Play Nice Is it time to replace Woodside as sponsor?

[88mph]

A group of high-profile Fremantle Dockers members has joined the demands for an end to fossil fuel sponsorship of sporting clubs, calling on their team to cut its ties with oil and gas giant Woodside.

Fremantle Dockers urged to end Woodside deal as leading supporters say club's reputation is being 'tarnished'

A group of Fremantle Dockers members and supporters joins demands to end fossil fuel sponsorship of sporting clubs, calling on their team to cut its ties with oil and gas giant Woodside.

www.abc.net.au

Any move to enforce a ban could restrict the advertising of fossil fuel company Woodside Energy, the main sponsor of the Fremantle Dockers, at Fremantle Oval.

A subtle change to the way Fremantle looks could help the 'transition away from fossil fuels'

The City of Fremantle weighs up restricting fossil fuel advertisements on council property as part of its effort to combat climate change.

www.abc.net.au

Following the shift around Australia:

Test captain Pat Cummins fronted Cricket Australia’s chief executive Nick Hockley with ethical objections to Alinta’s contract with the Australian team before the energy company and governing body agreed to end a deal worth almost $40 million.

Cummins raised objection to Cricket Australia’s Alinta deal

Cricket Australia has confirmed it will not renew a sponsorship deal with energy company Alinta, worth almost $40 million.

www.smh.com.au

Gas giant Santos has ended its nearly three decade sponsorship of the popular Darwin Festival, following a lengthy campaign by environmentalists and traditional owners opposed to fossil fuels and fracking.

Santos pulls funding for major arts festival after lengthy campaign by fossil fuel opponents

The company announces its decision to withdraw sponsorship after nearly three decades, following an "alternative funding" offer for the festival from a coalition of groups opposing fossil fuels.

www.abc.net.au

Perth Festival and US fossil fuel giant Chevron will be parting ways after a decades long partnership agreement has been scrapped from mid-2023. Perth Festival and Chevron to split after decades long partnership

 

[Taylor]

Step One: Find out how much Woodside pays FFC per year.
Step Two: gofundme style pledge campaign to replace that amount for five years
Step Three: Win

It's that simple. We can market the campaign worldwide as a way for regular people to stick it to fossil fuels.

Freo will make a fortune.

 

[88mph]

Step One: Find out how much Woodside pays FFC per year.
Step Two: gofundme style pledge campaign to replace that amount for five years
Step Three: Win

It's that simple. We can market the campaign worldwide as a way for regular people to stick it to fossil fuels.

Freo will make a fortune.

Most people here who have worked with Woodside will know how tight they are. I doubt their sponsorship money is significant.

 

[Paracleet]

Probably a good time to ditch Woodside anyway (while we're up and about) either way.
How does it work is it a year to year or is there a term?

 

[Midnite65]

Once again a minority trying to dictate what we should do. The AFL, Foxtel and 6PR, etc. should start with banning all monies from all of the sports betting agencies due to the damage they cause individuals before we worry about stopping sponsorship from companies like Woodside. Fremantle’s other corporate sponsors include beer company Pirate Life, fast food giant McDonalds, betting agency TABtouch and Crown. All of those are not good for physical or mental health so do we stop all of them also??

 

[Taylor]

Most people here who have worked with Woodside will know how tight they are. I doubt their sponsorship money is significant.

It was seven figures over a decade ago, it's not an insignificant amount of money. If it were, it would be easy to find in the pockets of those who care most about this.

It would be a shame, wouldn't it, if more money has been spent fighting Woodside in the courts over them expanding their business into new areas than it would cost to replace them as sponsor - as that group who were fighting in court are now leading the push to kick them off Fremantle.

All comes across as trying to hurt someone after you lost, but lying to the people you're sending into fight your fight for you about why.

 

[Rob]

Hang on a sec, we're going to ditch Woodside yet still get on a plane and travel interstate?

If you're going to oppose oil and gas then you sure as shit better not use oil and gas. We'd have to ditch all car sponsors too.

 

[MadDocker]

Woodside is "sponsoring" a good chuck of the WA economy. Just lol at dropping them. For what?

 

[Taylor]

It's a highschool level game. The people who were taking Woodside to court to try and stop them expanding lost and are now trying to ruin their reputation publicly to get some hits on Woodside, a bit of revenge from a sore loser.

It's a big manipulation.

If you want Woodside gone, raise the money in a big campaign and outbid them. They'll be gone.

Instead they choose to spend a fortune in court costs and then try and get back at Woodside by making Fremantle feel pressured into giving up their sponsorship money.

Just find Freo the money and Woodside will be gone.

 

[BarbieITFC]

Once again a minority trying to dictate what we should do. The AFL, Foxtel and 6PR, etc. should start with banning all monies from all of the sports betting agencies due to the damage they cause individuals before we worry about stopping sponsorship from companies like Woodside. Fremantle’s other corporate sponsors include beer company Pirate Life, fast food giant McDonalds, betting agency TABtouch and Crown. All of those are not good for physical or mental health so do we stop all of them also??

