Taped logo, bigger problem: why Josh Wilson's Dockers jumper matters
Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy Josh Wilson was photographed wearing a Fremantle guernsey with red tape covering the Woodside Energy logo.
The photograph was published by The Australian on Tuesday. The Australian reported that Wilson wore the Dockers jumper over the weekend The Australian. Wilson said the photograph was taken from a family member's social media account The Guardian.
Margin Call first reported on 21 September that Wilson had joined the Get Off My Chest campaign against Fremantle Dockers sponsor Woodside. A later filing on 22 September reported that Wilson had not formally signed the Get Off My Chest petition. That distinction matters. Canberra understands the difference between being pictured in the uniform and putting a name to the organising document.
Get Off My Chest opposes Woodside Energy's sponsorship of the Fremantle Dockers. The campaign launched in May and has provided supporters with hundreds of patches The Guardian. Its tactics are visible and low-tech. Tame Impala frontman Kevin Parker covered the Woodside logo on a Fremantle t-shirt ahead of a performance in Colorado. Campaigner Clare Lagan used spray paint to hide the Woodside logo on a mural of Michael Walters and Nat Fyfe outside the Fremantle markets.
Woodside's partnership with the Fremantle club has lasted more than 15 years. Woodside and Programmed are co-major partners of the Fremantle Dockers, which means their logos sit front and centre on the jumper Fremantle FC. Programmed and Woodside are also co-major sponsors of Fremantle's team in the national women's league. Bankwest later signed on as a co-major partner of the Fremantle Dockers. Fremantle and Woodside agreed to extend their partnership for an extra two years, and the current deal runs until at least the end of 2027.
Fremantle will face the Sydney Swans in Saturday's AFL grand final. A home-town jumper in grand final week is normal for a WA MP.
The broader context here is the portfolio clash. An assistant minister holds delegated authority, meaning he can use some of the minister's legal powers. Energy is Wilson's portfolio. Woodside is a company regulated in that portfolio. It is a bit like a referee wearing one team's scarf. There is no suggestion in the verified material that Wilson signed the petition, directed the campaign, or made a portfolio decision linked to the jumper. But the government says ministers must avoid conflicts, and must avoid the appearance of conflicts. The figures in this case are photographic.
In my view, Labor has two problems to manage, and only one is Josh Wilson. The first is discipline. Backbenchers can wear protest patches. Assistant ministers cannot pretend the lanyard comes off on weekends. The second is leverage. A sponsorship fight that lives on guernseys, murals and tour t-shirts is hard for a club to police and easy for cameras to find. Fremantle has a commercial contract to 2027. The campaign has patches and paint. Wilson managed to put himself between the two without, on the latest reporting, formally joining either side.
Looking at what this means for the week, expect the standard Canberra choreography. The Opposition will ask whether the minister endorses the boycott. The government will say a family photo is not policy. Sponsorship protests work because they force regulated companies to defend their public support in places like sport, outside the normal rules process. Portfolio ministers work because they stay out of those places. Wilson will keep barracking for Freo. He just cannot dress like the campaign while doing it.
