Samsung Caught In Opera House Everest Debate As Wesfarmer Director Comes Over As A ‘Goose”
Two faced journalists at Fairfax media who have slammed Alan Jones for daring to say that it’s okay to advertise the upcoming $10M Everest horse appear to have remained silent when Samsung used the sails to market themselves.
A major sponsor of the Opera House Samsung is also a major advertiser in Fairfax Media and spends hundreds of thousands flying Fairfax journalists around the world to Samsung events.
2GB Radio host Alan Jones unleashed on Sydney Opera House chief Louise Herron last Friday when she resisted his and the racing industry’s demand that the Opera House sails be used to advertise next Saturday’s Everest horse race, Australia’s richest with a $10 million prize.
Heron failed to mention that it was okay for commercial sponsors to have access to the sails but not the organisers of Australia’s richest horse race that will bring in millions to the NSW Economy.
Fairfax journalists who are known as a left wing, greens supporting writers got their knickers in a twist when Jones threatened to immediately ring NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian to get Ms Herron sacked unless she changed her position. 2GB is owned by Macquarie Media, which is majority owned by Fairfax Media.
Samsung is a major sponsor of the Opera House and there is nothing wrong with that.
In the past they have held major commercial events at the Opera house including TV and phone launches which have been attended by journalists from the Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Financial Review and The Age as well as overseas media who have been flown in for the event.
Now Diane Smith-Gander a board member at retailer Wesfarmers has bought into the debate claiming Herron was simply doing her job.
“For her to find herself in a position where her government masters are seemingly dictated to by someone who has not been elected – that is also startling to me” she told Fairfax Media
“Who knows what went on behind the scenes, but that is the appearance”.
What Smith Gander is not saying is that Alan Jones has a good sense of what side the masses in our population are on and he picked it in one, when he took a direct stab at Herron who after bleating about commercial influence was overruled by her masters the NSW Government.
“Alan Jones’ power and influence crosses the political divide and nothing less than universal rejection of his behaviour by our politicians will satisfy me.” Smith-Gander said.
Ms Berejiklian denied that the government’s decision to over-rule Ms Herron was because of Jones. She told reporters “this decision was at the back end of weeks and weeks of negotiation … What we have arrived at is a compromise.”
High Horse, Smith-Gander queried why a horse race should be given such significance, she made no reference to the fact that Rugby Union has been allowed to promote their code in the past on the Opera House sails.
“Why choose to do this, to our iconic national asset, in support of the gaming industry?
She went on to say ‘And for a silly horse race called the Everest which is a name which has no connection to Australia. If they were running this race in Northern India, well maybe. Couldn’t they have found a better name? It’s so incongruous on so many levels.”
One has to question this woman’s ability to sit on a board such as Wesfarmers when she can’t work out that Everest is linked with the highest peak in the world. The Everest race is the highest and richest race in the world and it’s being run in Australia and round the world millions will follow the race.
On Sunday Ms Berejiklian said the race was “important” to Sydney, but Ms Smith-Gander said, “I don’t think Sydney lives or dies by a horse race”.
Also, on Sunday Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that the Sydney Harbour Bridge should be used to advertise sporting events and described opponents of the move to display racing ads on the Opera House sails as “precious”.
Speaking in the regional NSW town of Blayney on Sunday, Mr Morrison, formerly the chief of Tourism Australia, backed NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.