including with Tent Embassy leaders who are opposed to the Voice.
Senator Thorpe described racism as an "everyday part of our lives as First Nations people", saying a Treaty and Truth telling would "help us mature as a nation".
"We don't need a referendum to start a national Truth and Justice Commission or Treaty," she told The Canberra Times.
![Linda Burney says funding will be discussed in the coming months. Picture by Elesa Kurtz Linda Burney says funding will be discussed in the coming months. Picture by Elesa Kurtz](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/139890989/67dde99f-6762-46b7-a9aa-9da4ca09295f.jpg/r0_0_5335_3438_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"If any funding of a conversation needs to happen, it needs to be genuine consultation with First Nations people in this country.
"Anything that amplifies racism in this country is going to cause further harm to our people. A lot more work needs to be done to bring people together."
Senator Thorpe said the likely support of mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto should "be enough of a red flag".
Constitutional lawyer Gabrielle Appleby, who spent years working with the regional dialogues which produced the Uluru Statement from the Heart, said the Commonwealth was actually prohibited from funding the Yes and No campaigns.
But it altered that rule at the 1999 republican referendum, through a special act which applied only to that vote.
While non-committal on whether it should repeat that, Professor Appleby said any material produced by Commonwealth-funded campaigns should be reviewed independently to ensure it was not misleading of misinformation.
"I think that's the really important thing," she said.
As revealed by The Canberra Times last week, independent MP Zali Steggall was pushing to expand her truth-in-advertising bill to cover referenda, with Labor promising to hold two in its first two terms of government.