26 January 2024
Dear Editor,
I see where some have defended Corporate Australia’s (in this case Woolworths’ and Tennis Australia’s) right to weigh in on social matters such as Australia Day.
What such Corporate Australia (and thus forgiven a debt of some $43 billion owed to Victorian taxpayers by the Victorian Government, Tennis Australia) supporters don’t acknowledge is that Corporate Australia and Tennis Australia, via the Victorian Government, have billions of dollars to influence matters, whereas everyday Aussies have only their one vote to throw any a pollie upsetting them and can only take away their weekly shopping from Woolworths or boycott the Australian Open.
To quite some degree, Woolworths South African CEO Brad Banducci (who before tax takes home close to $8.5 million) and Tennis Australia South African CEO Craig Tiley (who takes home some $1.1 million) could be accused of abusing Australia’s democracy (and also of being uncaring) when publicly alluding to the unsuitability of the 26th of January to celebrate “Australia Day.”
As multimillionaires, Banducci and Tiley would or should have anticipated the furor Banducci has created. Is it not fair to ask why Banducci did not give Woolworths’ 200,000 nationwide employees the right to a secret ballot before jeopardising their futures (as customer loyalty fell off) and Tiley for not polling Australian Open-paying attendees and AO-watching public (when not acknowledging Australia Day or being so reluctant to)!
And did Banducci (in Tiley style) believe it was below him to poll all his suppliers not to mention Woolworths shareholders?
Frankly, in these troubled cost-of-living times, what those – compared to the average Aussie!- mega-rich South Africans in Banducci, and Tiley – did when throwing doubt on Australia Day was give the little bloke another kick in the guts when all-powerful Woolworths, Tennis Australia (subsidised by Victorian taxpayers), and Banducci went weak at the knees, pandering to the woke, folk!
What is it with these South African, Australia-Day-knocking elitists? Some sort of reverse-apartheid (for want of a better term?)
Yours,
Howard Hutchins
Victoria, Australia