Nine chief executive Mike Sneesby signed off on a payout to Darren Wick, network claims

Nine’s chief executive Mike Sneesby was responsible for giving former news boss Darren Wick a nearly $1m golden handshake, as the network claims Peter Costello played no role.

Nine Entertainment chief executive Mike Sneesby. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Nine’s chief executive Mike Sneesby was responsible for ­giving a former news boss an ­almost $1m golden handshake after an avalanche of sexual-harassment allegations against the veteran journalist, as the network claims chairman Peter Costello played no role in the payout.

Mr Sneesby announced an external review into claims ­veteran news director Darren Wick had sexually harassed up to a dozen women at Nine, just hours before he was outed as the ­executive responsible for Wick’s ­controversial payout by a ­network spokeswoman late on Monday night.

The spokeswoman said Mr Costello and the Nine board “did not sign off on the settlement with Darren Wick; it was ­handled within our governance ­processes”.

When asked who was responsible for the payment, the spokeswoman said: “Mike Sneesby signed off on it.”

Mr Costello – the nation’s longest-serving federal treasurer during the Howard government – was personally asked a series of questions by The Australian on Monday about Wick’s departure, including who signed off on his payout, whether he knew about Wick’s alleged misconduct and if Mr Sneesby was still fit to be chief executive.

Mr Costello did not respond.

Wick received close to $1m upon his departure – more than his annual salary – even though he left amid extensive discussions at board level about his alleged ­inappropriate conduct with ­female staff.

More than a dozen current and former Nine staff in recent days have anonymously recounted ­alleged incidents of inappropriate behaviour by Wick, and claim Nine knowingly failed to provide a safe workplace for them.

More than one staff member alleged Wick touched them ­inappropriately, including one who alleged he put his hand up her skirt after she ­accepted a lift home from him.

On Monday, Mr Sneesby and newly appointed news boss Fiona Dear held an all-staff meeting and revealed that the company would launch an independent review into the “behaviours and concentration of power that has damaged the trust and fairness” at the network after the series of claims of alleged verbal and physical misconduct made involving Wick.

Mr Sneesby said it had been a “very tough time” for Nine staff.

He added that this particularly ­applied to those who had experienced “distress and frustration” following the media reports around harassment allegations at the commercial TV network.

The Australian exclusively ­reported last week that Wick had left the news organisation in March after allegations were made that he was involved in ­inappropriate behaviour towards a female staff member.

Mr Sneesby, who recently cut short a holiday in the US to deal with the fallout plaguing the news organisation, said in the email to staff: “The recent reports that ­detail alleged serious failings of leadership in television news clearly tells me more work needs to be done to ensure we have a safe and inclusive workplace throughout Nine.”

Mr Sneesby also said the ­reports had “made it clear that we need to accelerate the work we are doing to build a culture of respect and trust”.

Former Channel 9 news boss Darren Wick left the company in March after a complaint was made about inappropriate conduct. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

“A key part of this is ensuring everyone feels safe to raise ­concerns and to speak up when they see something inappropriate happening in the workplace,” Mr Sneesby said.

He urged any staff experiencing problems to contact him ­directly if they preferred, adding that a helpline had been provided for emotional or psychological ­support.

Mr Sneesby also said that as soon as a complaint was made about Wick, Nine engaged an “external law firm to ensure it was independent of Nine management”.

He also urged staff “to speak up when they see something ­inappropriate happening in the workplace”.

Mr Sneesby told staff, in an ­extraordinary move, that the company would have “open-doors access to Nine’s executive group to listen if you want to speak, without impact on your ­career here, with a view to helping us to take action as needed”.

“We will provide a helpline for emotional or psychological support that is private and independent, specifically around these issues raised in recent weeks,” he said.

Nine’s executive team includes chief financial officer Matt Stanton, director of communications and public relations Victoria Buchan, director of television ­Michael Healy and director of people and culture Vanessa ­Morley.

Mr Sneesby rejected reports that nondisclosure agreements had been signed in relation to Wick.

“As CEO at Nine I have never signed NDAs for any employee relating to a complaint or behavioural issue,” he said in the email to staff.

“In particular, I did not sign any NDAs with Nine staff in ­relation to Darren Wick’s alleged behaviour.”

Nine’s share price closed at $1.48 on Monday.