"Business titans get behind an Indigenous Voice to parliament", 6 March 2023

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NAB, alongside large corporations such as the Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, BHP, Rio Tinto, Wesfarmers, Woolworths and Coles, are supporting the Yes campaign. [...]

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Mike Henry, chief executive of BHP, which has 2437 Indigenous employees out of its 49,420 employees in Australia, says the miner is supporting constitutional recognition. “BHP is a long-standing supporter of the establishment of an Indigenous Voice to parliament in Australia, aligned with our support for broader efforts towards reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.”

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“Rio Tinto has long supported constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians, having backed the ‘Recognise’ campaign in 2015, through to the Uluru Statement from the Heart in 2019, to where we stand today, with the call for an Indigenous Voice to parliament,” says Kellie Parker, Rio Tinto’s Australia chief executive. “As a company, there have been times throughout our history where we have failed Indigenous Australians, and defining moments that have compelled us to evolve our approach.”

Wesfarmers, which owns a wide range of companies from Bunnings, Priceline, Kmart to Target, has over 100,000 staff, of which 4000 are Indigenous. Wesfarmers chair Michael Chaney became involved with the AIRC because he believes more needs to happen to close the gap between non-Indigenous and Indigenous Australians, with the latter having poorer health, education and employment outcomes.

“What is being done currently is not working, and inserting that provision in the Constitution, provides a very important recognition, which is firstly symbolic, but more than symbolic, it provides a voice, which makes a lot of sense, where Indigenous people can have a voice in matters concerning them.”

Matt Comyn, Commonwealth Bank’s chief executive, says the bank will be engaging its employees on the referendum and its own commitment to reconciliation. “We support an Indigenous Voice to parliament that is enshrined in the Constitution.”

Ross McEwan, NAB’s chief executive, has already taken steps to brief its employees on the forthcoming referendum with meetings such as that held with Thomas Mayo. “NAB has a key role to play in ensuring our Indigenous colleagues, customers and community succeed.”

Brad Banducci, Woolworths chief executive, says it’s engaging with its 185,000 employees, of which 4500 are Indigenous. “Having established our own Indigenous Voice via our First Nations Advisory Board, we have first-hand experience of the positive impact First Nations’ voice and advice can have on our own decision-making.”

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