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Australian Electoral Commission referendum donor returns have revealed that construction company Lendlease made nearly $1 million worth of donations in support of a Yes vote in last year’s failed Voice referendum.
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Donations included cash and gifts-in-kind valued at $238,461 to Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition, the group spearheading the Yes campaign. The group included Thomas Mayo and Noel Pearson among its directors.
The disclosure also confirmed $744,114 in cash and gifts-in-kind donations were made to the University of New South Wales which supported the Yes campaign through the Indigenous Law Centre and the Uluru Dialogues, according to the University’s website.
The university actively encouraged students and staff to vote Yes in the referendum, including lighting up its library building and hosting a series of events in the lead-up to the referendum.
Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition and the University of New South Wales spent $43,824,171 and $10,305,172 on the referendum, respectively. Groups supporting the Voice received five times more in donations than their opposing No campaigners.
The referendum was rejected by over 60 per cent of Australians, including a majority of Australians in all states. The ACT was the only state or territory to record a Yes vote.
Speaking to Defence Connect, a Lendlease spokesperson explained that the company had a long history of supporting Indigenous Australians, including the Yes vote.
“We have a long and proud history of supporting First Nations’ recognition and reconciliation, including supporting the Commonwealth Department of Defence to achieve its targets for Indigenous workforce participation and procurement.
“As one of 14 organisations to make a public commitment to support the Uluru Statement of the Heart in 2019, we have provided support to organisations that sought to promote constitutional recognition through a First Nations Voice.”
Lendlease recently secured a $93 million contract for construction, maintenance, and repair services with the Department of Defence, with services rendered between January 2024 and December 2027.
The contract is in addition to a $34 million contract for services between May 2023 and September 2024 and a $14 million contract between February 2023 and December 2025.
Lendlease has been contacted for comment.
The revelations come as South Australia held its inaugural First Nations Voice to Parliament election in late March, recording a turnout of less than 10 per cent.
Attendance was so low in some regions that the quota for election in Region 6 - Yorke and Mid-North was just 17 votes.
One candidate in the region was elected off of just six votes.
