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.
Less than an hour since the annual fundraising spectacular began, Telethon has hit over $1 million in donations. Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting were the first of the night to donate $1 million to help sick kids in WA.
