Article by Matt Bell and Chris Herde
Kennards Self Storage managing director Sam Kennard says corporate affairs and HR departments have been overly fixated and sensitive around minority interests.
Business leaders have warned against companies boycotting Australia Day, saying corporations are yielding too much power to political activists and their human resources departments.
Big business has increasingly moved to boycott the national holiday despite renewed interest in January 26, with the likes of Commonwealth Bank and Telstra allowing staff to work and take another day off, championing the move as a win for employees seeking greater flexibility.
Other businesses including the Australian Venue Co, which last month was forced to walk back from its controversial boycott of Australia Day, have instead promoted it as the “January long weekend”.
Kennards Self Storage chief executive Sam Kennard said businesses should be agnostic around politics and the interests of political activists, calling out Australian Venue Co as making a mistake.
“It’s virtue signalling to a small constituency,” he said.
“If a business doesn’t want to celebrate Australia Day, like a hospitality group, they’re probably missing out on revenue from people that love this country and want to celebrate. In my view that’s a huge mistake.”
Mr Kennard said the country’s bosses and corporate boards placed too much power in the hands of their corporate affairs and human resource departments that were overly fixated and sensitive around minority interests.
“Too many large corporations are run by corporate affairs or HR departments trying to be super sensitive around minority interests, and the CEOs management team and the board don’t care or are too worried about offending a small group of people that they don’t understand what the majority want,” he said. “It’s a complex problem that exists in large corporations because too much power is given to corporate affairs and human relations.”
A poll published by the Institute of Public Affairs last week showed that 69 per cent of people say Australia Day should be celebrated on January 26, up from 63 per cent 12 months ago, while a majority of all age groups now back the day.
Institute of Public Affairs director of research Morgan Begg said on Friday that mainstream Australians no longer feared the elites and were not afraid to say so.
“Australians are seeing the decline of social cohesion in their communities as a consequence of the deliberate and relentless attempts by the elites and political class to divide Australians,” he said. “A healthy society celebrates the events and symbols that unite them. Australians recognise that uniting around their national day and the national flag reinvigorates the sense of community that has been lost.”
Property developer Kevin Seymour said the debate around Australia Day was ridiculous. His company, Seymour Group, will shut for the public holiday and all staff are encouraged to celebrate Australia instead.
“Every one of us comes from different backgrounds but we should be getting on with our lives. This divide and conquer has got to stop,” he said.
“We encourage all our staff to celebrate Australia’s national day and be proud Australians. We’re all Australians. We come from so many different nationalities and cultures, and we should be a united country,”
Ray White Group managing director Dan White said businesses should avoid getting involved in the debate and instead allow their workers to enjoy the country and spend time with their family.
“A lot of companies get caught up in a knot over this, but we’ve always taken a flexible approach to leave, and Australia Day is a good day to get together with their families,” he said. “If our people need other days off to celebrate their own cultural or religious days, we are a pretty flexible workplace.”
Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting will celebrate Australia Day by sponsoring Perth’s festivities in Langley Park, which include the city’s Australia Day Perth skyshow and fair. It is the event’s sole sponsor in a sign big business has largely avoided Australia Day, while Sydney’s celebrations have no corporate sponsors.
A Hancock Prospecting spokesman said the company was proud of its Australian heritage.
“Celebrating Australia Day is part of our company traditions and various activities are held across our business and subsidiaries to mark this special day to celebrate our nation and reflect on our past and future,” the company said. “On Australia Day, we hope many think of our veterans, who have sacrificed so much for our country, and those currently serving, our police, and all those who have built our country and helped make us proud of our nation.”
Mrs Rinehart will celebrate with her family, and then later at an Australian Embassy function in the US, the spokesman said.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has vowed to protect the national day should the Coalition be elected. He said Australians should not be “ashamed” of Australia Day, and that a Coalition government would overturn a Labor-era rule and force local councils to hold citizenship ceremonies on January 26.
The country’s largest pub operator, Endeavour Group, which has 350 venues in its ALH portfolio, has been promoting Australia Day celebrations.
This contrasts with Australian Venue Co which banned Australia Day celebrations at its 200 venues before making a sensational about-face and apologising for offending its customers.
The group, Australia’s second-largest pub group, had directed staff “not to specifically celebrate a day that causes hurt for some of our patrons and our team”.
