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Qantas’ incoming chairman John Mullen concedes the airline went too far on activism, as the company reassesses its role in political and social debates.

Incoming Qantas chairman John Mullen has conceded that Australia’s flagship airline went “too far” by promoting the 2023 Voice Referendum.

“I think that many people from all walks of life saw corporate Australia’s position as lecturing and telling people what to do from a position of assumed moral superiority,” he said in a keynote address last week.

“People don’t like to be told by others what they should think or they should do,” the airline boss added in his remarks to the Australian Institute of Company Directors last Tuesday.

Mr Mullen argued that corporate Australia “did itself no favours” by weighing in so heavily in favour of the Voice, adding that “the pendulum has maybe swung too far” with companies becoming too vocal on social and political issues.

He also cautioned that aligning too closely with prevailing trends could ultimately harm corporate brands.

“If they can suddenly drop the initiatives again and run like lemmings in the other direction than the one they ran in literally only yesterday, then one would be forgiven for wondering whether they ever really believed in the programs in the first place, or were they just virtue-signalling and doing them to try to look good and conform?”

The Fallout of Qantas’ Voice Campaign

Mr Mullen stopped short of criticising corporate DEI programs in general, instead arguing that they were generally “well-intentioned” but that support for “divisive issues such as same-sex marriage, the Voice [and] climate change” represents an over-correction that must be tempered.

The national carrier spent $370,000 in support of the Yes campaign under former boss Alan Joyce.

In total, the Yes campaign spent close to $55 million, while the No campaign spent just $25 million.

No ultimately won with more than 60% of the vote or 9.14 million votes, compared with 40% and 6.08 million votes for Yes.

Mr Mullen’s comments align with a 2023 IPA poll conducted just days after the Voice referendum, which found that 64% of Australians agreed with the statement: “The involvement of big business in political issues doesn’t reflect my values”, while only 4% disagreed.

Will Qantas Rebrand Its Public Image?

The new Qantas chairman’s assessment follows several turbulent years for the airline’s public image.

In 2022, Qantas lost its top five spot in the world’s best airline rankings, amid a groundswell of customer dissatisfaction. The carrier saw complaints soar by 70% in 2020 due to cancellations, delays and lost baggage, as cited by the TWU and reported by The Guardian.

It was in this climate that Qantas ramped up its political messaging. As an  official partner of the Sydney Mardi Gras, the carrier adorned three of its aircraft with pride livery and served pride-themed cookies to passengers.

Then, as part of its Yes campaign, the airline once again applied themed livery to three aircraft, as well as providing free flights to Voice activists to promote their cause nationwide.

Additionally, as a major sponsor of Rugby Australia, Qantas pressured the organisation to sack Israel Folau for his Christian convictions on sexuality.

Qantas has also faced growing criticism for its routine Welcome to Country announcements, which critics — including Canadian celebrity psychologist Jordan Peterson — have labelled politically charged and performative.

As Qantas faces scrutiny for its past political stances, Mullen’s comments signal a shift toward corporate neutrality, echoing changes taking place under the second Trump administration in the United States.

Whether the airline continues on its course correction remains to be seen.

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