Opposition leader Angus Taylor has accused Cricket Australia of ‘woke moralising’ amid confusion over the use of the national anthem.
Cricket Australia has yet to announce whether the national anthem will be played or not during their first game on Australia Day in years.
There had not been a cricket match played on the national day in either 2025 or 2024, but in 2021 Cricket Australia made the decision to stop using the term ‘Australia Day.’
That drew the ire of then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison who suggested the cricketing body stick to sport and stay out of politics.
Cricket Australia made the decision to have the BBL final on Australia Day as part of a strategy to fight against reported ailing interest in the league.
Now, the confusion around the use of the national anthem could further threaten its popularity.
Opposition leader Angus Taylor has accused Cricket Australia of ‘ woke moralising’ amid confusion over the use of the national anthem.
Taylor also went on to write that the ‘nation’s achievements far outweigh the wrongdoing’
‘While it’s welcome news that cricket will again be played on Australia Day, Cricket Australia’s decision not to play our national anthem is yet more tone deaf woke moralising,’ he wrote on X.
‘Yes, our past is not perfect. But our nation’s achievements far outweigh the wrongdoings, and our nation is worth celebrating.
‘Instead of kowtowing to activists who want to make Australians feel guilty about our past and ashamed of our nation, Cricket Australia should proudly play our national anthem at the Big Bash final
‘Reflecting the views of the overwhelming majority of Australians – and cricket fans – who love our country and feel profound gratitude for being Australian.’
However, Cricket Australia were quick to respond calling Taylor’s statement ‘inaccurate reporting and commentary.’
‘It is incorrect to say the national anthem is being specifically excluded,’ it said in a statement.
‘We play the national anthem at international matches but do not usually do so at domestic matches, including the BBL final.
‘As stated during our BBL schedule launch, decisions about on-field ceremonies and other formalities on Australia Day will be made closer to the game and in association with relevant clubs and stakeholders.’
Former senator and Australia’s first indigenous Olympic gold medallist Nova Peris also said Cricket Australia should play the national anthem, though she provided a much more measured response than Taylor.
Cricket Australia say they are yet to make any decision on whether the national anthem will be played at the next Big Bash League final
Nova Peris has called upon Cricket Australia to make the decision to play the national anthem at their game on Australia Day
‘Division gets us nowhere,’ the 1996 Olympic hockey gold medallist Peris told CODE. ‘I have watched so much division in this country.
‘As an Aboriginal woman whose mother was part of the stolen generation, I feel their pain and I have my pain … I carried the Australian flag because it was the country I represented.
‘Over time this country has taken enormous steps to achieve reconciliation. It does not mean that injustices still don’t occur. January 26 is a contentious date.
‘But there is no reason why the Australian flag, the Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Island flag could not fly together or why they could not have a minutes silence to acknowledge the fallen and then go on and sing the national anthem.
‘The anthem’s words are beautiful. With the Olympics coming to Brisbane in 2032 we don’t want to set a precedent that the anthem is a bad thing. Our nation is facing an identity crisis. We have to co-exist. ‘
