From a furniture giant Temple and Webster fighting ‘colonisation’ to flags at Woolworths supermarkets: Inside the ‘Reconciliation Action Plans’ sweeping corporate Australia – and the VERY awkward problem they expose
It’s a popular online store for homewares and furniture, but Temple & Webster has big plans to further the cause of reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australia.
The company – best known for selling rugs, sofas and sanitary ware – is on a mission to recognize and accept ‘the past mistakes’ of ‘colonial Australia’.
It pledges to “recognize and accept the colonial history associated with our history” and has committed to “educating customers about First Nations culture and rights.”
That’s according to the company’s 11-page Reconciliation Action Plan or ‘RAP’ – a document drawn up as part of an effort by Australian businesses to “increase economic equality and support the self-determination” of Indigenous Australians.
Despite this great effort, Temple and Webster have no idea whether there are any Aboriginal employees among their 194 employees.
“We are currently unaware of how many of our employees identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander… we will explore culturally appropriate ways to build this understanding,” reads the RAP, signed by CEO and founder Adam McWhinney.
And it’s not the only one.
Online furniture brand Temple and Webster have a corporate mission to recognize and accept ‘the past mistakes’ of ‘colonial Australia’
The CEO of Reconciliation Australia is Karen Mundine, niece of famed anti-Voice campaigner Warren
David Jones, Colgate, T2, Princess Polly and Atlassian are all among dozens of high-profile companies to have pledged their commitment to reconciliation through one of these RAPs – an initiative of Reconciliation Australia and Karen Mundine, niece of famed anti-Voice campaigner Warren .
Ms Mundine said there are a total of more than 2,200 “corporate, government and not-for-profit organisations” in Australia and around three million employees “who have translated goodwill and intention into action” through one of these schemes.
Yet some of these companies and organizations have joined, despite not employing a single First Nations person.
Under the plan, some of these companies have committed to celebrating NAIDOC Week, offering staff the opportunity to ‘swap’ holidays such as Australia Day and creating mandatory education activities around cultural sensitivities and practices such as Acknowledgments of Country.
The National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) is among the companies that have committed to action under a RAP.
With alumni around the world including Cate Blanchett, Mel Gibson and Baz Luhrmann, NIDA says it has a responsibility to “support and strengthen the First Nations workforce.”
The theater school noted in its own thirteen-page RAP that it operates on unceded land.
‘Sovereignty has never been relinquished. It was always Aboriginal land and it always will be,” the RAP states.
“We are committed to changing the way we work because it is the right thing to do. We are ready for truth telling and rebuilding.”
Telling the truth is one of the three pillars of the Uluru Statement from the heart. The first was the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, which was overwhelmingly defeated in a referendum in October 2023.
The second pillar is a Makarrata Commission, designed to explore options for treaties and truth-telling in Australia. National funding through the federal government has been earmarked for the establishment of the Commission, but following Voice’s crushing defeat it remains unclear whether the government will continue.
NIDA’s RAP was last submitted in August 2023 – prior to the vote. At the time, they employed 161 part-time and full-time employees. Four identified as First Nations, along with 13 of the 297 enrolled students.
David Jones also made a RAP. CEO Scott Fyfe also acknowledged that the department store “operates on the unceded lands of First Nations peoples.”
‘Traditional Custodians have inspired and cared for Country for more than 60,000 years. “The world’s oldest department store has a lot to learn from the world’s oldest living cultures,” he said.
Of David Jones’ 6,664 employees, 24 identify as Indigenous to Australia.
The Voice was defeated thanks to a campaign by Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Warren Mundine
Woolworths had pledged, as part of their RAP, to display Aboriginal flags at the front of stores across the country. It’s understood that this is actually no longer the plan for 2024 – and instead a flag has been placed at a behind-the-scenes facility
The department store has also indicated in the Reconciliation Action Plan that it supports the Uluru Declaration from the Heart.
Airbnb’s Country Manager for Australia, Susan Wheeldon, signed her brand’s commitment to “developing and implementing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander recruitment, retention and professional development strategy” in 2024, after acknowledging that she was “not currently Employing First Nations people.”
She said in her action plan: “For Airbnb, a reconciled Australia is a country where everyone has a sense of belonging, people are free from racism, respected, treated equally and can freely pursue their life goals.
‘We invite our community to embrace a shared history and recognize Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and heritage as a proud part of our shared national identity.’
Eco brand Atlassian has a similar goal.
Despite publicly supporting the Voice to Parliament and championing the Yes vote, the founders of the 3,500 Atlassian employees in Australia recognized as part of their 2023 RAP that “the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees who have identified themselves identified is unknown’. ‘.
It is clear that there are Indigenous people employed by Atlassian, but this is not yet something they have tracked as part of their workforce.
Few of the RAPs commit to tangible targets that customers and everyday Australians outside the business can track.
However, Colgate has committed to “contributing a percentage of product revenues to fund First Nations community partnership programs” as part of the RAP they created in 2023.
Of the 380 employees, two identify as First Nations, and Colgate says, “We understand that for First Nations peoples, their voices are not being heard to the extent they should be.”
“We strive to increase the representation of underrepresented people at all organizational levels.”
Similarly, as part of their RAP, Woolworths had pledged to display Aboriginal flags on the front of stores.
The company has since withdrawn from the proposal, with a spokeswoman saying they only planned to hang flags where they already flew the Australian flag.
‘We do not intend to hang flags outside our supermarkets.
Despite publicly supporting the Voice to Parliament and championing the Yes vote, the founders of tech giant Atlassian’s 3,500-strong workforce in Australia recognized as part of their 2023 RAP the “number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees who themselves – identified is unknown’. Pictured are co-founder Scott Farquhar and his wife Kim Jackson
‘The specific statement refers to displaying the flags ‘wherever possible’. The locations considered practical are those where the Australian flag is already flying.
Meanwhile, at Temple and Webster, the 2024 and 2025 goals start internally.
This year, the company aims to “communicate our commitment to reconciliation to all staff” and increase internal knowledge and understanding of certain cultural protocols, such as a Welcome to Country and Acknowledgment of Country.
The company also hopes to establish a First Nations representation.
“At Temple & Webster, we don’t just believe in equality, diversity and respect – we live them through our intentions, actions and words – and we have done so since day one,” says CEO Mr McWhinney.