Category Archives: AFL

Major football codes and gambling firms directly lobbied Albanese’s office on ad ban, documents show

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NRL, AFL and betting companies intensified efforts to try to influence PM in lead-up to finals

Newly released documents show how in the lead-up to footy finals the NRL, AFL and major wagering companies accelerated and intensified their efforts to directly lobby the prime minister’s office to influence a proposed gambling ad ban.

The gambling industry’s peak body sought to bypass the responsible minister and discuss ad ban issues directly with Anthony Albanese, according to documents tabled in parliament on Friday, which revealed details of letters, emails and meeting agendas and memos.

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Noise from new Hobart AFL stadium will ruin symphony orchestra’s historic concert hall, CEO fears

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Caroline Sharpen says ‘there’s no precedent in the world’ for a concert hall having to deal with 23,000-seat stadium just 170 metres from its stage

The $775m bid to bring an Aussie Rules team to Tasmania will place the state’s symphony orchestra in an unenviable world-first position, which could threaten its future existence.

The plan to build a home for the newly formed Tasmanian Devils AFL team will see a 23,000 seat capacity sports and music stadium constructed on a historic Hobart foreshore site just 40 metres from the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra’s purpose-built performing and recording headquarters, the Federation Concert Hall.

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Carlton coach Michael Voss makes citizen’s arrest after alleged thief flees Melbourne car crash

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‘It was a bit of action,’ AFL coach says after detaining 16-year-old in Hawthorn who allegedly ran from Mercedes that had flipped on to side

Carlton coach Michael Voss has made a citizen’s arrest after seeing an alleged car thief try and flee after they allegedly crashed a stolen car in the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn.

The AFL coach was at a cafe on Tuesday morning when the Mercedes flipped on its side on a footpath after crashing.

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Collingwood to fight fresh racism allegations by former head of First Nations strategy

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Calls for reigning AFL premiers to be stripped of points as the club faces fresh racism allegations in court

Collingwood will defend themselves against serious allegations of racism filed in court, insisting the club has acted lawfully.

The AFL has been urged to strip the Magpies of premiership points should explosive claims be proven.

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Former AFL player Eddie Betts shares video of racist abuse hurled at children playing in yard

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Victoria police launch investigation after Indigenous star posts CCTV footage on Instagram and states ‘Aboriginal kids deserve to be able to play safely’

Victoria police are investigating after Indigenous AFL great Eddie Betts shared footage of children being racially abused in their own yard while stating “we are not even safe in our own homes”.

Betts shared security camera footage on social media on Thursday night showing a white car driving down a street before slowing down in front of a home. A person then yells out racial slurs.

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Australia news live: wages rise by 4.2% over 2023 in highest growth since 2009; flight cancellation crackdown

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Transport minister Catherine King unveils overhaul to legislation governing Sydney airport, to significantly increase transparency over allocation of take-off and landing slots. Follow the day’s news live

Man dies after electric unicycle crash in Victoria

A man has died after crashing his electric unicycle in Bellfield yesterday evening.

We have concerns for his health. We have been working consistently since coming to government, particularly behind-the-scenes, to say that we believe Mr Assange should be returned … These sort of issues of diplomacy are not always best done through a megaphone, but we will continue to advocate for an end to this and see Mr Assange returned home.

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Melbourne AFL player Joel Smith accused of cocaine trafficking

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The utility has been charged with three anti-doping violations by Sports Integrity Australia

Suspended Melbourne AFL utility Joel Smith has been accused of trafficking or attempted trafficking of cocaine by Sports Integrity Australia.

Smith has been provisionally suspended since October, when he was notified of a positive cocaine test following the Demons’ round-20 win over Hawthorn on 20 August.

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Brisbane v the Olympics: Gabba shambles shows people power is hitting the 2032 Games

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The speed of recent pivots reveals there is genuine concern that people are uneasy about the Games amid rising housing and cost of living pressures

Denver, Colorado, is the only place to ever cancel the Olympic Games. The city had won the right to host the 1976 Winter Games, but withdrew amid mounting local opposition.

“We ought to say to the nation and the world, ‘We’re sorry … we made a mistake. Take the Games elsewhere,” state representative Bob Jackson told the Associated Press in 1971.

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Thousands rally in solidarity on Invasion Day in Melbourne, Sydney; AFL clubs call for 26 January date change – as it happened

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Australian and Aboriginal flags raised during Canberra ceremony

Following the welcome to country, the flag-raising ceremony has begun, with six flags raised including two Australian flags, two Aboriginal flags and two Torres Strait Islander flags.

Australia is home to the oldest continuous culture on Earth, 65,000 years of uninterrupted heritage, demonstrated by the unique archeological evidence found in the very ground that you may are sitting on, found in the rocks and stones of this very place. That makes this continent unique in the whole world.

Ngunnawal’s view of heritage transcends time, it is our way of being with nature, best expressed in the Ngunnawal language through the concepts of respect and deep honour, coming together in the wellbeing for all.

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Treated as ‘product’: new AFL and AFLW players shown how to cope with gambling fallout

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About 100 young athletes learn their contractual responsibilities and how wagering companies operate in session organised by the players association

It was 2020, the world was still coming to terms with the Covid pandemic, and Mitch Robinson was not happy.

“Public announcement!” the then AFL player tweeted. “Not one AFL player gives a flying f*** how we cost you a $100 multi, it’s $5 bet you idiot. If you’re struggling with that amount please don’t punt in the first place.

