Ex-hotel quarantine boss Matiu Bush hired gym buddies for $101k-a-year roles

Suspended Victorian quarantine hotel boss Matiu Bush is being ­investigated over two gym trainers he promoted to $100,000-a-year jobs in the troubled program.

Matiu Bush promotes Alex Cheong's West Melbourne gym in a Facebook video.

Suspended Victorian quarantine hotel boss Matiu Bush is being ­investigated over the hiring of two fitness trainers from a gym he promoted to $100,000-a-year jobs in the troubled program.

Mr Bush was directly involved in the hiring of Functional U gym owner Alex Cheong and one of its trainers, Christine Yap, and he featured prominently in a Facebook video promoting the gym.

It is understood the government stood down Mr Cheong and Ms Yap following questions by The Australian on Wednesday about the hiring of the duo as hotel site leads and Mr Bush’s relationship with them. In a statement on Wednesday night, Covid-19 Quarantine Victoria said it would widen its probe into Mr Bush, who was suspended this month following revelations by The Australian, to examine his hiring of the duo.

“CQV is reviewing the recruitment practices of an IPC general manager, as part of a wide-­ranging investigation into their conduct,” a spokeswoman said.

“All CQV recruitment practices must be merit-based and ­adhere to the VPS code of conduct. Allegations that these processes have not been followed are taken extremely seriously and are being investigated.”

The Australian can also reveal that Infection Prevention and Control director Giulietta Pontivivo resigned this week.

Ms Pontivivo went on leave after The Australian revealed she and Mr Bush had been counselled over an IPC breach at the Pullman Hotel on March 1.

Mr Cheong and Ms Yap were appointed to the $101,000-a-year positions this year.

Sources said Mr Bush was on the interviewing panel.

In a Facebook video posted by Functional U in May 2020, Mr Bush promoted Mr Cheong‘s West Melbourne gym, praising the zoom classes that were being run by the business in the first months of the pandemic.

Interviewed outside a nearby cafe, Mr Bush is described as the “man with swagger” who inspired the gym to do zoom sessions because of the amount of training he was doing. Asked “how did you get that beautiful in such a short amount of time” after the session, Mr Bush replies: “Lots of practice”. He praised the “ethic vibe” of the music used during the session.

Mr Cheong and Ms Yap were featured on the Functional U website as working at the gym but their names and profiles were removed on Wednesday.

The CQV spokeswoman said hotel quarantine employees were not allowed to undertake secondary employment without written approval. “Approval is not given for any work that requires face-to-face contact,” she said.

“Any employee found to be breaching these rules will be ­removed from the program.”

The broadened inquiry is likely to examine whether Mr Bush declared any conflict of interest in relation to his links to the gym and, in particular, Mr Cheong.

Multiple sources expressed concern about the duo’s connection to Mr Bush and their apparent lack of qualifications to work in infection prevention and control. But the government does not require hotel site leads to hold “external qualifications”. The ­positions are categorised as non-clinical roles and receive specific training onsite.

The revelations cast further doubt on the future of Mr Bush as IPC general manager. The Australian revealed in May that he had been ­reported to authorities twice since March after refusing a Defence Force request for a mandatory COVID-19 test and breaching ­infection-­control protocols. The incidents were disclosed in confidential ­reports that also revealed how ­unvaccinated contractors had been allowed to perform hotel maintenance work in breach of government policy since the program ­resumed in April. The Australian obtained dozens of daily confidential ­reports that documented an array of breaches and incidents.

The state government had initially maintained counselling Mr Bush was an adequate response to his conduct but took tougher action when The Australian disclosed his behaviour as part of a special investigation into Victoria’s hotel quarantine program.