Telstra has again reversed its position on gay marriage, telling media it is returning to a position of actively campaigning for the change after reports emerged last week that it was dropping its support following alleged pressure from the Catholic Church.
The archdiocese of Sydney rejected that allegation after media pointed to a letter last year from the archdiocese’s business manager, Michael Digges, to the executives of some of Australia’s biggest brands – all 85 corporate signatories to a full-page advertisement for ‘Australian Marriage Equality’ in The Australian – last June.
In a statement this week, the archdiocese said Church leaders had “every right to participate in respectful and open discussion on all important social issues and public policy”.
“The original question (raised in Mr Digges’ letter) was whether it is fair and reasonable for a company to support a particular view on behalf of all their stakeholders.
“The Catholic archdiocese of Sydney has not and would not identify individuals in this debate. While we are made up of a very large, wide and diverse group of people, there are many different views and opinions.”
Telstra said its return to actively campaigning for gay marriage was “the right thing to do”.