Nauru Airlines chairman Trevor Jensen accused of not disclosing role in training company AA Nova Global

A Brisbane-based airline which pockets about $10 million a year from the Australian Government is facing scrutiny over its chairman’s role in a staff training company.

LACK OF DISCLOSURE

The chairman of Brisbane-based Nauru Airlines is a director of a company which oversaw training for staff and two of his fellow board members have been hired by the carrier.

None of these facts was disclosed to the board, multiple sources have told us.

The claims have emerged as the carrier, which pockets about $10 million a year from the Australian Government, is facing intense scrutiny from aviation regulators over explosive allegations that a toxic work environment has hobbled the business.

Nauru Airlines chairman Trevor Jensen is one of three directors of a company called AA Nova Global Pty Ltd along with long-time industry colleagues Tony Middleton and Myanmar national Aye Aye Naing.

Nauru Airlines chairman Trevor Jensen.

Records show the aviation consultancy business was created in July 2017, six months before Jensen assumed the role of chairman, and he co-owns the company with Middleton.

Middleton was subsequently hired last year on a lucrative consulting contract as the carrier’s chief operating officer after he completed a study for the airline recommending creation of that very same position.

Naing is a former Miss Myanmar and Coca Cola model who previously managed cabin crew for now-defunct carrier FMI Air, where she worked with Jensen.

She has now been employed at Nauru Airlines, where she serves in the newly-created role of “in-flight services consultant’’.

EMPOWERMENT TRAINING

City Beat spies close to the airline say “empowerment training’’ was strongly promoted to key managers by Jensen, whose mobile phone number is listed as one of the points of contact for AA Nova.

The airline’s 200 or so staff were instructed earlier this year by Richard Muralee, a self-described “change management facilitator’’ who was flown in from Kuala Lumpur for the workshops in Brisbane.

Ironically, about six months earlier, Jensen had strongly backed an email to all employees outlining a toughened up policy on conflicts of interest.

Nauru Airlines pockets about $10 million a year from the Australian Government.

In addition, the airline’s Code of Conduct clearly states that key executives should “avoid using your position of power for gain’’ and it prohibits outside employment without the approval of the CEO or board.

Jensen declined to comment yesterday. His lawyer was equally tight-lipped, citing commercial-in-confidence reasons.

Nauru finance minister David Adeang told us that he saw no conflicts of interest. “We are confident that Nauru Airlines is being operated with integrity and financial probity,’’ he said.

That echoed Jensen’s thoughts last week, when he told City Beat that “our company is operated with good governance and with the highest levels of integrity’’.

Middleton did not return a call seeking comment yesterday.

EYEBROWS RAISED

Meanwhile, eyebrows have been raised by other business dealings inside Nauru Airlines, which underwent a CASA audit last week and is understood to be heading for another big loss this financial year.

Both Jensen and Naing have represented the airline at aviation conferences overseas and will be speaking on “new directions in training’’ at a summit in Singapore this September.

The runsheet for the conference, set to be moderated by Jensen, indicates Naing will be speaking on behalf of a firm called DK Jennings.

Nauru Airlines underwent a CASA audit last week.

That business is a Philippines-based consultancy operated by Richard Miller, who just happens to be the chief commercial officer at Nauru Airlines.

Like Middleton, he’s a long-time industry colleague of Jensen and got the job after he wrote a report for the airline recommending creation of the position.

Jensen and Naing also spoke on “cabin crew training’’ at the same industry conference in Korea in March last year.

Even though he was chairman of Nauru Airlines at that point, Jensen is listed in conference notes as a director of AA Nova.

Neither Naing nor Miller returned calls yesterday.