Keep your nose out of it: Dutton blasts big business for getting behind Yes vote
The opposition leader has lashed out at Australian mining giants and other big companies for donating to the ‘yes’ campaign in support of the Indigenous voice to parliament.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said many big companies ālacked a significant backboneā when it came to the upcoming referendum.
āThere are a lot of people who are just craving popularity and are trying to please people in the Twittersphere,ā he told Sky News on Sunday.
Mr Duttonās Liberal Party has chosen to campaign for the ānoā vote and Mr Dutton maintains there are unanswered questions about how the voice advisory body will work.
His words came as thousands flocked to rallies in Australian cities to promote the āyesā vote.
An affirmative vote will pave the way for an advisory body that will give Indigenous Australians a direct say in policies that affect them.
Mining companies such as BHP and Rio Tinto are on the growing list of corporations in support of the āyesā vote.
Mr Dutton singled out Rio Tinto for doing āsignificant damage to Indigenous cultureā in the past and attempting to atone for it retroactively.
āInstead of trying to deal with these things post the event, they should have had the proper processes in place to stop such an event from taking place,ā he said.
In 2020, the mining giant devastated West Australian custodians and sparked outrage by blowing up the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge caves.
āThere are debates that corporate Australia shouldnāt be involved in, and at the moment, I donāt think theyāre paying due consideration to the views of their workforce, to the views of the community,ā Mr Dutton said.
Co-founder of the Yes23 campaign, Rachel Perkins, said the latest polls showing a decline in the āyesā vote did not reflect the reality on the ground.
Stay informed, daily
āYou donāt necessarily see it on television. You donāt see it in the newspapers, but there are conversations happening around kitchen tables, in sporting clubs, in workplaces around the country,ā she told ABC News at a Sydney rally.
āAnd thatās just going to grow.ā
Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney urged Australians to āget this doneā at an event on Saturday night.
The referendum will be held between October and December.
Want to see more stories from InDaily Qld in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily Qld as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily Qld". That's it.
