Cricket CEO Flips on Australia Day Announcement

People wave flags and festive merchandise to celebrate Australia Day in Melbourne, Australia, on Jan. 26, 2017. Chris Hopkins/Getty Images

Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley has come out to clarify that announcements on the cricket grounds will indeed make references to Australia Day.

The backtrack comes after reports that Cricket Australia would not make any mention of Australia Day during the second day of the test match against the West Indies, which falls on the national holiday on Jan. 26.

He noted that Australia Day has not been mentioned in their promotional material for the past four years, which would continue into this year’s cricket match.

“In regard to welcoming people with the ground announcement prior to play on Friday, I’d like to clarify that this will include reference to Australia Day,” he told The Australian on Jan. 23.

“As we have said for several years when we play cricket on Jan. 26, while many people celebrate Australia Day, for others, especially many Indigenous Australians, it is a very difficult day.”

Cricket Australia is joined by the organisers for the Australian Open, which for the second year in a row, will not mark Australia Day.

With the Australia Day debate heating up, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to take leadership on the issue.

“It is about time the prime minister stood up as the leader of our country and said to Cricket Australia and other corporate wokes we should be celebrating Australia Day,” he told The Epoch Times, adding that the prime minister’s messaging, as it stands, contributed to the “national self-loathing” movement to abolish Australia Day.

It comes after Mr. Albanese said Australians needed to “stop looking for areas in which we can be outraged” in response to reports that Cricket Australia would make no mention of “Australia Day” during the test match held on Jan. 26.

“We need to come together. People will go to the cricket, people will celebrate or, for some people, for First Nations people, I respect the views that they have,” he told Sky News Australia on Jan. 22

Meanwhile, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns urged the cricket and tennis sporting bodies to revisit their decision, saying it was a day for Australians to come together as a nation.

Former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett has also urged Mr. Albanese to clearly state his position on the debate.

The Epoch Times has contacted the prime minister’s office for additional comment.

Australia Day Not Cancelled

Woolworths copped heavy backlash after it revealed that it would not stock Australia Day merchandise. The retail giant is joined by Aldi and Kmart, which have made similar announcements.

Brad Banducci, CEO of Woolworths, has since stated that the supermarket had never intended to “cancel” Australia Day. He acknowledged that the reasons behind the decision had not been well-communicated to the public.

“In terms of merchandising—our commercial decision to not stock specific Australian Day general merchandise was made on the basis of steeply declining sales,” he said.

“The decision to stock this mostly imported merchandise has to be made almost 12 months in advance. So as a business decision, it doesn’t make commercial sense.”

Mr. Banducci said rather than stocking Australian-themed products, Woolworths would be celebrating the occasion with its forte—“providing the best of Australian fresh food.”

He noted that the media coverage of its decision had negatively affected their employees, who have reported an increase in customer abuse.