Melbourne Hawks: Encyclopedia II - Melbourne Hawks - Gutnick and Operation Payback

Melbourne Hawks - Gutnick and Operation Payback

In the wake of the official merger announcement, Don Scott (who is a respected former Hawthorn footballer) launched the Operation Payback campaign. The campaign, which would be backed by other former Hawthorn footballers including Dermott Brereton, was multifaceted and included a number of aims:

• To launch a motion officially opposing the merger proposal, and to present the anti-merger case, at the extraordinary general meeting where Hawthorn members would vote upon the merger proposal;
• To run a fund raising campaign to alleviate Hawthorn's immediate debt problems;
• To secure business support (including potential sponsors and bank overdrafts) for the ongoing survival of Hawthorn;
• To secure the support of prominent past and present footballers for the anti-merger campaign at Hawthorn.

In the weeks following Scott's launch of the Operation Payback campaign, a similar anti-merger campaign was launched for the Melbourne Football Club by billionaire businessman Joseph Gutnick. Gutnick, a Melbourne supporter who had accumulated his wealth (and earned the nickname "Diamond Joe Gutnick) through investments in Western Australian mining, pledged to donate A$1million to Melbourne if the merger vote were defeated.

Melbourne Hawks - Popular Backlash to the Merger Proposal

Following the launch of Operation Payback, and Gutnick's campaign at Melbourne, a vocal backlash to the merger proposal emerged amongst the supporters at both clubs. Banners with slogans including "No Merger" and "Operation Payback" became a common fixture at both Hawthorn training sessions, Hawthorn matches, and at Glenferrie road. Other signs appeared, including several which decried the system of 'proxy votes' for members unable to attend the anti-merger meeting (it was speculated by some of those who opposed the merger proposal that proxy votes would help the pro-merger cause).

It is important to note, however, that this opposition was not universal: several thousand members (as noted earlier) ended up voting in favor of the merger proposal; including a majority of Melbourne supporters. In some cases, those supporting the merger were equally as passionate as those who opposed it.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Gutnick and Operation Payback", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki