Same-sex marriage: Qantas boss Alan Joyce defends support for Yes campaign

Qantas boss Alan Joyce defends the airline’s strong support for the yes campaign.

Alan Joyce speaking at a leadership summit in Sydney on the day of the same sex marriage plebiscite results. Picture: Hollie Adams

Qantas boss Alan Joyce has said a successful yes vote in the postal plebiscite would send an “amazing message” and that there was a business case for the flagship carrier to have supported the campaign for same-sex marriage.

Speaking at a business summit in Sydney before the outcome of the vote was known, Mr Joyce said that there was a “huge amount of energy and productivity that’s lost” because there were a proportion of LGBTI people “aren’t being themselves at work”.

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“That’s a worry,” Mr Joyce said.

A successful outcome “would send an amazing message”, he said.

Mr Joyce said that business had a role to play in campaigning on social issues.

“I also do believe there is a business case for this,” he said. He said a lot of shareholders were looking at “environmental, social and governance” issues as a reason for tipping investments into companies.

He said that during his talks to shareholders, “I had a few of them saying to me that they didn’t think Qantas was going far enough on this, on marriage equality and these social issues and this was very important for companies to be out there actually supporting that.”

Qantas has faced some criticism over its use of the iconic brand to campaign on the same sex marriage campaign.

Last month, Qantas chairman Leigh Clifford defended carrier’s support for the same-sex marriage campaign, saying “we have never directed others what to think”.

Asked about the comments by Immigration Minister Peter Dutton that ASX-listed companies should “stick to their knitting”, Mr Joyce said he had been “equally out there” on issues like tax reform.