South Australian independent Senator Nick Xenophon has slammed the AFL amidst its decision to not run advertising this week that would call upon donations to World Vision for humanitarian aid to Gaza.
“This doesn’t make sense. If a child is injured as a result of a tsunami or an earthquake, the AFL has run free campaigns to urge donations,” Xenophon said.
The advertisements, which were to be funded by Adelaide businessman Daniel Milky, were given the tick of approval by the Adelaide Football Club but were subsequently knocked back because the league deemed them political in nature.
“Here we have a situation where someone’s willing to pay for an ad for kids injured as a result of a bomb attack, but that’s not good enough for the AFL,” Xenophon said.
Mr Milky was also critical of the league’s decision.
“All of a sudden, it’s been dragged down this road of a political activist campaign, which it’s not,” he said. “It’s simply a humanitarian callout to get people to donate to help these poor children in that region.”
The Adelaide businessman said his Norwood cafe has sponsored 55 non-profit groups in the past year, and that some of his customers urged him to find a way to assist children in Gaza amid the ongoing armed conflict with Israel.
Despite redrafting of the advertisements the league continued to disallow them. The latest draft, now before the AFL, reads: “Help the children of Gaza. Donate now. worldvision.com.au”
World Vision Australia CEO Tim Costello agrees with the AFL’s stance on political advertising, but believes that this particularly constitutes a humanitarian aid, not politics.
“It’s not political that the Australian government has given $5 million for children in Gaza,” Costello said.
“This isn’t about picking sides, this about picking over violence.”
Source: ABC, AAP