Cabinet archives: John Howard quick to protect Don Bradman’s name
John Howard’s cabinet agreed to prohibit the exploitation of Don Bradman’s name for commercial gain after the PM was approached by the Don’s family.
John Howard’s cabinet agreed to prohibit the exploitation of Don Bradman’s name for commercial gain after the prime minister said he had been approached by the family of the legendary cricketer.
On September 26, 2000, Mr Howard — a well-known cricket tragic — told the cabinet that Sir Donald’s family had approached him “concerning the protection of the Bradman name against inappropriate commercial use”.
The cabinet considered a paper on the subject prepared by the prime minister’s department and agreed to amend corporations law regulations prohibiting companies from registering names suggesting a connection with the legendary batsman when none existed.
Media reports from the time show the cricketing legend had launched legal action in 2000 against companies trying to register his name including, in Adelaide, an adult bookshop on Sir Donald Bradman Drive that tried to call itself Erotica on Bradman.
The minutes of the cabinet meeting showed the changes to the regulations would “not have retrospective application in relation to companies already registered”. It was also agreed that the states and territories would be approached to seek their “agreement to make the same rules for the registration of business names”.
Assistant treasurer Rod Kemp was tasked with making the amendments to the corporations law regulations in consultation with Mr Howard following the conclusion of legal proceedings that were under way in the Federal Court.
Mr Howard described Sir Donald as the greatest living Australian and delivered the inaugural Bradman Oration in August 2000.
Following Sir Donald’s death in February 2001, Mr Howard argued that he was “not only the greatest cricketer the world has seen, by the measurement of many the most skilled sportsman the world has seen”.
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