The letter from Mr Matin Whitely to Hon Terry Wadron Minister for sport Recreation, Racing and Gaming
which was posted off today and a copy of this letter was forwarded to the WAFC also.
Hon Terry Waldron
Minister for Sport & Recreation
8th Floor, Dumas House
2 Havelock Street
West Perth WA 6005
Dear Terry
I recently met with the President of the Swansmen Association, George Copley who has brought to my attention serious concerns about the future of “non-aligned” WAFL clubs.
The concern of George and others has been caused by the recent agreement made by WAFC, the West Coast Eagles and Fremantle Dockers clubs on the AFL Partnering Model or alignment, with East Perth FC and Peel FC.
I am informed there was no impact study carried out and little consideration given to the seven non-aligned Clubs, or their sponsors volunteers, members, supporters and the WAFL in general. Even the members of Peel FC and East Perth FC were not notified of this plan until after it was signed on 29 October 2012, consequently they were not given the opportunity to vote on the matter.
This led to the formation of two groups concerned over the future of the WAFL, the G7 comprised seven non-aligned WAFL Presidents and Save The WAFL Committee, comprised members and supporters from the WAFL. Save the WAFL was formed to voice their concerns of the WAFL Alignment, raise money for campaigns, raise public awareness and work with the seven non-aligned clubs and state and federal ministers to secure better outcomes for the competition.
The newly formed G7 handed down a 32 point report soon after the meeting with all nine WAFL Clubs, which has now been condensed down to 11 points. The main concerns are that AFL rookies will no longer play at their original clubs, potentially leading to a lop-sided competition. The salary caps and funding arrangements of non-aligned clubs are inadequate to compensate for the likely loss of talent. Other concerns relate to the WAFL player points rule, the Player Service Agreement and the future structure of the WAFC.
This Alignment agreement is a major talking point with in and out of the WAFL community and in various media outlets. A petition has also been set up to oppose the alignment at www.savethewafl.com. With so much concern over the alignment it has been suggested that the agreement should be suspended until an impact study can be carried out independently of the WAFC and the two WA AFL Clubs.
As I am sure you will agree that the WAFL competition is an important part of our state’s sporting history and culture as well as a vital training ground for future AFL players. It is vital we do not compromise the integrity of this competition through actions which are appealing in the short term but may well be detrimental to the future of football in WA.
Yours sincerely
Martin Whitely JP MLA
Member for Bassendean
7 January 2013
George Copley
