Westpac’s bizarre leaked comments slammed as ‘unbelievable and unforgivable’

Critics have called comments made by the dumped Westpac boss “unbelievable and unforgivable” as fallout from the banking scandal continues.

Child sexual assault groups have slammed as “unforgivable” comments made by outgoing Westpac chief executive that regular Australians didn’t have an issue with the scandal engulfing the beleaguered bank.

Banking boss Brian Hartzer was allegedly more concerned with cancelling a Christmas booze-up than dealing with the shocking breaches revealed by Australia’s financial intelligence agency over money laundering and child exploitation offences.

Mr Hartzer finally fell on his sword and will walk off the job next week, while the company’s chairman Lindsay Maxsted announced he would bring forward his retirement to the beginning of next year, saying this morning the board accepted the “gravity” of the issues raised by AUSTRAC.

But according to explosive claims published in The Australian today, Mr Hartzer told a closed-door meeting that the bank had decided to cancel Christmas parties this year.

“Unfortunately in the heightened media environment, it will not look good if we have our staff whooping it up with alcohol,” he told the meeting, according to The Australian.

Earlier today, it was reported he also attempted to lobby support from Westpac’s senior leaders by saying the scandal “was not playing out as a high street issue”.

He was quoted as saying the media had made the child exploitation scandal seem as though the “world is ending”.

“But actually for people in mainstream Australia going about their daily lives, this is not a major issue so we don’t need to overcook this,” he was reported as saying.

Bravehearts founder Hetty Johnston, who runs the organisation aimed at preventing child sexual assault, said the comments were “unbelievable and unforgivable”.

Ms Johnston said she had a heated discussion with Mr Hartzer at the end of last week after she revealed to the press Bravehearts would be cutting ties with Westpac.

She told him she wanted him to better understand the enormity of the issue by arranging for he and his board to meet victims of the crimes Westpac allegedly allowed its customers to partake in.

“I want to bring half a dozen kids into your boardroom and let your board members and yourself look into the eyes of these kids and tell them that it’s not a main street issue or people don’t care,” Ms Johnston said.

“I can’t even find words to describe how distressing that is.

“For me it’s devastatingly disappointing because you look to our industry leaders and corporate leaders as people who have so much responsibility around moral guardianship, and to see it treated so nonchalantly and with such disregard is quite devastating.”

Human trafficking, which includes the sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of children, is one of the world’s most lucrative organised crimes, generating more than $150 billion a year, Project Futures chief executive Jo Maloney said.

Two-thirds of its victims or 25 million people are in East Asia and the Pacific.

The boss of the group that supports victims of sexual abuse and exploitation in Cambodia said the rise in child trafficking in the region was linked to an increase in online child pornography, including live streaming of sexual abuse of children.

The financial intelligence agency has accused Westpac of more than 23 million breaches in relation to transactions amounting to more than $11 billion.

But a small portion of that large figure directly relates to the $500,000 in transactions from 12 Westpac customers paid to the Philippines allegedly for child exploitation offences such as the live streaming of sexual abuse.

“Customers with no apparent family ties to the Philippines/South-East Asia, frequently remitting small sums of money to multiple beneficiaries in the Philippines/South-East Asia within short time frames,” Austrac said in its statement of claim.

Ms Maloney said the major lender’s ignorance to these offences perpetuated the horrible crimes.

“For every one of the transactions Westpac turned a blind eye to, they emboldened and empowered a child predator to continue their abuse and exploitation of vulnerable children, not just overseas, but potentially in our own backyard,” she said.

“A paedophile’s playground is the internet, a platform which does not discriminate based on postcodes or iPads in Melbourne and Manila.”

RELATED: Day of reckoning finally arrives for Australia’s major banks

RELATED: Money laundering and counter-terrorism laws investigated at Westpac

RELATED: Westpac CEO pushed out amid child exploitation scandal

Westpac CEO Brian Hartzer will walk away with a multimillion-dollar golden handshake. Picture: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

The Westpac chairman told investors and reporters in a media briefing this morning he was shocked to read the comments from Mr Hartzer that the alleged crimes were “not a major issue”.

“They were very disappointing statements to read and clearly I, the board and all at Westpac do not agree with those statements in isolation,” Mr Maxsted said.

While the bank said leaked comments were unrelated to Mr Hartzer’s sudden sacking, the public reaction has been brutal, with many convinced they may have played a role in his downfall.

His sensational comments have been variously described as “extraordinary”, “tone deaf” and “wrong” on social media.

who on earth did Brian Hartzer speak to before coming to the conclusion that "for people in mainstream Australia going about their daily lives, this* is not a major issue"?

* allowing payments between known child exploitershttps://t.co/wc7WYMLzR8

— Stuart Condie (@StuartLCondie) November 25, 2019

I think these comments (reported in the @Australian) will go down as Brian Hartzer’s ‘Prince Andrew Interview’ moment. @BreakfastNews pic.twitter.com/bjrerRScok

— Michael Rowland (@mjrowland68) November 25, 2019

As a @Westpac customer (for now), I'm glad to see #BrianHartzer and his tone deaf opinion have gone. I'll be leaving the bank, too, because what's happened is the last straw for me #westpac https://t.co/Dez2qZN4dS

— Toby Forage (@foraggio) November 25, 2019

“Who on earth did Brian Hartzer speak to before coming to the conclusion that ‘for people in mainstream Australia going about their daily lives, this* is not a major issue’?” The Australian reporter Stuart Condie said in a tweet, while ABC News Breakfast co-host Michael Rowland described the situation as “Brian Hartzer’s ‘Prince Andrew Interview’ moment”.

But the overwhelming reaction among the Australian public has been outrage over Mr Hartzer’s $2.7 million “golden handshake” – equivalent to 12 months’ pay.

WHO IS BRIAN HARTZER?

The outgoing Westpac chief executive was born in New York and educated at the prestigious Princeton University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in European history.

The 52-year-old, who moved to Australia around a quarter of a century ago, originally worked for ANZ.

But in 2007 he was snubbed by the bank’s board when it came time to promote a new ANZ head, and two years later Mr Hartzer left Australia for a gig in London at the Royal Bank of Scotland.

After his marriage broke down and his wife returned to Australia with the couple’s four children, Mr Hartzer eventually followed after securing a job at Westpac in 2012.

He became Westpac CEO in 2014 following the departure of previous boss Gail Kelly.

According to the Australian Financial Review, Mr Hartzer and his second wife moved into a $12.75 million Vaucluse mansion that same year.

Is the major scandal really not “a high street issue”? Comment below or get in touch | @James_P_Hall | [e-mail]

Originally published as Westpac’s bizarre leaked comments slammed as ‘unbelievable and unforgivable’