Jeff Kennett claims Alastair Clarkson denied ‘natural justice’ by bungling AFL

Former Hawthorn president says the AFL has only one option to break the impasse — axe the racism inquiry.

Jeff Kennett with Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson in 2010.

Eight months after the AFL established an inquiry into claims of racism at the Hawthorn Football Club, a resolution has never looked further away, with Alastair Clarkson stepping aside and Jeff Kennett calling for the investigation to be axed.

On a day the AFL hoped to showcase its social credentials with an official endorsement of a ‘‘Yes’’ vote in the referendum for an Indigenous voice to parliament, the Hawthorn crisis again shirtfronted the league.

North Melbourne, in a brief statement on Thursday morning, announced Clarkson — a four-time Hawks premiership coach — was stepping away from coaching the Roos and ominously no timeline for a return was mentioned.

Kennett, a former Hawthorn president, said he was now of the view that the AFL inquiry called last October was ‘‘doomed to fail, and is failing’’ and the league had to move urgently to abandon the inquiry.

The ex-premier of Victoria said it was clearer than ever that Clarkson, his former assistant and current Brisbane coach Chris Fagan and development coach Jason Burt, had all been denied natural justice by the original leaking of Hawthorn’s racism review between 2008 and 2016, and the subsequently bungled AFL inquiry.

‘‘I’ve got sympathy for Clarko and sympathy for the other two, obviously,’’ he told The Australian.

‘‘Natural justice has been denied because of the leaking and the mistakes of the AFL inquiry, which should be terminated immediately.

‘‘It is doomed to fail, and it is failing. some of the Indigenous people won’t provide information and those accused of racism won’t appear before the inquiry.’’

Clarkson and Fagan, the Herald Sun has reported, won’t attend proposed mediation talks with First Nations players and their partners as the racism investigation approaches a complete breakdown.

An emergency meeting will be held Friday between four First Nations families and their legal team led by Leon Zwier, when a decision will be made on their next course of action. It is possible it will end up in the Human Rights Commission in the Federal Court. AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan on Thursday was believed to be hopeful the mediation meeting in Adelaide on Tuesday would take place.

He has been a central part of shuttle mediation between all parties in recent days, when he has tried to find some common ground ahead of the proposed mediation talks.

North Melbourne president Sonja Hood said the club supported Clarkson putting his health first. “Everyone involved has been deeply affected by the Hawthorn investigation and the burden on Alastair has been significant. We will give Alastair whatever time he needs to restore his health and look forward to welcoming him back when he is fully fit,’’ she said.

Kennett said once the AFL inquiry was abandoned, the former Indigenous Hawthorn players would have the option of launching legal action that could test their allegations and give the coaches a forum in which to clear their names. ‘‘The three can’t have their names cleared until the claims are tested,’’ he said.

Kennett said the AFL reacted in a ‘‘knee-jerk manner’’ to call the four-person inquiry in the wake of the leaking of Hawthorn’s internal racism review. ‘‘It’s turned into a lawyers’ picnic,’’ he said.

The emergence last week of what was described in media reports as a list of 18 demands from the former Hawthorn players has further undermined the AFL inquiry, Kennett said.

Among those, according to the Herald Sun, were requests for truth-telling, acknowledgment, explanation, public apologies, contrition and education.

‘‘There is no way any so-called defendant can go into a mediation when those who are making accusations are making demands before the facts have been established,’’ he said.

The Hawthorn review included testimonies from former Hawks players and their wives or girlfriends claiming they were forced to separate from each other and that one was advised to ensure his partner had an abortion.

The draft review also claimed bullying and intimidation had been used against Indigenous players and their partners.