Money Shots

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers, the following content contains the names of people who’ve died.

Incident

Gina Rinehart, Australia’s highest ranking billionaire with a net worth of $30.2 billion, recently offered Netball Australia’s Diamonds Team a sponsorship of $15 million for the next four years. She has earnt this wealth as a mining magnate and the chair of Hancock Prospecting. Netball Australia was very grateful for this support as they’ve accumulated $7 million debt over the past two years. 

However, at the news of this offer, debut player Donnell Wallam, the third Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander netball player to represent Australia, refused to wear Hancock Prospecting’s logo. This is mainly due to a disgraceful comment made by Rinehart’s late father, Lang Hancock, in a 1984 documentary called ‘Couldn’t Be Fairer’ that looked at the prejudice and discrimination experienced by Aboriginal people in Australia. He said, “I would dope the water up so that they were sterile and would breed themselves out in future and that would solve the problem.” Not only claiming them as “the problem” but also “the trouble”. Wallam was highly supported by her teammates and her actions sparked various complications between Hancock Prospecting and Netball Australia when closing the deal. It was discussed that Wallam would be permitted to not wear the logo and Rinehart was allowed to distance herself from the player. However, after multiple offers Rinehart backed out on the sponsorship, taking her $15 million with her. 

For Gina 

In light of these events, many voices have spoken up for Rinehart. This includes Clinton Wolf, the managing director of National Indigenous Times and the non-executive director of Madalah. Madalah Ltd is a charity for Aboriginal children which provides scholarships for secondary and tertiary education. It was in need of funding when Rinehart encouraged The Roy Hill Community Foundation, which is also funded by Hancock Prospecting, to provide support. In a National Indigenous Times article, Wolf described Rinehart’s contributions to “closing the gap” and wrote, “Since when do we judge someone because of who their parents are or were or what they said?” He finished with, “Actions always speak louder than words”. 

Waripiri Senator, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price shared Wolf’s opinion, having very clear things to say about Netball Australia’s decisions. She agrees with Wolf’s statement about not blaming people for their relatives' actions and added, “She [Gina Rinehart] has supported Indigenous Australians across a number of various ways…and she’s been extremely generous because she cares about the welfare of Indigenous Australians.” In a Facebook post she slandered Netball Australia for “-pandering to self righteous individuals on the basis saying ‘No’ to their selfish demands just might attract accusations of racism or bigotry.” She believes that their actions have made it all the more difficult for aspiring netballers. 

For Donnell

Andrew Gaze, a former Australian basketball player, commented on the issue. He identified that Rinehart has still not condemned her father’s statements. He said, “I am not blaming Gina Rinehart for her father’s comments, but what I don’t understand is why she won’t very publicly disassociate herself from them.” And that “[She should say], ‘I love my dad, but [that was wrong]’.” 

Anthony Mundine, former Aboriginal boxer said, “She [Gina Rinehart] could have apologised for her father’s comments, distanced herself from them and told us that she doesn’t believe those things. Instead, she pulled her money out.” He believes that “[Donnell] has taken a strong stand, an important stand, and that shows the courage of her convictions.”

Overview

Although we strive to create a society lacking judgement, Rinehart’s failure to denounce her father’s views should not be ignored. Though she is now the chair of the company, her father’s name and legacy is what the players would have to wear. 

Another reason to be against Hancock Prospecting is the fact that mining is detrimental to Aboriginal people’s land and communities. Aboriginal communities often live in the same areas where mining companies operate. Aboriginal people’s culture includes a spiritual connection to the land. Since Aboriginal people are so marginalised and disadvantaged by the system, it is easy for mining companies to disregard the law and exploit communities who have a right to the land they are digging in. This also means that they are unaware of the benefits they should be receiving from the mining companies. Hancock Prospecting has stated that they do provide these benefits and that, “Royalty payments represent only one part of [their] contribution to Indigenous Australians.” 

Gina Rinehart has publicised herself as a climate denier. She addressed the students at her old high school with a speech on how climate change is not a human induced disaster and rather a natural cycle of the Earth’s climate. This speech was backed with no scientific evidence but ironically encouraged students to “counter propaganda” and “be very careful about information spread on emotional basis, or tied to money, or egos, or power-seekers, and always search for the facts.” It has to be questioned whether Rinehart believes such things or is using it to oppose the threats to her industry. 

The reality is that mining is a huge contributor to the climate disaster. The pollution affects communities, habitats and our future. Fortunately we are now seeing a trend in ethical responsibility, specifically in reference to sporting organisations. The AFL and cricket in Australia are questioning sponsorships from gambling businesses, energy companies and other social/environmental polluters. 

In other news, Wallam’s first game on Wednesday against the England Roses was a success. After a week of media scrutiny she was able to leave it all on the court and score the winning point in the last six seconds. In an interview after the game, Wallam admitted that, "It's been some of the toughest few weeks of my life.” When commenting on being the first Aboriginal player in two decades she said, “I just hope I am now a role model for the young girls and boys coming through for their turn." We hope that Wallam’s courage has inspired others to speak up and make a change.

This article was written by one of our Change Makers, Soleil Premkumar, age 15.