Rinehart, netball & genocide
- by Ranting Panda, 6 November 2022
'Those that've been assimilated into, you know, earning good living or earning wages amongst the civilised areas, that have been accepted into society and they have accepted society and can handle society, I'd leave them well alone. The ones that are no good to themselves and can't accept things, the half-castes, and this is where most of the trouble comes, I would dope the water up so that they were sterile and would breed themselves out in future and that would solve the problem'.
- Lang Hancock 1984 (Australian Screen Office 1984).
These are the words of the late Lang Hancock, mining magnate, founder & former CEO of Hancock Prospecting, speaking of the so-called 'aboriginal problem'. Upon Hancock's death in 1992, his daughter Gina Rinehart was appointed Executive Chairman of Hancock Prospecting, a position she continues to occupy. Rinehart, who has a majority ownership of the company. is currently Australia's richest person and among the 10 richest women in the world, with net worth of around $30.2 billion (Sandler 2022).
In September 2022, Rinehart offered a $15 million sponsorship deal to Netball Australia. Part of the deal included listing the Hancock Prospecting logo on the players jerseys. Donnell Wallam, an Indigenous player for Australia's national netball team, the Diamonds, objected to wearing the logo of a company whose founder had proposed genocide of Indigenous people. The Diamonds stood behind Wallam and protested the sponsorship deal with Hancock Prospecting. As the furore erupted, Wallam decided she would wear the logo on her uniform for the sake of Netball Australia (News.com 2022).
Even with Wallam's concession, Rinehart threw a temper tantrum that a 4-year-old would be proud of. She immediately withdrew her $15 million sponsorship. To make things worse, Rinehart knew that Netball Australia was in dire financial straits and her withdrawal of the sponsorship deal could have caused the organisation to collapse, potentially resulting in significant disadvantage to netball players across the country. One of the world's richest women acted like a bully and a petulant child who can't handle criticism. Rinehart clearly showed she wanted to hide the ugly history of her company and her father's genocidal racism at the expense of a sport that does so much to benefit young women in Australia.
Rinehart's puerile withdrawal of the sponsorship deal only made her look like a racist who agreed with her father's disgraceful statements. However, had she been willing to discuss the issue like an adult, she could have handled this easily by distancing herself from her father's comments. She wasn't asked to apologise for the comments because it wasn't her who said them. However, the statements by Lang Hancock are directly associated with the company she runs. Rinehart could have stated that she didn't agree with the comments and certainly didn't believe in genocide of Indigenous people. In fact, Rinehart had several cards she could have played here, including showing that her actions over the years have demonstrated she has never agreed with her father's proposed genocide. Rinehart has undertaken many philanthropic activities, including sponsoring scholarships for young, under-privileged girls in Cambodia to help them get an education, supporting some of Australia's Olympic athletes, sponsoring programs for domestic violence and at-risk youth, contributing to redevelopment of hospitals, and importantly funding social and education initiatives in Indigenous communities (Hancock Prospecting n.d.).
In the wake of the Netball Australia sponsorship fiasco, it appears that Rinehart's philanthropy is just a smoke-screen to hide her ingrained racism.
Why hasn't she ever disavowed the comments of her father? Particularly considering she sits at the helm of the company he founded and which still carries his name.
Not surprisingly, the issue galvanised Australia. Many conservative commentators, politicians, and sportspeople supported Rinehart. Apparently, the Diamonds should be grateful for the handouts; bowing down and kissing the feet of Rinehart, regardless of the abhorrent history of Hancock Prospecting. Many other people however, saw Rinehart as a petulant, entitled autocrat who expects sycophantic fealty in return for her self-serving philanthropy.
Immediately following Rinehart's withdrawal of the sponsorship deal, the Diamonds played a game against England in Newcastle, with debutante Wallam scoring the winning goal. Days later, the Diamonds played England at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre. Wallam was critical in this victory, scoring 25 points from 26 shots on goal, and securing Australia a 3-0 victory over England in the best-of-three series (AAP 2022).
As Netball Australia came to terms with the loss of the sponsorship deal, the Victorian Premier, Dan Andrews stepped up to the plate by generously providing a $15 million sponsorship from Visit Victoria (Hytner 2022). This deal will both support the game at elite levels, while encouraging grassroot participation, particularly in culturally diverse communities. Andrews' moral fibre is in direct contrast to the selfish and petulant Rinehart's lack of moral commitment.
Rinehart considered the stance by the Diamonds to be 'virtue-signalling' and that it was 'unnecessary for sports organisations to be used as a vehicle for social or political causes' (Whiteman 2022). Conservatives like to throw around pejoratives, such as virtue-signalling, whenever their myopic, racist, bigoted views are challenged. Why shouldn't athletes be involved in raising social and political issues? They have the public platform and profile to ensure they are heard. They represent their communities and their country.
Australia is a multi-cultural and highly diverse country. Unfortunately, many conservatives have this naïve view that to be 'Australian' means everyone acting and thinking the same, without ever acknowledging the diversity of the population or daring to challenge Australia's history. Indigenous people are often told to stop living in the past by conservatives who are too gutless to acknowledge some of Australia's unsavoury and racist history. Conservatives certainly have a hard-time of saying sorry, so it is no surprise that they hide their cowardice and racism by hurling insults, such as 'virtue signalling' or 'do-gooders'. They fail to understand that there is still systemic racism in Australia's health, education, employment and legal justice systems.
Athletes aren't there to be voiceless court jesters, entertaining the rich and privileged. They should speak up whenever they see injustice ... as should anyone. Virtue-signalling? Do-gooders? It is better they have virtue than bigotry. It is better they do good than do nothing, or worse, do harm.
Source and references
Australian Associated Press, 2022, Wallam puts off-court drama behind her to lead Australia to England sweep, 4 November, viewed 6 November 2022, The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/nov/03/wallam-puts-off-court-drama-behind-her-to-lead-australia-to-england-sweep
Australian Screen Office, Couldn't be fairer, the clip is taken from the documentary Couldn’t Be Fairer (1984), a collaboration between prominent Aboriginal activist Mick Miller and filmmaker Dennis O’Rourke, https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/couldnt-be-fairer/clip2/#.
Hancock Prospecting, n.d., Philanthropy - Education and Community, viewed 6 November 2022, https://www.hancockprospecting.com.au/projects/philanthropy/education-and-the-community/.
Hytner, M, 2022, Victoria to sponsor Australian Diamonds netball team after Hancock Prospecting exit, 31 October, viewed 6 November 2022, The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/oct/31/victorian-government-to-sponsor-australian-diamonds-netball-team-after-hancock-prospecting-exit.
News.com, 2022, ‘Really naive’: Lisa Wilkinson drops netball truth bomb, 24 October, viewed 6 November, https://www.news.com.au/sport/netball/really-naive-lisa-wilkinson-drops-netball-truth-bomb/news-story/cab88ba5e7536a285d5fd824672ff1a9.
Sandler, R, 2022, There aren’t many women billionaires, but the 10 richest are worth $401 billion, Forbes, 5 April, viewed 6 November 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2022/04/05/the-top-richest-women-in-the-world-2022/?sh=5d8c0514446a.
Whiteman, H, 2022, Billionaire dumps Australia netball team in dispute over father’s racist comments, 24 October, viewed 6 November 2022, CNN, https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/23/sport/australia-netball-rinehart-diamonds-sponsorship-spt-intl-hnk/index.html.
