Terry Young (Longman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today in support of the seven Manly rugby league players and their stance on refusing to wear the jersey in this weekend's NRL round. These seven individuals are not allowed to go to work, for refusing to wear something that goes against their personal beliefs—which is simply ridiculous. As someone who has employed people for over 30 years—and although we had uniforms with company logos and other badges—I never asked my staff to wear a logo or a badge that had any type of social-issue connotation. Nor would I, because, as their employer, I know that it wasn't my job to push my personal views onto them.

I read with interest that the Manly management team said it was about inclusivity. I wasn't aware that homosexuals weren't allowed to play in the NRL. If that's the case, that should change, but we all know that they can play in the NRL. Ergo, they are already included, so why the need to promote inclusiveness?

The last census showed that apparently Christians are now a minority. Does this mean that, with Christians being a minority group, to promote inclusiveness the NRL should have a round where every team wears a crucifix on their jersey? Good luck seeing that happen—and, by the way, I wouldn't support that either.

This is just another example of the woke culture that says, 'We respect that anyone can have an opinion, as long as it's the same as ours.' Just let these men do their job and play footy.