Essendon news: Essendon CEO Andrew Thorburn linked to controversial church, City on a Hill
Andrew Thorburn is the chairman of a church organisation which preaches controversial beliefs around homosexual behaviour and abortion.
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New Essendon chief executive Andrew Thorburn is chairman of a church organisation which likens abortion to the operation of concentration camps and declares that homosexual behaviour is wrong.
Thorburn, 57, was appointed to the top Bombers role on Monday in a move which president David Barham described as “bold and decisive”.
It can be revealed that former NAB chief Thorburn is also listed as chairman of an eight-church movement called City on a Hill.
On the church’s website it says Thorburn became a Christian in 2002 and has attended since 2014.
And among a host of sermons promoted on the website, one on abortion reads: “We believe that we must be a voice for the voiceless, and stand for the rights of the unborn baby and be pro-life.
“Human life begins at conception. All women and men have intrinsic value and worth as images of God. Abortion denies the voice of the most vulnerable ... 80% of those who have aborted their child have regretted it,” the sermon first published in 2016 reads.
In another sermon on the site, it is stated: “Whereas today we look back at (sic) sadness and disgust over concentration camps, future generations will look back with sadness at the legal murder of hundreds of thousands human beings every day through medicine and in the name of freedom.”
That sermon was originally published in 2013, but the text is still prominent on City on a Hill’s site.
A further sermon on homosexuality reads: “Sex is designed for marriage, and marriage for fulfilling God’s mandate for humans to ‘be fruitful and multiply’. The Torah condemned the practice of homosexuality so that Israel would stand out among the nations.
“Through Christ, who fulfilled the law, we enter a new law of grace, where struggle is not a sin, but we are told to flee sexual immorality and glorify God with our bodies.
“The Bible never calls same-sex attraction a sin. Lust is a sin, sex outside of marriage is a sin, practiciing (sic) homesexuality is a sin, but same-sex attraction is not a sin.
“The Christian walk is one of struggle with sin yet in the gospel we can find forgiveness and grace. We ought to find our true love, satisfaction, and acceptance in Jesus.”
Thorburn is listed on the site as chair, an accredited sports chaplain and a City on a Hill Warden.
The club had no comment on the issue on Monday evening, as it prepared for its best-and-fairest count at Crown Palladium.
But speaking at the Crichton Medal night, president David Barham described Thorburn as a “man of great integrity and exceptional vision”.
“His experience at being the CEO of the NAB, one of the country’s largest organisations and the AFL’s major sponsors will be invaluable as we further relationships with governments, the AFL, valued members and sponsors,” Barham said.
“To my knowledge no other AFL club has ever secured the services of an ASX-listed Top 10 company CEO to run its club.”
Thorburn addressed the crowd at Crown’s Palladium room explaining his rich history as an Essendon fan dating back to when he was a nine-year-old going to his first game at Windy Hill.
“I think the greatest strength we have is if we are united,” Thorburn said. “It has been said if you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far go together.
“So this is a call to action for every single person in this room.
“One of my key roles will be to clear the way so Brad (Scott), the coaches and the players can get what they need to play that football that our members are desperately wanting to watch.”
City on a Hill describes itself as one movement of men and women gathered across eight churches in five cities united around the mission “to know Jesus and make Jesus known”.
Four of those churches are in Victoria, with three in Melbourne and one in Geelong.
Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of leading civil rights group the Anti-Defamation Commission, described the comparison between abortion and concentration camps was”shameful.”
“Let’s get something clear: to compare a woman’s right to choose to the systematic extermination of six million Jews is beyond shameful and crosses so many red lines I stopped counting,” he said.
“For any organisation to cheaply and perversely exploit the gassing of men, women, and children in order to promote a cause takes the abuse of the Holocaust to a new low and poisons an important debate which demands civility and respect.
“My message to the City on a Hill is this: while you are entitled to express your views, leave the memory of the victims and the survivors who suffered enough out of your religious arguments, and stop manipulating Hitler’s evil crimes in order to advance your opposition to a women’s autonomy over her body.
