HESTA superannuation fund declares its support for the Voice after poll shows support slipping

An industry superfund has pledged its support for an Indigenous voice in parliament a day after an opinion poll showed support for Labor’s constitutional amendment was waning.

HESTA, the pension fund for health and community workers, announced its support on Thursday after a poll by Resolve Monitor found that 47 percent would vote ‘no’ if a referendum were held now.

Chief executive Debby Blakey said creating a Voice to Parliament would help address the backwardness of Indigenous people.

“The Voice to Parliament is our opportunity to collectively create a stronger and more vibrant future in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have the constitutional right to ‘have a say’ in legislation that affects them,” she said.

HESTA’s announcement comes a day after a Resolve Political Monitor poll published in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age showed that support for The Voice had fallen to 53 percent in May, down from 63 percent in August 2022.

If this trend continues, the referendum would be lost and a vote is expected to take place between October and December of this year at a date yet to be announced.

The poll, based on a survey of 1,610 voters, found that 47 percent did not vote, up from 37 percent in August last year.

The drop in support for the Voice came despite Liberal MP Julian Leeser leaving the opposition front bench last month as Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians and Shadow Attorney General so he could publicly support the Voice.

The opposition Liberal and National parties both oppose the Voice, but backbenchers are free to advocate a “yes” vote.

HESTA’s announcement comes a day after a Resolve Political Monitor poll published in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age found that support for The Voice had fallen to 53 percent in May, down from 63 percent in August 2022 (pictured Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, right, with Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney, left, and NBA great Shaquille O’Neal)

Ms. Blakey argued that backing the Voice was in line with the investor principles of HESTA, a $72 billion super-fund with one million members.

“Our members primarily work in health and community services and see first-hand the devastating effects of the systemic deprivation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples,” she said.

“As an investor, we also understand that strong and respectful stakeholder relationships are fundamental to good governance and long-term sustainable value creation, which can lead to better outcomes for members.”

HESTA was an early supporter of the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart, which called for “the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the constitution.”

Only eight of the 44 referendums have passed since the first was held in 1906, and success required a majority vote in a majority of states.

There has not been a referendum since 1977 and Labor last successfully passed a constitutional amendment in 1946.