Advance Australia, the conservative lobby group that claimed success for defeating the voice referendum, more than doubled the amount of donations it received during the 2022-23 financial year.
But the origin of almost half of the funds remains unknown.
Political donations data, released by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) on Thursday, showed Advance Australia received $5.2m in donations and other receipts in the year following the federal election – a significant increase on the $2.5m it received in 2021-22.
Political parties and significant third parties, like Advance Australia, are only required to declare the source of donations and other payments that are above a certain threshold, which for 2022-23 was $15,200.
It is also mandatory they declare the total amount of money they received. The difference between the sum of the donations declared with donations and the total amount is so-called “dark money” – essentially funds for which the source is not publicly known.
Of the $5.2m Advance Australia received in 2022-23, about $2.4m of it – or 47% – came from unknown sources.
The group, a self-proclaimed rightwing answer to progressive campaign group Get Up, declared spending $4.5m on election expenditure in the year leading up to July 2023, which covered the first few months of official referendum campaigning.
Advance had organised a series of fundraising appeals in the first half of 2023, including one with former fund manager and regulator donor Simon Fenwick, who agreed to match $250,000 in supporter donations in April.
The disclosure details show Fenwick’s Silver River Investment Holdings provided $400,000 in total in two donations over the year, making him the group’s second biggest donor in 2022-23.
Advance Australia has pitched itself as a group representing Australian “battlers” against the “woke” elite. However, many of its financial backers are wealthy investors and businessmen.
The largest donation, a sum of $1m, came from a little-known Perth company, Hadley Holdings, which lists 94-year-old Brian Hadley Anderson and accountant Lena Hilton as directors.
Anderson, who made his fortune in used car sales, told the West Australian he donated the money because he wanted to support Nationals senator Jacinta Price and no activist Warren Mundine, calling the voice proposal “divisive, undemocratic and discriminatory”.
Other major donors included storage boss Sam Kennard’s Siesta Holdings Australia Pty Ltd, which donated two sums totalling $115,000, and Perth doctor Bryan Macfie, a member of the Institute of Public Affairs, who gave $100,000.
Two companies, Sixmilebridge Pty Limited and Nedigi Pty Limited, which have previously given Advance Australia donations, tipped in $50,000 each. Both listed Sydney millionaire Rodney O’Neil as a director.
Another $50,000 was provided by JMR Management Consultancy Services Pty Ltd. The company lists Brett Ralph as its director; he is also a director of the NRL team Melbourne Storm.
St Baker Enterprises, run by Queensland energy investor Trevor St Baker, also handed $50,000 to the group.
Other notable donors include Marcus Blackmore, who donated $25,000, while Melbourne accountant Ronald Pitcher provided $32,500.
The conservative group rose in prominence during the referendum after being founded in 2018 as a counter to progressive campaigning groups such as Get Up.
Advance’s executive director, Matthew Sheahan, was personally thanked by the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, once the results of the referendum became known on the evening of 14 October.
Get Up, on the other hand, did not feature as prominently in the yes campaigns.
Get Up received $7.8m in receipts for 2022-23, spending just $53 on electoral expenditure, according to the AEC’s disclosure.
Of Get Up’s $7.8m in donations and receipts, $1.1m, or 14%, came from unknown sources. Its largest donors were from estates – the late Geoffrey Lawson Hook’s estate donated $250,000 while the late David Walsh’s estate gave the group $125,000.
The Centre for Australian Progress and poet Johanna Featherstone each offered $100,000 during the post-election year.
• This article was amended on 3 February 2024. An earlier version incorrectly said $1.1m was 86% of $7.8m, when it is 14%.
