Australia’s biggest companies have spent millions campaigning for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, new figures show.
All four major banks, major mining companies such as Rio Tinto, BHP and Woodside and retail giants Wesfarmers and Woolworths have each poured more than $1 million into the drive to enshrine the Vote in the Constitution through last year’s referendum.
Topping the list of corporate donors was ANZ, which pumped more than $2.2 million into the Yes23 campaign, but the Commonwealth Bank, Wesfarmers, Rio Tinto, BHP and Woodside also pumped in at least $2 million each.
Yes campaigner Thomas Mayo is pictured with SBS presenter Karla Grant during the run-up to the Voice referendum
The Commonwealth Bank has donated more than $2 million to the Yes campaign, according to new figures from the Australian Electoral Commission.
Westpac and NAB gave $1.4 million and $1.3 million respectively, while Woolworths took in $1.2 million, according to figures released by the Australian Electoral Commission.
All donations of $1 million or more went to the Yes campaign in the run-up to the October 14 referendum, with the largest amount coming from the nonprofit Paul Ramsay Foundation, which donated more than $7 million.
The next largest donor to the Yes was the Yajilarra Trust, which donated more than $4.4 million.
Wesfarmers, which came just behind ANZ and the CBA in terms of the amount donated, owns Bunnings, Kmart and Officeworks, among others.