However,he explained the league’s support for the Voice by saying it was important for the AFL to demonstrate to players,fans and AFL staff what the league “stood for”.
“It is very important from an AFL point of view,with the number of First Nations players,the number of First Nations men and women working at the AFL,and more importantly the number of First Nations people that follow our great game,” he said.
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo and ARLC chair Peter Vlandys.Credit:Dean Sewell
Asked about rugby league’s plans that would be seen by swaths of voters in NSW and Queensland,an NRL spokesman did not commit to any major Voice-related events in the coming weeks,instead saying:“We haven’t yet finalised our grand final production plans”.
“The Yes campaign have purchased commercial advertising inventory from the NRL in the same manner as any advertiser could,” a spokesman said.
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A source familiar with the NRL’s plans said it was working on plans to support the Yes campaign with an event or events leading up to referendum day on October 14 and questioned the AFL’s commitment.
“The AFL is better at the optics,no question,but they’re currently making excuses to not get on board,” the source said.
The government’s decision to hold the referendum in October,just after the two grand finals in late September,was at least partly driven by a desire to use the football finals period to create a sense of momentum around the referendum campaign,according to Labor sources.
Several options have been discussed inside both the AFL and the government in recent months.
The prospect of Thomas Mayo reciting the Uluṟu Statement From The Heart on the MCG on grand final day was raised in unofficial conversations earlier this year but was never put to the AFL commission or raised at executive level.
Another idea discussed in senior government circles was to plaster sections of the boundary line advertising boards with Yes material.
On March 23,thismasthead first reported October 14 as the likely election date,citing senior government sources who said the prime minister’s preferred referendum date was October 14,after the grand finals of the AFL and NRL,which were both expected to campaign for the Voice.
In May,when polling still showedmajority support for the Voice before a steady decline,Opposition Leader Peter Dutton pushed back against sporting codes becoming involved in the referendum.
“Most of their fans are really scratching their head as to why the elites within sport,particularly the elites involved in the administration of the game,are taking a position into the Voice,” he said.
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