Twin Creeks ex-general manager Grant Martin sues for unfair dismissal
The former general manager of the Chinese-owned Sydney golf course Twin Creeks has filed proceedings alleging he was unfairly sacked and that he is owed more than $300,000.
NSW
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The self-described “CEO” of Chinese-owned Sydney golf course Twin Creeks – which owes the tax office millions – has filed proceedings alleging he was unlawfully sacked after telling the club’s Communist Party-linked chairman of concerns about “funding shortfalls” that “could not be accounted for”.
Fighting fire with fire, Twin Creeks and then-chairman Tommy Jiang not only deny any wrongdoing, they accuse the former employee Grant Martin of having:
- “defrauded” nearly $180,000 in illegitimate back-pay;
- falsified a director’s signature, costing the club a further $600,000; and
- faked invoices, causing a loss of another $210,000.
In reply, Mr Martin says he was entitled to the back-pay and did not falsify anything.
Details of the long-running legal battle can be revealed today for the first time, barely a week after the Australian Taxation Office commenced separate court proceedings seeking to wind up Twin Creeks over $2.5 million in outstanding taxes, which the swanky western Sydney club has since publicly vowed to pay.
Mr Martin commenced Federal Court action in November 2019 – three months after he was dismissed, ending more than ten years with the club, during which time he had worked his way up from sales and membership manager. Just how far he climbed is at issue in the case.
In a document filed with the court, Mr Martin alleges he provided a written brief to Mr Jiang in July that year which set out his concerns about supposed funding shortfalls and “misleading reporting to the board”.
Mr Martin has asserted he had a legal “workplace right” to make the complaint but instead was suspended then terminated with immediate effect.
He alleges the club failed to pay him more than $200,000 in lieu of notice of termination, along with nearly $20,000 for unpaid work, $44,000 in untaken holidays and close to $50,000 worth of long-service leave.
Mr Martin is seeking orders for the sums, along with “an amount for hurt and humiliation”.
He is also pursuing declarations that the club and Mr Jiang breached the Fair Work Act.
The club and Mr Jiang refute all of Mr Martin’s accusations in defence documents.
They allege Mr Martin “fabricated” two employment contracts “to increase his salary and benefits without the knowledge of the board of directors in order to gain financial advantage for himself”.
They accuse Mr Martin of creating a “2012 contract” in 2015, shortly after Chinese interests bought Twin Creeks.
The other allegedly fake contract was supposedly authored in 2016 and was “based on the 2012 contract”.
They claim Mr Martin was aware that the buyers of the club did not have employment records from the previous owners and “saw an opportunity to increase his salary without raising suspicion and benefit from his deception.”
The club and Mr Jiang say they became “aware of an alleged misuse of position and potential breach of trust” in 2018 and, after an investigation, in early 2019 “resolved to terminate the Applicant’s employment for serious misconduct”.
They also say there is no record of Mr Martin being appointed CEO.
They claim he was only general manager.
Mr Martin refutes the key allegations made by the club and Mr Jiang.
A two-week hearing is due to start on July 24 next year.
Mr Jiang resigned as a director in September 2019 but is understood to still be involved in Twin Creeks.
He is a Chinese-language media mogul with extensive Australian interests.
He has co-invested with companies ultimately owned by Beijing-controlled China Radio International.
One of Twin Creeks’ current directors is Hong Kong-based casino junket promoter “Jack” Yin Lok Lam, who has served as a member of the “Guangdong provincial committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference”.
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