Change by stealth: bosses ‘undermining our holiday’

Telstra chief executive Vicki Brady says Australia Day is a painful reminder for some First Nations people, and she will be working this Thursday.

The Coalition has accused Labor of encouraging corporate Australia “to change our national day by stealth” after Telstra chief executive Vicki Brady revealed she would work on Thursday, ­declaring that for many First ­Nations people January 26 was a “painful reminder of discrimination and exclusion”.

Ms Brady is, to date, the highest profile corporate figure who has chosen to publicly announce they will be working on Thursday, as the national debate continues about the appropriateness of celebrating the day when Captain Arthur Phillip arrived in Sydney Cove in 1788.

Opposition citizenship spokes­man Dan Tehan said when Anthony Albanese made the decision before Christmas to allow councils not to hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day he had “sent a clear message that he was happy for people to undermine our national day”.

“This was despite his commitment before the election that he did not support changing the date. This sleight of hand has led to the inevitable – business groups and others seeking to change our national day by stealth,” Mr Tehan said.

“Anthony Albanese needs to be up front with the Australian people. Either he supports the date or is happy for it to be undermined.”

Telstra chief executive Vicki Brady. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

The chief executives of Aus­tralia’s top firms regularly work through public holidays and weekends, but Ms Hardy’s move to publicise her decision indicates the importance with which corporate Australia is treating the issue.

NAB chief executive Ross McEwan will also be working, but when contacted by The Australian did not ascribe the decision to work to the Australia Day debate.

“While Thursday is a national public holiday, there are a number of commitments Mr McEwan will be working on as NAB CEO,” a company spokesperson said.

A number of other large companies, many of which operate across international borders, indicated it was common practice for their CEOs to work on holidays.

Woodside Energy chief executive Meg O’Neill said via a spokeswoman she would be taking the day as a holiday. The company said its flexible work policies already allowed employees to swap their working arrangements across up to five public holidays each year “allowing individuals the flexibility to celebrate days of significance to them’’.

Momentum has been building in some sectors of the community to change the date of Australia Day particularly over the past couple of years, with those opposed to the day’s celebration as Australia Day terming it alternatively Invasion Day or Survival Day.

Numerous large corporations have recently announced they will allow employees to work on Australia Day this year, and take an ­alternative day off. These include Telstra, which announced the change last year, Woodside ­Energy, mining giant BHP, ­Channel 10 and major professional services firms such as ­Deloitte, PwC and KPMG.

KPMG national chair Alison Kitchen said last month it was not taking an “active position’’ on the issue, but had given its 9000 employees the option to work on January 26.

“A lot of our Indigenous colleagues will come into the office on Australia Day” she said. “We haven’t taken an active position on Australia Day; we think we’re on a journey.”

Channel 10 last month told its staff they were not required to take the day off and acknowledged in an email to its employees that “For our First Nations people … January 26 is not a day of celebration’’.

“We recognise that January 26 evokes different emotions for our employees across the business, and we are receptive to employees who do not feel comfortable taking this day as a public holiday,’’ the email said.

“Whether you choose to work on January 26 or take the holiday, we ask that you reflect and respect the different perspectives and viewpoints of all Australians.”

Former prime minister Tony Abbott last month responded to a slew of companies announcing flexible work arrangements for Australia Day by hitting out at “woke CEOs”. “It’s wrong when woke CEOs start playing politics through their businesses,” he told The Australian at the time.

“When everyone from the PM down says that Australia Day is our national day and should be respected, that should be the attitude of public companies. Sure, there were downsides as well as upsides to British settlement but anyone who’s proud of our country should gladly mark the day when modern Australia began.”

Ms Brady wrote in a LinkedIn post this week it was a personal ­decision, and she recognised that for others “a different approach will feel right – and that’s OK’’.

“I’m proud that at Telstra, our people can now choose to take January 26 as a public holiday, or work that day and request an alternative day off,’’ she said. “I’ll be choosing to work and will take a different day of leave with my family, because that feels right for me.”

Telstra CEO Vicki Brady’s LinkedIn Post In Full

The choice you make about how you spend Australia Day is a personal one.

I’m proud that at Telstra, our people can now choose to take January 26 as a public holiday, or work that day and request an alternative day off. I’ll be choosing to work and will take a different day of leave with my family, because that feels right for me. For others, a different approach will feel right – and that’s OK.

How each of us recognise and respect the different meanings and complexities of Australia Day is one important part of our reconciliation journey.

For many First Nations peoples, Australia Day is a painful reminder of discrimination and exclusion. It marks a turning point that saw lives lost, culture devalued, and connections between people and places destroyed.

At the same time, for many people the day is also a chance to spend time with friends and family and celebrate the many things we can be proud of as a community.

Progress on reconciliation needs respectful and inclusive conversations. Thanks to all my colleagues at Telstra who have treated this topic with the care it deserves.

Reconciliation with First Nations peoples is an incredible opportunity for Australia – we all stand to gain so much from more inclusive and respectful relationships, and 2023 is shaping up as a big year for progress towards this.