In Netball Australia’s case, Gina Rinehart had every right to call an end to her $15 million gift. There are others who will respect her company’s brand, its bankrolling of the nation, job creation, and its extraordinary effort to fund the global dreams of our nation’s best young athletes including Olympic swimmers and rowers.
“I thought the statement from Roy Hill (majority owned by Hancock) was excellent, in the sense that they clearly articulated what they’re doing in the Indigenous welfare space. No one from Western Australia and certainly nobody who knows even a little bit about the company would have been surprised by that. When you dive into these issues, you need to have considered, sober conversations. As stakeholders agitate, companies may wonder whether they should sit out the game. Story by Helen Trinca
Broadcast money and sponsorships are the two great cash cows in this country. Netball fails to justify its price as a television product for years, bouncing around the networks because it struggles to attract ratings, and just dropped the ball with the other. And this won’t make more people want to watch it. Rinehart loomed as a saviour, particularly after the lesson of the grand final sell-off, but the players’ politics saw an end to that financial windfall. It has not cost the team, but their entire sport.
Gina Rinehart and Hancock Prospecting have been dedicated long-term supporters of Australia’s military, and were proud to return to this very worthy event as Platinum Sponsor.
“Corporate sponsorship is really important for sport. And it is a time when we should be encouraging more corporate sponsorship and more government funding of sports, particularly Olympics sports, given that we have the Olympics in Australia in Brisbane in 10 years time,” he said. “As a rower and a chairman of Rowing Australia, our athletes really benefit from the support of the Australian Sports Commission (and) the support of Hancock Prospecting for example. “Often a lot of our Olympic rowers, similar to other Olympic sports, earn less than the minimum wage and so they are deeply grateful for the corporate support we get, and long should it continue.”
Our ancestors fought and won huge battles so Indigenous athletes had the same opportunities as everyone else – not so they would still be shackled by the racism of history.
Artistic Swimming Western Australia (ASWA) is extremely honoured and proud to have Mrs Gina Rinehart AO as our Patron. Mrs Rinehart and the support of the Hancock Prospecting Group has played an integral role over the past eight years in nurturing and developing our sport, transforming it into one that has, and continues to develop Western Australia’s artistic swimmers into accomplished women and world class athletes.
Netball WA CEO, Simone Hansen told 6PR Mornings host Liam Bartlett she is disappointed about how the whole situation has played out.“Mining is fundamental to our economy, it’s fundamental to our sports. “I want to be clear, this does not feed down to Netball WA and West Coast Fever.”
OLYMPIC swimming legend Dawn Fraser has thrown her support behind mining magnate Gina Rinehart amid the sponsorship scandal that’s left Netball Australia on the brink of financial disaster. Fraser, a four-time gold medallist and one of the country’s most celebrated athletes, also said she feared that Australia’s richest person would now stop sponsoring sport.
The Australian Olympic Committee has no plans to sever ties with Hancock Prospecting, as other sports which benefit from sponsorship deals with Gina Rinehart’s company also stand their ground amid controversy surrounding the mining giant’s short-lived sponsorship of Netball Australia.Rowing Australia, Volleyball Australia and Swimming Queensland – also beneficiaries of sponsorship deals with Hancock – responded to the issues highlighted by the netball players’ revolt with continued support for Rinehart and her company.
