Embattled former AWB chairman Trevor Flugge announced this week that he is taking leave from three public company boards, and the company that will be most relieved is IBT Education, which has felt heat on this issue from Canberra to Canada.
Embattled former AWB chairman Trevor Flugge announced this week that he is taking leave from three public company boards, and the company that will be most relieved is IBT Education, which has felt heat on this issue from Canberra to Canada.
Mr Flugge’s role as chairman of IBT added fuel to two awkward issues that have generated negative publicity for the Perth-based company.
In Vancouver, Canada, IBT’s proposal to establish a college for international fee-paying students at Simon Fraser University has met with strong opposition from members of faculty and staff.
The university’s senate deferred a vote on the matter earlier this month and critics of the plan have seized on this as a sign of success in their campaign.
The university’s student newspaper The Peak pulled Mr Flugge into the issue by stating that his role would make it “an extra hard sell” for IBT to win support.
“Many people are worried about how relationships with a company who (sic) has a member attached to scandalous deals in Iraq are going to affect the reputation of SFU,” an editorial in the newspaper said.
Mr Flugge’s role at IBT has also been used by critics of IBT subsidiary ACL Pty Ltd, which has an Australian government contract to resettle refugees in Australia.
Labor Senator Annette Hurley has questioned both ACL’s service standards and IBT’s decision to acquire ACL for $55 million soon after it commenced the government contract.
As well as taking leave from IBT’s board, Mr Flugge is also taking leave from the boards of Wesfarmers and Automotive Holdings Group.
However, he is continuing as a director of listed company ZBB Energy and as chairman of the farmer-owned company Australian Wool Services, which owns The Woolmark Company.
Mr Flugge’s position has come under increasing scrutiny after highly critical testimony at the Cole inquiry, which is investigating allegations AWB paid up to $290 million in kickbacks to former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
The payments occurred during Mr Flugge’s term as AWB chairman, which ended in 2002.
Mr Flugge, who was paid nearly $1 million by the Australian government as a special envoy to Iraq during 2003, repeatedly told the inquiry he could not recall key meetings, and said he had lost his diary and had poor hearing.
The inquiry has also heard that Mr Flugge carried at least $US1 million ($A1.35 million) in cash from Kuwait into Baghdad as part of his work for the Australian government.
In a statement issued this week, Mr Flugge said: “Notwithstanding the continuing support of the boards for my directorships, I believe that my personal wellbeing and the interests of shareholders would be best served by taking leave to allow the Cole inquiry to conclude”.
IBT chief executive Rod Jones said Mr Flugge had been given a special leave of absence so he could focus on personal and AWB matters.
“Also, he was concerned that the negative publicity may impact on shareholders,” Mr Jones said. “He doesn’t want it to impact on shareholders.”
ZBB Energy chairman Richard Payne said Mr Flugge was considering his position and had decided to remain as a director for now.
Mr Payne said the size and nature of ZBB’s activities meant the position would be less demanding than some of Mr Fugge’s other board roles.
He also expressed continuing support for Mr Flugge.
