Spirit of WA on show as Telethon weekend breaks ANOTHER RECORD It could only happen in WA. Big miners, including Gina Rinehart’s companies, dug deep as did the many charitable foundations that make WA so unique. Seven West Media chair and “father of Telethon” Kerry Stokes donated $3.5 million from Australian Capital Equity. Mr Stokes said every donation was special and what made Telethon the most successful charity appeal in the world was the generosity from all walks of life.
Hancock Prospecting does so much for sport, and it is disappointing that a few people have taken away a golden opportunity from netball and the thousands of boys and girls that flock to the courts each week. Some of the sports that Hancock Prospecting supports are swimming, artistic swimming, beach volleyball, volleyball and rowing. In fact, Hancock has supported swimming in WA for more than 30 years — which must be one of the longest sponsorship arrangements in sport. Hancock Prospecting also supports the Australian Olympic Committee through a partnership.
It was another Telethon weekend to remember with lots of laughs, love and even a mankini! These were our highlights 1. Hitting $500 million 2. PM in PJs 3. Lip-sync battle 4. Rinehart’s donation 5. Pie face 6. Hospital visit 7. Mankini 8. Brand new car 9. Shirts off 10. Kids take over.
A time-honoured principle of Australian sport is that no individual is bigger than their sport. It’s a reflection of our national love of sport and our spirit of egalitarianism.
Mining billionaire Gina Rinehart’s dramatic decision on the weekend to pull out of her $15m sponsorship of netball – following public stands taken by the national netball team about her – has already led to some of the major sponsors of sport in Australia to re-evaluate their involvement, Diary has learnt. Comments sections of newspapers around the country quickly lit up with overwhelming support among readers for the mining billionaire’s walkout, after the story was first broken online by Sky News host and Courier Mail columnist Peter Gleeson around midday on Saturday.
Loretta Lynn might have been proud to be a coalminer’s daughter but if you’re a netballer from a mining family, that is probably not something to advertise in today’s new world.
That said, there has been a tsunami of support for Gina Rinehart’s decision to walk away from her $15m sponsorship deal with Netball Australia.