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Plan for 20,000-seat stadium to temporarily replace Gabba kicks off Queensland funding row

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Labor announces it will commit $46m towards $137m cost of upgrading Ekka showgrounds

A proposal to upgrade Brisbane’s showgrounds with a temporary 20,000-seat stadium – to act as the city’s home of AFL and cricket while the Gabba is rebuilt – has quickly become a political football.

The Queensland government announced on Friday it would commit $46m to create the temporary stadium but requested the remaining $91m cost be shared between Brisbane city council, AFL and cricket authorities and the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland, which runs the annual Ekka show at the venue.

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Western Bulldogs to pay $5.9m to child sexual abuse victim over paedophile access

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AFL club Western Bulldogs negligent in giving paedophile fundraiser special access to victim in the 1980s, supreme court finds

An Australian rules football club will pay out almost $6m to a child sexual abuse victim after it was found negligent in giving a paedophile special access to the boy.

A supreme court civil jury on Thursday delivered its verdict against the Western Bulldogs over the abuse of Adam Kneale at the hands of a club fundraiser, following a four-week trial.

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Pokies venues owned by AFL clubs claim renovations and pay tv subscriptions as ‘community benefit’

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Venues owned by four clubs legally claimed a total of $8.6m in operating costs under Victorian scheme

Poker machine venues owned by AFL clubs have been spending millions of dollars in revenue on themselves – from kitchen renovations to Foxtel subscriptions – while claiming the costs as a community benefit to lower their tax bill.

Eight venues, owned by Carlton, Essendon, Richmond and St Kilda, collectively spent $8.6m on operating costs last year, legally claiming it under the state’s community benefits scheme.

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Australia news live: two die after reportedly attending music festival; bushfire evacuation warning for campers in eastern Victoria

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The two men in their 20s reportedly attended the Knockout music festival at Sydney Olympic Park. Follow the day’s news live

Reserve Bank not likely to move on interest rates

Australian borrowers are likely to be spared more interest rate pain this week, following the first Reserve Bank of Australia board meeting under its new governor.

Sydney: 594 auctions with a clearance rate of 71.7%

Melbourne: 159 auctions with a clearance rate of 66%

Brisbane: 82 auctions with a clearance rate of 70.7%

Adelaide: 58 auctions with a clearance rate of 79.3%

Canberra: 64 auctions with a clearance rate of 62.5%

Tasmania: No auctions held with two expected this weekend

Perth: Six of 13 auctions have been held

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Penny Wong refuses to release documents related to Qatar Airways decision – as it happened

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The foreign minister claims public interest immunity over Dfat advice. This blog is now closed

Rishworth won’t confirm adoption of any disability royal commission recommendations, ahead of report release

Families and Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth has refused to confirm if the government will be adopting any of the recommendations made in the disability royal commission report ahead of its public release today.

I’m not going to comment on any specific recommendations.

Obviously, we need to also make sure people with disability have choice and control.

You never change a country for the better through fear, you change it through hope and optimism and compassion and justice.

That’s what this referendum is about.

This is a body that won’t provide funds, that won’t run programs, that will just give advice to the government, and that experience of past bodies, and issues that have arisen has been factored in by Indigenous Australians when they’ve made this request.

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AFL criticised for promoting series of bets that have 85% loss rate for gamblers

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Analysis of 90 advertised same-game multis from Sportsbet shows only 15% would result in a win

The AFL has been promoting bets that have an 85% fail rate while taking a cut of the losses, drawing criticism from politicians and harm reduction advocates who want such ads banned.

Sportsbet suggests same-game multis during televised coverage, in segments hosted by the former AFL star Nathan Brown. These bets allow gambling on a combination of outcomes such as possessions and goal scorers, and all must succeed before money is paid out.

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Singing the Blues: Robbie Williams’s musical tribute to Carlton player after AFL win

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‘De Koning’s in the air, everywhere I look around,’ Williams sang to tune of Love Is In The Air

Lying in bed, Robbie Williams expressed shock after Carlton’s last-gasp victory over Melbourne in their AFL semi-final on Friday night.

“Wow! Is it like this every year?” asked the singer in a video he posted on social media.

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Geelong Football Club chasing tens of thousands in unpaid debt from Britishvolt buyer

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Money owed by Recharge Industries to the Geelong Cats include unpaid hospitality packages that typically involve premium match-day seating

The Geelong Football Club is chasing Recharge Industries, the company that pledged to resurrect UK’s battery-making ambitions through the purchase of Britishvolt, for tens of thousands of dollars worth of unpaid corporate membership fees.

The unpaid debt adds to the mounting financial stress on the Australian-born firm that received high praise from the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, and the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, just months ago, but now owes employees significant wages in the US, UK and Australia.

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Retired AFL player Jack Ziebell attacked outside bar hours after final match

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32-year-old North Melbourne player left with facial injuries just hours after retirement match at MCG

North Melbourne stalwart Jack Ziebell was the victim of an attack outside a bar just hours after he retired from the AFL in emotional scenes at the MCG.

The 32-year-old spent the night in hospital with facial injuries after allegedly being set upon by a group of men outside a bar in South Yarra, the Kangaroos said.

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Collingwood condemn racist messages sent to Port’s Rioli after Saturday night clash

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Magpies CEO Craig Kelly said ‘abhorrent and disgusting’ racist remarks were directed towards Willie Rioli

Collingwood and Port Adelaide have condemned “abhorrent and disgusting” racist messages sent to Power forward Willie Rioli after round 19’s thrilling contest between the two clubs.

The Magpies won by two points at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night to surge two games clear on top of the AFL ladder. Rioli kicked one goal from 11 disposals and is set to face scrutiny from the league’s match review officer over an off-the-ball strike on Nathan Murphy.

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