Big business throws weight behind yes case: ‘We get better results when we listen’

Australia’s peak business body will back the Indigenous voice, declaring its support for the “empowerment” of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Aug 03, 2023, updated May 22, 2025
Business Council of Australia Chief Executive Jennifer Westacott at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Monday, August 29, 2022. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)
Business Council of Australia Chief Executive Jennifer Westacott at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Monday, August 29, 2022. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)

The Business Council of Australia on Thursday announced its position and data showing its member companies spent more than $1 billion on Indigenous-owned businesses each year.

“We believe the voice is the right mechanism to give Indigenous Australians a stronger say on legislation, policy and programs that directly impact their communities and their lives,” Business Council chief executive Jennifer Westacott said.

“We know that we get better results when we listen.”

The council – whose members include BHP, Commonwealth Bank, Qantas and Woodside – joins a string of community, religious and sporting organisations lending their support.

The voice is a proposed advisory body which would make recommendations to the federal government and parliament on laws and policies affecting Indigenous people.

A vote proposing constitutional recognition of Indigenous people and enshrining a voice will be held between October and December this year.

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