Some of Nine’s biggest names have called on the embattled media company’s chairman Peter Costello to explain himself amid conflicting versions of an alleged assault he committed at Canberra Airport against a young journalist.
As senior figures from both sides of politics said Mr Costello appeared to have behaved inappropriately, Sydney’s prominent morning radio tag-team Ben Fordham and Ray Hadley said on Nine-owned 2GB on Friday morning that Mr Costello had questions to answer over the incident with News Corp reporter Liam Mendes.
Shocking video appears to show Mr Costello pushing Mr Mendes over as the reporter peppered him with questions about the sexual harassment and bullying scandals dogging Nine, which have led to the departure of TV news boss Darren Wick and cast a cloud over the future of CEO Mike Sneesby.
Amid calls for him to step down over the incident, Mr Costello has denied making any contact with Mr Mendes, saying “I did not lay a finger or a fist or anything on him” and that he had fallen after walking backwards into an advertising placard.
Mr Hadley said Mr Costello’s behaviour was “not really good” and called on him to clarify what happened.
He said the video published on The Australian shows Mr Costello “appearing to push a News Ltd journalist to the ground. He refused to answer the reporter’s questions relating to the rolling harassment scandal at the company”.
“It’s on the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald, which is also an organisation in the same interest,” Mr Hadley said of the story in the flagship Nine masthead.
“He’s rubbished suggestions he should resign.
“Look, I mean I know what would happen to me if I dropped my shoulder into someone who was trying to interrogate me somewhere. You wouldn’t hear the end of it.
“Now he says that he didn’t do it.
“Ben Fordham offered him the chance to come on and clarify what happened this morning. He hasn’t come on and I will leave it to greater minds than me to sort out what they’re going to do.
“But from a company’s point of view, it’s not really good when the chairman is accused, let alone acted in the way that he allegedly acted. So as I said we are owned by the same interest.
“It’s a reportable matter and needs to be dealt with.”
Former treasurer Wayne Swan, who succeeded Mr Costello as treasurer when Labor won office from John Howard in 2007, said his former political rival had behaved inappropriately.
“In public life, you face the blowtorch from time to time and you’ve just to keep your cool,” Mr Swan said on Friday morning.
“But you know when you’re a senior minister, when you’re the head of a large public company, especially a company which practices quality journalism you’ve got to be very careful about how you behave.”
Education Minister Jason Clare said on Sunrise that journalists should be safe while doing their jobs and that CCTV footage of the incident should be looked at to get to the bottom of what happened.
“I just make the general point that everybody should be safe at work,” Mr Clare said.
“No one should be pushing other people around. There’s CCTV footage I’m sure. That’s a matter for the airport about whether they release that or provide that to police.”
Former foreign minister Alexander Downer said public figures needed to be able to withstand questions from the media.
“It can be trying when journalists harass you but of course, if you’re in a senior position you’ve got to put up with people asking you a lot of questions, sometimes quite intimate questions,” Mr Downer said on Sky.
News Corp, Nine, ACT Police and Canberra Airport have been approached for comment.
More to come.