100% this - I know it's fashionable to kick the Oil and Gas industry, but as a society we are still heavily dependent on both Oil and Gas and will be for years to come. Our focus should 100% be on ridding betting agency sponsorships from sports - it's causes far more misery and suffering to society.

 

[Deathly]

Who cares

 

[myfreodom]

Once again a minority trying to dictate what we should do. The AFL, Foxtel and 6PR, etc. should start with banning all monies from all of the sports betting agencies due to the damage they cause individuals before we worry about stopping sponsorship from companies like Woodside. Fremantle’s other corporate sponsors include beer company Pirate Life, fast food giant McDonalds, betting agency TABtouch and Crown. All of those are not good for physical or mental health so do we stop all of them also??

If Freo can replace some of their existing sponsors with better ones then I don't see what the problem is? If nobody complains then there won't be any motivation to seek improvement.

Pressuring the AFL about their betting sponsors can and should happen simultaneously.

Anyone expecting there will be universal agreement on ditching/keeping Woodside/etc, or similarly the AFL with betting agencies is nuts. It is healthy to have differences of opinions in society. People should be entitled to their opinions and not have qualifiers as to why their opinion should have any value or not.

Similarly this idea that if you have ever used electricity in your life then you are a hypocrite for speaking out against oil and gas is moronic. People can want companies to try harder. Like Freo, if they don't get any pressure, then why would they be motivated to change for the better?

 

[mightymouse75]

Stop being woke..
If you don't have Australia selling gas in a safe and clean as practicable way we will be importing from dirty producers for a very long time.
Can you honestly say you can live your life without the plastic needed for basic living and medical functions, fuel for your car, the phone you are using now.
Not to take into the fact that are gloriously high standard of living is a direct result of Australias mining and gas.

Yes we need to make the world cleaner but just being woke to satisfy your ego. It's just signaling and does more harm than good.

I'm proud we have Australian companies that can still do it for themselves.

We need to support alternatives but hamstringing ourselves too early will be worse for the environment and Australia.

Gambling, now that is some evil shit that's crept into our game and needs to be flushed out.

 

[serial_thrilla]

Tell me it's the off-season without telling me it's the off-season.

 

[Rob]

Just looking at all our major sponsors, Toyota, Tyrepower, the RAC and Sullivan logistics heavily rely on oil and gas, and add to that crypto.com which is part of an industry that uses insane amounts of energy. TAB and Pirate life are obviously insidious, Maccas causes heart disease. And that's just our gold level or higher.

If we're taking a moral stand then we can't cherry pick the trendy target.

 

[Taylor]

If we're taking a moral stand then we can't cherry pick the trendy target.

The group pushing this removal of Woodside didn't lose in court to block a new Maccas from opening though, otherwise they might have gone after them too.

 

[basashi]

How many more votes do the "high profile" members get than ordinary members?

Is it not a good governance principle that the board take steps to ensure they do not give more weight to one group of members than another? Its incumbent upon the board to seek and act on a cross section of member views rather than allow themselves to be influenced by people who already have power in the community.

 

[Outshined]

I was wondering how long it would take for this thread to feature the word "woke".

 

[mightymouse75]

Just looking at all our major sponsors, Toyota, Tyrepower, the RAC and Sullivan logistics heavily rely on oil and gas, and add to that crypto.com which is part of an industry that uses insane amounts of energy. TAB and Pirate life are obviously insidious, Maccas causes heart disease. And that's just our gold level or higher.

If we're taking a moral stand then we can't cherry pick the trendy target.

I would argue a car company is more culpable than woodside..
How many cars are not made out of oil products painted with oil products and ran on oil products..
Or are we as individuals the real devil's.
If there wasn't a demand there wouldn't be a product
Remember that next time you go on an overseas holiday heathens

 

[Van_Dyke]

Probably a good time to ditch Woodside anyway (while we're up and about) either way.
How does it work is it a year to year or is there a term?

term i think, i reckon we signed a new deal circa 2019

 

[Van_Dyke]

this tweet below I think summarises my feelings fairly well on the matter more broadly. no strong feelings if we move onto a new sponsor one way or the other, dependent on many factors

 

[Spirit Level]

I don't see the problem in taking money from an oil and gas company (a local one at that). We're not funding them to undertake their activities.

 

[GingerDocker]

The interesting question for me, and this goes for BHP, Chevron, Santos, Hancock Prospecting etc, is why would they want to sponsor teams like Freo and WC in the first place?

I get why Maccas, HJs, Toyota and co do, they obviously need to sell their wares to the average punter. But what are the big resource companies selling?

I've got a rough idea, but I'm interested in what others think.

 

[Dale147]

Warfare

 

[Gekko71]

Pity we can't get sponsored by a lithium mining junior that's owned by a Woodside subsidiary... It would kill the whole debate dead, we get all the brownie points for promoting clean energy, we would keep the sponsorship dollars, and nobody would care much that Woodside were the ultimate parent company.