Nine Entertainment board meets in wake of Peter Costello airport fracas

The seven-person board of Nine is meeting on Friday, less than 24 hours after its chairman had a physical altercation with a journalist at Canberra Airport.

Stills from a video of Nine Entertainment chairman Peter Costello approaching The Australian's reporter and barging into him, knocking him over. Picture: Liam Mendes

The seven-person board of Nine Entertainment is meeting on Friday, less than 24 hours after its chairman Peter Costello’s physical altercation with a journalist from The Australian at Canberra Airport.

It’s understood the incident involving Mr Costello and reporter Liam Mendes is high on the board agenda, given that the clash was front page news in most major mastheads across the country on Friday, and was extensively discussed on morning television and radio shows.

Some insiders at Nine are privately questioning whether Mr Costello can retain his position at the top of the media company, with one telling The Australian on Friday morning: “It’s untenable for him to continue as chair”.

Friday’s board meeting was always scheduled to take place, and was not called in response to the pressing crisis over the Canberra Airport episode.

But it’s understood the matter will be discussed in-depth at the board meeting.

A spokesman for Nine said: “We don’t talk about the board.”

Treasurer Jim Chalmers slammed Mr Costello, saying the head of a media giant should know to treat reporters with respect.

Mr Costello is under serious pressure to keep his job after he knocked The Australian’s reporter to the ground in front of multiple witnesses at Canberra Airport on Thursday while he was ­refusing to answer questions about the ­sexual-harassment scandal ­engulfing his media company.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Several witnesses said Mr Costello had charged “through (Mendes) like a sumo wrestler”, “shoulder-barged (Mendes), knocked him flying”, and “gave (Mendes) a good ­shunting”.

The Treasurer in Brisbane on Friday said it was up to Mendes if the matter proceeded further, but said journalists had to be safe while working and if “anyone should know that” it was Mr Costello.

“It’s a matter for the journalist whether or not that’s taken any further,” he said.

“I think it’s really important that we treat journalists with respect, that journalists are safe in their workplace.

“And if anyone should know that, it should be the chairman of a major media organisation.”

Mr Costello - the nation’s longest serving treasurer - last month claimed Dr Chalmer’s May budget was “inflationary on every measure” and Dr Chalmers had him replaced as chairman of the Future Fund last year with Gillard-era climate minister Greg Combet last February.

After weeks of publicly refusing to say what he knew and when about the dozen harassment ­allegations against Nine’s ex-news director Darren Wick and not backing his chief executive Mike Sneesby, Mr Costello pushed over Mendes and laughed as he tried to get back up.

The Nine chairman’s actions have increased focus on his company’s corporate culture amid the slew of internal bullying and ­harassment allegations that have led to Nine’s share price tumbling and a split of the media giant’s board.

Mr Costello had landed in the nation’s capital to reopen his ­company’s refurbished offices in the press gallery at Parliament House with Mr Sneesby, in what was due to be their first public ­appearance together since the Wick allegations emerged.

After The Australian published video showing his physical contact with Mendes, Mr Costello launched into an extraordinary denial, insisting the reporter had tripped over. “When I came through Canberra Airport there was a reporter walking backwards with his phone filming,” Mr Costello said. As I walked past him he walked back into an advertising placard. I did not strike him. If he’s upset about that I’m sorry.”

When asked about speculation the incident could put his chairmanship at risk, Mr Costello responded “rubbish”. “There’s no assault, he was backing backwards, he hit an advertising placard, I did not lay a finger or a fist or anything else on him,” he said.

Mr Costello said he was “sorry” the journalist fell and he “wished it hadn’t happened”.

Nine on Thursday night publicly supported its beleaguered chairman. “After arriving at Canberra Airport, the chairman was confronted by a journalist from The Australian,” a Nine spokesman 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.”

Witness Mark O’Hare on Thursday night rejected Mr Costello’s claim that he never struck Mendes. “I have no preconceived bias against Mr Costello, but I saw it, he shoulder-barged him, he knocked him flying,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Mr O’Hare had said he saw Mr Costello “flying through … like a sumo wrestler”. “I just saw this guy attack … and then I saw him (Mendes) on the floor with his shit everywhere and then he (Costello) just went on his way, wandered off,” he said.

Mr O’Hare, who was picking up his brother at the airport when the incident occurred, described Mr Costello as a “f..king big bloke – I didn’t realise how big he was”.

Another bystander witnessed the incident, saying: “Yeah, he like hit you … and I watched you fall over there.”

A bystander named Matt, who did not want his surname published, said he saw an “interaction” between Mendes and Mr Costello’s “arm or elbow or something”. “There was definitely contact … there was definitely contact between them,” he said.

“It all happened pretty quick, I could have sworn his (Mr Costello’s) arm was up or his elbow.”

Matt said he later spoke to Mendes and said to him: “That grumpy old bloke in the suit didn’t look very happy”, not knowing it was Mr Costello.

After Mr Costello’s claims about the incident, Mendes said: “The video speaks for itself and you can see it on his face”

“While I was questioning Mr Costello, he started charging towards me, after which he made contact with me causing me to fall over. No journalist should ever be attacked for doing their job.”

Upon being shown footage of Mr Costello’s actions, his former cabinet colleague Alexander Downer said people in positions such as the former Treasurer had to expect to be asked questions.

A still from the video, after Peter Costello knocked reporter Liam Mendes to the ground. Picture: Liam Mendes

Prior to the confrontation, Mendes asked the Nine chairman why he hadn’t publicly expressed his support for Mr Sneesby at any stage since The Australian revealed last month that Wick was the subject of a serious allegation of sexual harassment just prior to his resignation. It’s understood that both Mr Costello and Mr Sneesby were aware of the allegation at the time Wick resigned.

Mendes approached Mr Costello at the airport and introduced himself and asked him about his position on the sex-harassment scandal and Mr Sneesby’s future at the company. “Mr Costello, my name is Liam Mendes from The Australian, do you support Mr Sneesby as CEO and his handling of the Darren Wick saga?” he said.

Mr Costello ignored the question and kept walking through the airport. Mendes then asked: “Were you aware of allegations against Mr Wick before he left Nine? Were you aware of those allegations Mr Costello?”

Mr Costello continued walking, and Mendes asked: “Why won’t you support Mr Sneesby publicly?”

As he passed someone else in the airport, Mr Costello said: “Good to see you.”

Mendes then asked: “Well you’ve got to answer the questions, Mr Costello.”

Mr Costello then made ­physical contact with Mendes and The Australian reporter can be heard saying, “Don’t, don’t”, before he falls to the ground.

The video shows Mendes lying on the ground, saying: “You’ve just assaulted me.”

Mr Costello can be heard laughing in the background. Mendes got to his feet and followed Mr Costello to the airport’s exit, airing his displeasure about being pushed to the ground. “Mr Costello, you can’t do that, you can’t do that, it’s all captured on camera,” the reporter said. “That was quite violent behaviour, Mr Costello. ­Journalists who work for Nine approach people in this manner every day and you attacked me just then …”

ADDITIONAL REPORTING: Elizabeth Pike, Andreas Nicolas

Originally published as Nine Entertainment board meets in wake of Peter Costello airport fracas