Business leaders find their voice on indigenous recognition

Corporate heavyweights urge the PM to reverse his opposition to constitutionally enshrined ‘voice’.

Former AFL boss and Crown Resorts director Andrew Demetriou. Picture: Nicole Garmston

Corporate heavyweights are urging Scott Morrison to reverse his opposition to a constitutionally enshrined “voice to parliament”, with BHP and Woolworths holding firm in their call for the government to back the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

Major businesses have confirmed they are unswayed by the government’s decision to rule out an indigenous voice in the Constitution, an option that has been rejected by the Prime Minister but supported by Labor and key Aboriginal leaders.

Insurance Australia Group, EY, PwC, Lendlease, Goldman Sachs and Herbert Smith Freehills are also among the businesses that are standing by their call for the government to back a referendum on including an indigenous voice in the Constitution.

The voice was first rejected as a “third chamber of parliament” by Malcolm Turnbull in 2017 but was quickly backed by Labor, which remains supportive of the proposal despite its election loss on May 18.

Mr Morrison, who has also called the voice a “third chamber”, last week closed the door on the proposal as the government pursues a model for a referendum on the recognition of indigenous Australians in the nation’s birth certificate.

Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt — who last week left the door open for backing a voice referendum — yesterday said he had begun discussions with business on a model for constitutional recognition.

“It is not the government’s policy for a voice to be enshrined in the Constitution,” Mr Wyatt told The Australian.

“This will be a process of co-­design and I have already begun discussions with stakeholders including businesses on the issue of constitutional recognition.”

Former AFL boss Andrew Demetriou urged Mr Morrison to put the Uluru statement proposal back on the table as the government pursues a model for constitutional recognition of indigenous people in the next three years.

Mr Demetriou, a director of Crown Resorts, told The Australian the voice proposal had been carefully developed after two years of consultation with indigenous groups and constitutional conservatives.

The former chief executive of the nation’s biggest football code was part of the Referendum Council that backed a voice being included into the Constitution.

“Any referendum needs bipartisan support and I would just ask all people involved in whatever side of politics they are on to listen to what is being said and don’t jump to conclusions,” Mr Demetriou said.

“People have got nothing to fear from the voice. It is not a third chamber. It is only there for advice and consultation.

“We need to respect what our indigenous Australians want in recognition to the Constitution. This is something they clearly wanted.”

A spokesman for BHP told The Australian: “Our position on a constitutionally enshrined voice remains the same as when CEO Andrew Mackenzie spoke in Perth earlier this year”.

In that speech, Mr Mackenzie was categorical in his support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart and its call for a constitutionally enshrined indigenous voice to the parliament.

“We believe that the Constitution should be amended so that the voices of indigenous Australians can be fully heard,” Mr Mackenzie said.

At the same time, BHP donated $1 million to a public education campaign about the Uluru Statement ahead of any referendum.

A spokesman for Woolworths said: “We stand by our support of the Uluru statement and welcome the opportunity for careful … community consultation as proposed by Minister Wyatt.”

IAG managing director Peter Harmer said an indigenous voice “will benefit First Nations communities and all Australians”.

“We continue to support the Uluru statement,” he said.

EY indigenous sector practice leader Joe Hedger urged Mr Morrison to “keep all options on the table”. “We encourage the government, in a show of good faith, to keep all options on the table as it embarks on a co-design process with indigenous leaders to achieve consensus on a way forward,” Mr Hedger said.

Herbert Smith Freehills head of pro bono Brooke Massender said the law firm remained supportive of the Uluru statement, as did spokeswomen for PwC and Goldman Sachs.

A spokesman for Lendlease said: “We support the Uluru Statement from the Heart and commit to working in a bipartisan fashion to achieve genuine reconciliation”.

Earlier this year, financial institutions, law firms and major corporations threw their support behind the Uluru statement, including Qantas, Woodside, Rio Tinto, KPMG and the Australian Rugby League Commission.