Nine star Ben Fordham tells Peter Costello: ‘Boss you’ve had a shocker’

Some of Nine Radio’s biggest stars have criticised the conduct of Peter Costello, the chairman of their own company, when he was approached by a journalist at Canberra Airport | LISTEN

Nine Entertainment’s biggest radio stars have denounced the actions of chairman Peter Costello after he knocked a reporter to the ground at Canberra Airport on Thursday.

Sydney’s top-rating breakfast host, 2GB’s Ben Fordham, told listeners he had invited Mr Costello onto his program to explain himself and said: “Boss, you’ve had a shocker.”

Fordham said he had received no response from Mr Costello after he was “involved in an ugly incident at Canberra Airport.”

“This is what I wrote to the former federal treasurer last night who’s now the chairman of Nine who own this radio station,” Fordham said on his program.

“I said, ‘you’ve got to address the airport incident, you know that better than anyone and there’s only one place to do it, 2GB at 7.15am’. I haven’t received a response.”

Mr Costello has repeatedly refused to answer questions relating to the sexual harassment scandal engulfing Nine following the departure of former news and current affairs boss Darren Wick on March 15.

He was approached by The Australian’s journalist Liam Mendes at Canberra Airport on Thursday and asked him a series of questions that Mr Costello refused to answer.

The fracas took place inside the terminal with several witnesses watching on.

One male witness described Mr Costello as charging “through (Mendes) like a sumo wrestler.”

2GB’s mornings host Ray Hadley also addressed the incident on his program and said Mr Costello “refused to answer the reporter’s questions relating to the rolling harassment scandal at the company.”

“It’s on the front page of The Sydney Morning Herald which is also an organisation owned in the same interests, he’s rubbished suggestions he should resign,” Hadley told his morning program.

“Look, I’d know what would happen to me if I dropped my shoulder into someone who was trying to interrogate me somewhere, you wouldn’t hear the end of it.

“Ben Fordham offered him the chance to come on and clarify what happened this morning, he hasn’t come on and I’ll leave it to greater minds than me to sort out what they’re going to do.

“But from a company’s point of view it’s not really good when the chairman accused, let alone acted in the way that he allegedly acted.”

The Australian’s Liam Mendes on the ground with Nine chairman Peter Costello failing to render help at Canberra airport. Picture: Liam Mendes

Hadley added: “I will leave it with the board to deal with it.”

In Melbourne’s 3AW’s mornings host Tom Elliott also discussed the incident on air and said “it appears that Mr Costello pushed Mr Mendes over.”

“It’s been a rocky couple of weeks for Nine, Darren Wick, the former head of Nine news has now left his job and it’s alleged he got a hefty payout despite allegations of sexual abuse against him within the company,” Elliott said.

“To Mr Costello, I say if you did push Mr Mendes over apologise & be done with it, if you didn’t stand your ground.”

Elliott told his audience that if Mr Costello did push Mendes over, “that is a very, very bad look for Peter Costello.”

“You might not like having a microphone shoved in your face, Mr Costello might have been tired after his flight, I don’t know, but you don’t push people over,” Elliott said.