“Such outrageous and trivial equations demean the indescribable suffering and murder of millions and are historically inaccurate and extreme.
“By employing this ugly analogy, City on a Hill betrays an ignorance of what really happened in Nazi Germany and in the death camps, and it’s time for them to apologise for the hurt they have caused and to remove this reference from their website.”
Thorburn served as chief executive of NAB from 2014 to 2019 and previously the Bank of NZ from 2008 to 2014.
He was forced to resign from his position at NAB in the wake of the scathing Royal Commission into misconduct in the banking industry in 2019.
The royal commission’s final report singled out Thorburn and Dr Ken Henry – who also resigned – for harsh criticism, saying they had not learned the lessons of past misconduct, particularly in NAB’s wealth management arm that had charged $100m in fees without providing services in return.
He has more recently been involved with start-ups, entrepreneurs and not-for-profit organisations.
“In Andrew, we have secured a highly credentialed leader, with a proven track record in development and building the leadership capabilities of his people,” Barham said of his appointment.
“Andrew’s focus will be on running Essendon like a club, with a renewed focus on our members and the core reason which we exist – football.
“Our recent appointments of Brad Scott and today with Andrew, demonstrate our commitment to leadership and providing the right environment to ensure we achieve sustained success as a club.
“Andrew is a man of great integrity and exceptional vision.”
Thornburn has links to the AFL through the league’s corporate affairs manager Brian Walsh, who worked with Thorburn at NAB during his first year in the job.
Barham said the process to find the club’s new chief executive – which was led by Ernst & Young – was “comprehensive”.
Thorburn had impressed the club’s board with his work on the Bombers’ external review and was part of the coaching subcommittee which appointed Scott as coach.
Thorburn will begin his new role on November 1.
NEW BOMBERS’ CEO’S LINK TO AFL HQ
- Chris Cavanagh
Essendon has locked in a new chief executive to replace Xavier Campbell, just days after appointing Brad Scott as senior coach.
Bombers president David Barham released a statement on Monday afternoon confirming that Andrew Thorburn would take on the role in another “bold and decisive” move that represented “another significant step forward for the club”.
Thorburn served as chief executive of NAB from 2014 to 2019 and previously the Bank of NZ from 2008 to 2014.
Thorburn has more recently been involved with start-ups, entrepreneurs and not-for-profit organisations.
“In Andrew, we have secured a highly credentialed leader, with a proven track record in development and building the leadership capabilities of his people,” Barham’s statement read.
“Andrew’s focus will be on running Essendon like a club, with a renewed focus on our members and the core reason which we exist – football.
“Our recent appointments of Brad Scott and today with Andrew, demonstrate our commitment to leadership and providing the right environment to ensure we achieve sustained success as a club.
“Andrew is a man of great integrity and exceptional vision.”
He is also no stranger to controversy, with Thorburn forced to resign in the wake of scathing criticism of his performance at the Banking Royal Commission in 2019.
Thorburn has been at the centre of an intensifying storm as questions were raised about NAB’s management, governance and processes after a horror year.
The royal commission’s final report singled out Thorburn and Dr Ken Henry – who also resigned – for harsh criticism, saying they had not learnt the lessons from past misconduct, particularly in NAB’s wealth management arm that had charged $100 million in fees without providing services in return.
He does have AFL links through the league’s corporate affairs manager Brian Walsh, who worked with Thorburn at NAB during his first year in the job.
Barham said the process to find the club’s new chief executive – which was led by Ernst & Young – was “comprehensive”.
Thorburn had impressed the club’s board with his work on the Bombers’ external review and was part of the coaching sub-committee which appointed Scott as coach.
“Whilst he initially came to the club on a short-term basis to co-ordinate the external review, we believed we couldn’t overlook someone of his calibre and that he needed to be tested within our process against the field of candidates,” Barham said.
Campbell resigned as chief executive of Essendon in late August following almost nine years in the job.
Campbell had been a supporter of former coach Ben Rutten, who was sacked earlier that month.
Thorburn will begin his new role on November 1.
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