REVEALED: Melbourne ratepayers' SHOCK bill for FAILED Voice campaign
Melbourne council spent big to push ‘yes’ vote with ‘education campaign’ backing the referendum.
The City of Melbourne used $140,000 in ratepayer funds to promote a ‘yes’ vote in the failed Voice referendum, directing the money towards an education campaign aimed at specific community groups.
A council spokeswoman confirmed the spending, saying it was part of an effort to inform the public about the referendum process and encourage respectful debate.
“Council spent around $140,000 on the campaign — with the majority of funding spent on educational information targeted at those most likely to be uninformed about the referendum process, including non-English-speaking communities and older voters,” she said.
“This included educational events, translated material, printed information packs and social media advertising.”
Owen Guest, who was elected as a councillor in 2024 and oversees the Finance, Governance and Risk portfolio, criticised the decision, arguing ratepayer money should not have been spent advocating for a particular outcome.
“Whether it be the Voice (referendum) or other contentious issues, I think our council would be far better off not getting involved, on one side or another,” Guest said.
“This isn’t what the average ratepayer has been asking us to do. It could actually be deemed to be quite irresponsible financially.
“It was also a costly and time-consuming enterprise at a time when the budget was stretched.”
At the time the spending occurred, the City of Melbourne was operating with an underlying deficit of $15 million, according to its 2023-24 financial report.
Guest said the council should return its focus to essential services.
“This is not what we are meant to be doing,” he said.
“We are meant to be looking after Melburnians, keeping our city clean and making sure it is a great place to do business.
“It seems that the council has bitten off more than it can chew for quite a while now.”
The decision to fund the ‘yes’ campaign was made under the previous council led by Sally Capp. Then-deputy lord mayor Nick Reece also supported the move.
Despite the council’s efforts, the Voice referendum was defeated nationally on October 14, 2023, with every state and the Northern Territory voting ‘no’. The Australian Capital Territory was the only jurisdiction to record a majority ‘yes’ vote.
The former council also voted to lobby the federal government to change the date of Australia Day, despite the City of Melbourne representing less than one per cent of the national population.
Featured Stories
05:00
11:20
