Gina Rinehart’s company announced as sponsor of Australian Olympic Team

Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting has been announced as a sponsor for the Australian Olympic Team through to 2026.

The Australian Olympic Committee announced the partnership on Friday morning, saying it will encompass the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, and the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in February 2026.

The mining giant will also "support" Australian Teams to Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon 2024 and in Dakar 2026, the Pacific Games in 2023.

Rinehart, Hancock Prospecting's executive chair, has previously been criticised for warning against climate change "propaganda" in education. In a speech last year she said she said had once helped to convince students climate change was not human-induced, by organising a talk at a school by climate skeptic Lord Christopher Monckton and told students to "do their own independent research" on "which comes first - global warming, or an increase in carbon?". She's also warned that a move towards reducing emissions would cost billions in taxpayer money.

Rinehart is quoted in the statement as saying her company was "proud" to support the Australian teams, adding that she believed athlete's "work, dedication, focus and self-discipline" were important to "succeed in life and business".

"We are delighted to take the next step in our long-term support of Australia's best athletes and become an official Australian Olympic Committee partner, an organisation admirably independent of Government funding and aligned to our values at the Hancock Group," she said.

"We are so proud to help our great Olympians who are such inspirations, through their hard work, most do not really know how hard they work, dedication, focus and self-discipline, as they endeavour to represent our country to the best of their ability.

"The traits these role models show in my view, are important for us all, if we wish to succeed in life and business."

Dual Olympian Rhydian Cowley accused the deal of undermining "the AOC's sustainability action plan".

The term "sportswashing" has been used to refer to the use of sporting sponsorships by carbon-emitting industries to project a healthier image.

Rinehart said she believed there was a need for greater scrutiny of how taxpayer money was allocated.

"We believe government or sponsor funds should be used to ensure sport is at the service of the community and the athletes, and much tighter scrutiny of taxpayers and sponsors funds would assist," she said

Rinehart has declared herself one of Australia's biggest Olympics fan, and has contributed $10m annually.

AOC President, John Coates, "greatly welcomed" the partnership, saying it would deliver "significant benefits" to the Australian teams.

"This is a major commitment to Australian sport. We welcome and thank Mrs Gina Rinehart and Hancock Prospecting for this investment. On the eve of farewelling our Team to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, the timing is perfect.

"There is no coincidence that the strong support of Mrs Gina Rinehart for many of our athletes in Tokyo yielded excellent results. There were so many golden moments and success in the pool, our rowers had a wonderful Games, as did our beach volleyballers."

Coates added: "The AOC is proudly independent of government. We neither receive nor seek federal funding for our day-to-day operations. We are grateful to have the support of Mrs Gina Rinehart, Hancock Prospecting and all our partners to ensure we retain that independence."

It comes only days after Rinehart, Australia's richest person, was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia "for distinguished service to the mining sector, to the community through philanthropic initiatives, and to sport as a patron".