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‘You assaulted me’: Nine chairman Peter Costello appears to shove journalist to ground
By Anthony Segaert, James Massola and Calum Jaspan
Nine Entertainment chairman Peter Costello has rubbished suggestions he should resign after video emerged of him appearing to shove a journalist to the ground at Canberra Airport, as the fallout continues over the company’s handling of its former television news chief.
The video released by The Australian newspaper shows Costello, holding a jacket and a small suitcase, going down an escalator at the airport on Thursday afternoon when he is approached by reporter Liam Mendes.
A still from The Australian’s video of an incident between a journalist and Nine Chairman Peter Costello at Canberra Airport.Credit: The Australian
In the video, Mendes peppers the 66-year-old with questions about the company’s handling of the ongoing fallout over the departure of former Nine news and current affairs director Darren Wick. After about 30 seconds, Costello hastens his steps before he appears to drop his shoulder into Mendes, who falls to the ground.
“You just assaulted me,” Mendes says, lying on the floor with his legs in the air.
Costello then stares at the sprawled journalist before walking off without offering assistance.
Mendes recovers and follows Costello for a further minute and a half, accusing the chair of “quite violent behaviour”.
“You can’t do that,” he says as Costello walks to the car park and to a black car. “You attacked me just then.”
“Is that behaviour really appropriate to a journalist who is working?” he asks Costello.
Costello was in Canberra alongside senior Nine executives for an event to open the company’s new “super-bureau”, containing a new Nine News studio and fresh offices for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
When this masthead approached Costello at the event, Costello dismissed as “rubbish” suggestions he may be forced to resign as chairman of the entertainment company, while offering an apology to Mendes.
The former federal Liberal treasurer and Future Fund chairman said that when he had arrived at the airport “there was a reporter walking backwards with his phone filming”.
Peter Costello is asked about the alleged incident at Parliament House on Thursday evening.Credit: Alex Ellinghuasen
“As I walked past him, he walked back into an advertising placard and he fell over. I did not strike him. If he’s upset about that, I’m sorry. But I did not strike him,” he said, adding that he had not subsequently spoken to Mendes.
“I wasn’t angry. Just like you blokes here, if you’re backing back, and there’s a placard behind you, you can walk into it. I’ve seen it happen a million times, I’ve seen it here at Parliament House a million times, reporters back into the bollards and fall over,” he said.
Asked if he had assaulted Mendes, Costello said, “That’s not the case. It’s not assault. As I said before, he was backing backwards. He hit an advertising placard. I did not lay a finger or a fist or anything else”.
He added that Mendes had been “pretty aggressive” and that he had been walking through a public place.
Asked by this masthead if his chairmanship had been placed at risk, Costello gave a one-word answer: “Rubbish”.
“As I said to you, he hit the advertising bollard and fell over. I’m sorry about that. I wish that hadn’t have happened. But you know, I’ve seen it happen a million times.”
Nine, publisher of this masthead, has been embroiled in weeks of scandal following reports from The Australian, Daily Telegraph, The Sydney Morning Herald and Sky News about former Nine News director Darren Wick, who was accused of drunken, lecherous behaviour.
This masthead reported that women alleged Wick had brazenly groped them, in public view of their colleagues, for years. One female former staff member said Wick’s “alcohol-fuelled grope sessions” had occurred at public Christmas parties.
The crisis reached the highest echelons of Nine Entertainment when it was reported Wick had been given a payout of up to $1 million and that one of Nine’s on-air stars had twice complained to a board member about Wick’s behaviour.
Alleged serious failings
Chief executive Mike Sneesby, under increasing pressure over his company’s handling of the complaints, announced Nine had commissioned an independent review into its television newsroom culture.
In an all-staff email on May 27, Sneesby said the “alleged serious failings of leadership in television news clearly tells me more work needs to be done to ensure we have a safe and inclusive workplace throughout Nine”.
The next day, The Australian Financial Review revealed the publicity chief of Stan, owned by Nine and formerly led by Sneesby, had left the business weeks after the company had begun an investigation into allegations of inappropriate workplace conduct.
And in a five-hour meeting on May 30, the board united behind Sneesby and resolved to attempt to claw back at least part of the exit payment reportedly made to Wick.
A Nine spokesperson said: “In the course of filming the chairman while walking backwards, the journalist collided with an advertising placard and fell.
“At no point did the chairman strike the journalist.”
Liberal senator James McGrath said the altercation “wasn’t a good look for Peter”.
“He’s clearly under a lot of pressure,” he said on Sky News on Thursday evening. “But he is chairman of a media company with programs like A Current Affair … which on a regular basis will do such things.
“[Mendes] was doing his job and good on him. In a free country I want the free media to hold people like me to account but also hold people like Peter Costello to account, who is chairman of a very important company.
“He’s probably let himself down and he’s let the company down.”
The Australian’s editor-in-chief, Michelle Gunn, said the video “speaks for itself, and the witnesses very clearly describe what they saw”.
“Liam Mendes is an award-winning journalist who was simply doing his job, asking Mr Costello legitimate questions,” she said.
Mendes did not respond to requests for comment.
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