Deloitte backed the failed Voice. CEO Adam Powick is trying to find a less divisive approach.
In the wake of the No vote on the Voice to Parliament, Powick is turning the firm's focus towards building economic prosperity for Indigenous Australians.
There were two major events that led Deloitte Australia chief executive Adam Powick to strike a deal for a 49% stake in what was then named PwC Indigenous Consulting.
The first was the 2023 Voice referendum, which united the big four accounting firms in discussions on how to support Indigenous Australians throughout the campaign. The second was the public revelations of the PwC tax leak scandal in 2022, which has engulfed the rival firm in crisis ever since.
“There has been a pretty big vacuum post the Voice,” Powick told Capital Brief on Monday, the first day of the launch of the rebranded business Yamagigu Consulting. (The word 'yamagigu' is a Wiradyuri word, and the company styles it in lowercase except when used in the full business name.)
“Into that vacuum, we need people who are willing to step up and invest to make a difference. We think that the priority now will be less about constitutional recognition and more focused on economic prosperity, which is a really positive and less divisive way of taking this agenda forward,” Powick said.
