Quantas chief from Tallaght donates $1m for same-sex marriage law
By Brendan Grehan
Alan Joyce, the Springfield, Tallaght, native who is now Chief Executive of Quantas Airways has personally donated AU$1 million (€670,000) to a campaign to legalise same-sex marriage in Australia.
A nationwide postal ballot started last week to canvas the level of support for same-sex unions in Australia.
Ireland was the first country in the world to introduce same-sex marriage by public vote. Shortly after the referendum in 2015, Yes Equality’s political director Tiernan Brady was invited to Sydney to speak to campaign groups there about the Irish experience. He later moved to Australia to lead the Australian Equality Campaign.
The pledge from Mr Joyce, comes as major corporations including Qantas and Commonwealth Bank of Australia back marriage equality.
The donation, equivalent to half of Mr Joyce’s base salary, is the largest individual contribution to the “Yes” campaign.
“I personally will be donating money to the campaign, a significant amount, because I’m passionate about it,” Mr Joyce told reporters last month as he released the airline’s annual results. “I’ll be spending as much time as the campaign wants me to speak about the cause. Companies and business leaders should be out there on social issues.”
Mr Joyce’s base pay was AU$2.1 million in the year ended June 2016.
His total compensation, including stock, was AU$13 million after a rally in Qantas shares.
TAGS Tallaght
