Not the first time Ken Henry unwilling to accept that he is unwilling to accept criticism
No criticism accepted. Kenneth Hayne’s final report, royal commission into misconduct in banking and financial services, Monday:
I thought it telling that (NAB chairman ) Dr (Ken) Henry seemed unwilling to accept any criticism of how the board had dealt with some issues.
No criticism? Moi? Ken Henry, NAB media release, yesterday:
In his final report, Commissioner Hayne said I seemed unwilling to accept criticism of how the board had dealt with some of the issues raised by the commission. I am disappointed that the commissioner formed this view. I know that it is not so.
Arrogant? Ask his wife. Samantha Hutchinson, The Age, December 19:
(At) NAB’s 4½-hour AGM … one shareholder (told Ken Henry) he appeared “arrogant” on the royal commission’s stand. While Henry agreed the board had heard the shareholders’ message about executive pay ... he stopped short of agreeing with the other, more contentious, claim. “I said to my wife, ‘you saw it all, did you think I was being pompous?’. She said, ‘No, but you certainly can be’,” Henry told the audience. By the scoffs heard in response, we take it shareholders were somewhat amused.
Unhelpful? Ask the wombats. Paul Daley, The Sydney Morning Herald, May 2, 2010:
By the middle of 2008, (Treasury secretary Ken) Henry, like most who worked for Rudd, needed time off ... (and) let it be known he’d be spending his free time caring for 115 endangered hairy-nosed wombats … Shadow treasurer Malcolm Turnbull said: “Who will be looking after the muddle-headed Treasurer in Dr Henry’s absence? … Watching Henry front Senate estimates committee hearings ... where he has repeatedly clashed with Liberal and National Party senators, has become a compelling spectator sport … In October 2008 … Henry reacted angrily to suggestions from Senator Eric Abetz that he had been untruthful about some circumstances preceding the bank guarantee … Abetz said: “More and more storm clouds were gathering. Yet ... the secretary took five weeks’ leave, telling the Australian people that the economy was ‘in pretty good shape’, and ... went off to look after 115 hairy-nosed wombats.’’
Torture of not being a refugee celebrity amid polite Canadians. Eric Tlozek, ABC News online, yesterday:
The struggle to adjust to life ... after fleeing Manus Island ‘torture’ … 456 refugees from Manus Island and Nauru have been resettled in the US, under a deal agreed by Malcolm Turnbull and Barack Obama ... (Refugee activist Fleur Wood said:) “For some of these guys it really is terrible. ... refugees that we’ve heard of, that no one met them at the airport” … (It was so awful that) some Rohingya men … asked to be returned to Nauru … (Iranian refugee) Amir Taghinia’s new life is outwardly pleasant but inwardly tortured. He shares a basement flat in a leafy suburb, works at a popular tourist attraction and studies at Vancouver Community College. But he has gone from being a sought-after person, a Manus celebrity ... to being a young immigrant in a city of polite ... Canadians ... “I am sure ... in the future that Australia will feel sorry about what they’ve done.”
Lucky they didn’t come to medieval Australia. Father Rod Bower tweets, Monday:
#KidsOffNauru is great, but sending them to #USA commits them to a life of potential hardship in what is essentially a feudal system where a wealthy elite rules over a vast and impoverished population. The #AmericanDream is … a nightmare for so many.