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The place of politics in sport has long been debated, and we throw that question to you, the motorsport fan, in this week’s Pirtek Poll.
Motorsport Australia announced its support for the Indigenous Voice to parliament in the past seven days, joining a swathe of other national sporting bodies such as the Australian Football League, Australian Rugby League Commission, Cricket Australia, Football Australia, and Rugby Australia.
It prompted a furious response from six-time Bathurst 1000 winner Larry Perkins, who vowed he will renounce his Motorsport Australia membership in protest, while fellow former Supercars team owner Roland Dane described the governing body’s stance as “inappropriate” in his weekly Speedcafe column.
The Voice will be put to the Australian people by way of a referendum this year, tipped to occur in mid-October, with the bill containing the question and proposed constitutional amendment passing the House of Representatives in the past week.
The proposed amendment would recognise Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders as “the First Peoples of Australia” and create the Voice, a body which “may make representations to the Parliament and the Executive Government of the Commonwealth on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.”
According to the sporting bodies which have expressed their support for the Voice, “Sport has always served as a unifying force for our diverse Australian society” and furthermore that it “plays a significant role in reconciling Australia”.
Worth noting is that the newspaper advertisement from which those statements are quoted also reads, “We respect that everyone is entitled to reach their own decision come the referendum.”
Nevertheless, those sporting organisations “as a collective, support recognition [of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people] through a Voice.”
In its own announcement, Motorsport Australia stated it “has joined other major Australian sporting bodies in support of the constitutional recognition of indigenous Australians though The Voice Referendum.”
Strictly speaking, then, it has not explicitly directed, recommended, or encouraged its members, motorsport participants, or fans of the sport to vote one way or another.
An obvious inference, though, is that a nudge towards a ‘yes’ vote is indeed the purpose of the exercise. Why else publicise Motorsport Australia’s official position when a referendum is voted on by citizens as individuals?
Perkins surmised that there might be a financial motive, noting every sport in Australia enjoys government financial support in some way or another.
Right now, for example, the Victorian government is mulling over whether or not to fund the Avalon ‘super circuit’, and also supports the Voice (as do other state/territory governments, per a statement of intent signed by all of the premiers and chief minister of the day during National Cabinet in February).
Ultimately, however, Motorsport Australia’s move to take a position on the issue arguably has little practical effect given it cannot compel individuals to vote one way or another, and nor has the stance – at this point – manifested itself in any sort of display at a race event.
Nevertheless, the Motorsport Australia position represents the body straying into a sensitive area which arguably does not concern its core functions.
Newspoll figures published by The Australian this morning show 46 percent of Australians intending to vote ‘yes’ and 43 percent ‘no’, with the 11 percent balance responding that they did not know which way they will cast a ballot.
The legal implications of the Voice are also contested, with a majority of legal experts suggesting representations made in its name will not be justiciable, but a not insignificant minority – including equally eminent minds such as former High Court justices – arguing otherwise.
Sporting administrators might argue that they are leaders in the community, although one might counter by asking why they are necessarily any greater authority on constitutional and/or indigenous matters than the average sports fan.
It should also be noted that the positions of supporting the Voice and opposing public statements by sporting bodies on the matter need not be inconsistent with each other.
But, what do you think? Does politics have a place in motorsport or not? Cast your vote in this week’s Pirtek Poll.
