Why thousands of furious Aussies are planning on throwing their Blackmores vitamins in the bin as they call for a company boycott: ‘I’m voting NO’
- Calls growing to boycott vitamin company Blackmores
- Business has been roped into Voice to Parliament vote
Blackmores has found itself in the centre of a political storm with calls to boycott the Australian vitamin company flooding Twitter.
The controversy was sparked after major shareholder Marcus Blackmore, whose dad started the vitamin giant, publicly declared he would vote ‘no’ on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum.
His announcement saw the hashtag ‘BoycottBlackmores’ shooting to the top of Twitter’s trending list as people either pledged to avoid the company’s products or argued why it shouldn’t matter.
Mr Blackmore said he would be supporting Indigenous senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s ‘vote no’ campaign which is funded by conservative group Advance.
‘If Jacinta tells me I should vote no, I am voting no. She obviously knows a lot more about the Aboriginal issues than I do,’ he told The Australian Financial Review last week.
‘I have not been convinced by the Prime Minister or anybody else that I should vote yes. It’s no different to business. If you’re no good at sales, employ a salesman.’
Blackmore’s major shareholder said he would vote no on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. The company says his views do not represent the business
The boycott hashtag was trending on Twitter on Saturday sparking a lively debate
Some argued trying to silence someone else’s views they disagreed with was undemocratic
As of late 2020, Marcus Blackmore (picture) doesn’t work at the company, which was founded by his father Maurice
The business mogul, whose father founded the vitamin company, has reportedly donated $35,000 to Advance and more than $70,000 to the Coalition in the last financial year.
A spokesperson for the Blackmores Group said Mr Blackmore’s views did not represent those held by the company and that he had not worked or been a director at the vitamin giant for more than two years.
‘His views are completely independent of Blackmores Group,’ the spokesperson said.
‘Blackmores is committed to supporting the health and wellbeing of all people and values and celebrates diversity, inclusivity and equality for employees, customers, partners, and those in the community.’
A ‘vote yes’ campaign for the Voice has also been launched, backed by a $5million donation from the Paul Ramsay Foundation.
Senator Jacinta Price’s ‘no’ campaign is urging Aussies to vote against the changes she has labelled ‘dangerous’, ‘divisive’, ‘useless’ and ‘costly’.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has not revealed the Liberal Party’s position on the voice and has repeatedly raised concerns about the amount of detail.
Mr Albanese said comments by opposition MPs were aimed at creating confusion and complexity when the principle of constitutional recognition was clear.
‘Do we recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our constitution and do we consult them on matters that affect them? That’s what the referendum is about,’ he said.
Yes and No campaigns have both been launched ahead to the referendum this year
In the 2021 financial year, Blackmores Group raked in a total revenue of $281million for its Australia and New Zealand operations
Indigenous activist Noel Pearson said the vote was a pivotal moment for reconciliation.
‘We will be crying about this matter for another 200 years if we don’t do it this year,’ he told Sky News.
‘Constitutional recognition is about the words in the constitution… that enable Indigenous voices to be able to speak to the parliament, speak to the government, about the policies and laws that affect people.’
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