Business bodies silent on Indigenous voice to parliament

Australian Industry Group and Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry have clarified they do not have a position on the Indigenous voice to parliament.

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Leading business bodies the Australian Industry Group and Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry have clarified they do not have a position on the Indigenous voice to parliament, despite the Prime Minister declaring they were both in the Yes camp.

Support for the voice has fallen below 50 per cent in every state, according to the latest Newspoll, but Labor and Yes campaigners remain confident the referendum will pass.

When asked in a press conference in July about the tone of the conversation around the voice, Anthony Albanese said: “We’ll continue to be positive. Every single sporting code, AFL, ­National Rugby League, Football Australia, Cricket Australia, Tennis Australia, the Olympics committee, have all combined to say Yes to the referendum that will take place in the last quarter of this year, as have major business organisations.

“The Business Council of Australia, the Australian Industry Group, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, individual businesses all saying Yes,” he added.

While the BCA has been vocal in its support for the voice, saying last week that the proposal would “give Indigenous Australians a stronger foothold in our democracy”, the ACCI and the Ai Group clarified they had taken no position.

“ACCI does not advocate a Yes or a No vote on the referendum. This is a matter of choice for individual voters, according to their conscience,” ACCI chief executive Andrew McKellar said. “ACCI calls for an open and respectful public conversation about the referendum, allowing all voters to arrive at an informed view.”

Mr McKellar said ACCI strongly supported “active and meaningful reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians”, which included recognition of Indigenous people in the Constitution.

Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox also clarified that while his organisation believed “recognition is overdue”, it was not campaigning for a Yes or No vote. “We haven’t taken a position on the nub of the voice. We take the view that of our broad membership, there are going to be a range of views and perspectives within that and there are,” he said in an address to the ­National Press Club last week.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton earlier this year criticised businesses advocating for the voice as “craving popularity” and joining the Yes campaign as part of a branding exercise.

Mr Willox said while most of Ai Group’s members were not taking a position on the voice, businesses had the right to campaign Yes or No ahead of the referendum, “as long as it’s properly explained and understood and supported by shareholders … customers and by staff”.

Businesses that have come out in support of the voice include Commbank, Wesfarmers, Coles, Qantas, Telstra, Woodside and Lendlease, while others including Santos, QBE and Fortescue Metals have said they will not take a position.

In response to questions from The Australian, the Prime Minister’s office pointed to comments made by Mr Albanese at the Garma Festival, outlining the broad community support for the voice.