Kennett roasted over Hawthorn's $25m problem

2 years ago 89

Hawthorn statesmanlike campaigner Andy Gowers has claimed outgoing brag Jeff Kennett volition permission the nine with a backing "black hole" for its caller world-class grooming centre astatine its Dingley basal due to the fact that of his comments criticising the authorities government.

Gowers said Kennett's "social media activity" had caused the Victorian authorities authorities to withhold a $15 cardinal backing committedness and had deterred affluent benefactors from contributing a further $10 cardinal to the club's backing for its Dingley home, leaving Hawthorn with a shortfall of $25 million.

Speaking during an online rally to beforehand his statesmanlike campaign, Gowers said Kennett had damaged the club's narration with the Victorian authorities government, and successful the process, had outgo the nine funding.

"Let's commencement with the facts, the conception of Dingley was committed to erstwhile I was inactive connected the board, truthful 5 years agone successful 2017. We fast-forward to present and determination was a caller announcement of Dingley not being acceptable until 2025, truthful that is simply a further delay," helium said.

"We are unluckily successful an situation wherever ostentation is moving rampant, operation costs are rising rapidly, labour is hard to get to present projects, and we person a Kennett achromatic spread successful our Dingley plans successful presumption of the funding.

"So wherefore is that the case? Every azygous idiosyncratic listening contiguous would recognize that late-night tweets from our outgoing president Jeff Kennett criticising authorities officials bash not assistance our origin erstwhile we look to the authorities authorities for funding.

Gowers besides said Hawthorn committee subordinate and the board's nominated statesmanlike applicant Peter Nankivell - who has been Kennett's vice president for 5 years - would proceed to beryllium Kennett's proxy if elected arsenic president.

"I personally cognize of respective salient Hawthorn radical who simply won't beryllium giving america wealth for Dingley until the outgoing president and his proxies are retired of the club," helium said.

"It stands to reason, then, that Jeff Kennett's hand-picked successor and my opponent, Peter Nankivell, and let's retrieve Peter has been Jeff Kennett's vice president for the past 5 years, is linked to this contented we are present facing arsenic a club. We should person backing based connected our funding, not connected our late-night societal media activity."

Speaking to The Age, Gowers revealed that the nine had announced that it had been granted $15 cardinal successful authorities authorities funding, nevertheless this wealth was inactive listed arsenic successful "contingency" and had not been released.

"In addition, I americium advised from a fig of nine benefactors that the Time to Fly run is underfunded by successful excess of $10 million," helium said.

During the online rally, Gowers addressed the disapproval of Hawthorn's handling of its cultural information review - which was handed connected to the AFL without ex-coach Alastair Clarkson oregon former Hawks staffers Chris Fagan and Jason Burt being interviewed.

He added that during his erstwhile stint arsenic shot manager connected the board, helium did not cognize of the issues raised successful the report.

"The merchandise of the Egan study into our narration with our First Nations players and unit was, and is, profoundly achy and damaging, for everyone involved," Gowers said.

"The contents of that study are shocking, and the issues raised are incredibly complex. At the aforesaid time, I'm profoundly uncomfortable with the information that those accused of the allegations person not had the accidental to speak.

"So I enactment the AFL's autarkic enquiry truthful that determination tin beryllium healing for each involved. We can't beryllium contented with being 'culturally safe', Hawthorn should beryllium the benchmark, not the bare minimum.

"It's a precise debased barroom to purpose to beryllium culturally safe. Surely, that's the minimum. We privation to beryllium leaders, not doing the minimum."

Gowers besides criticised the handling of Clarkson's removal from the club, saying the timing mightiness person been close for Clarkson to determination on, but it was severely handled and lacked respect.

"Last twelvemonth we each watched successful daze arsenic our modern-day champion coach, Alastair Clarkson, was sent packing from our club," helium said.

"We saw Clarko being treated similar a stranger, alternatively than the palmy coach, who guided america retired of an epoch successful the footy doldrums, and onto 4 flags, the astir of immoderate manager successful our history.

"We tuned successful with despair seeing Clarko sitting connected 1 broadside of a hastily convened, precise awkward media conference, and listened to Jeff statesman with the words, 'The committee has decided not to renew Alastair's contract' and it stirred up a hornets' nest of emotions."

After each that had transpired, Gowers committed to spending 100 per cent of the brushed headdress connected shot spending.

"We watched connected successful disbelief, and the fiscal colony [to Clarkson] has meant that we were incapable to wage the afloat soft-cap successful the shot section this year, which hinders our shot program," helium said.

Kennett told nine members the preferred campaigner volition beryllium decided connected by June 30, suggesting helium volition measurement down from the occupation by the extremity of adjacent AFL season.

For a regular dose of the champion of the breaking quality and exclusive contented from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!