Kennett in beyondblue bully probe
Melissa Fyfe and Jill Stark
October 9, 2011
BEYONDBLUE’S former chief executive Dawn O’Neil made a written complaint of bullying against the national depression initiative’s chairman, Jeff Kennett, and later resigned when the board stood by the former Victorian premier.
The Sunday Age has been told Ms O’Neil, who left beyondblue last month after only nine months, wrote to Mr Kennett in August complaining she felt bullied and undermined by him. The details of the letter are unknown, but she told close associates the chairman’s behaviour included ”ranting, name-calling and [using] abusive language”.
Ms O’Neil, a member of the Order of Australia and former head of Lifeline, has declined to comment on her resignation.Mr Kennett referred the bullying complaint to the beyondblue board, which appointed a senior Melbourne barrister to investigate the allegations. The investigation found the claims were unsubstantiated, and the board – which includes former New South Wales premier Morris Iemma, retired Democrats senator Natasha Stott Despoja and former Australian Capital Territory chief minister Kate Carnell – stood behind its chairman.
The revelations come as Mr Kennett is up for re-election at beyondblue’s general meeting next week. It is unknown whether he will stand, but he retains the support of many.
”He’s a passionate and very vocal supporter of beyondblue and its programs,” Mr Iemma said. ”I don’t have any concerns about the organisation at all. It is a very well run organisation.”
Mr Kennett did not return The Sunday Age’s calls and beyondblue declined to comment on the latest developments.
Federal Mental Health Minister Mark Butler has asked the nation’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Baggoley, Canberra’s representative on beyondblue’s board, to seek a briefing on the charity’s internal staffing issues at the meeting, following concerns raised by several mental health professionals.
It is believed that as beyondblue’s major funding partners, the federal and Victorian governments each have seven votes on board reappointments, while other state and territory members and the remaining eight board members have one each.
The relationship between Mr Kennett and the former chief executive had soured over several months, with Ms O’Neil feeling repeatedly undermined and unable to carry out her job due to the chairman’s interference.
While she chose not to resign immediately after the board’s investigation into her claim, the rift between her and Mr Kennett worsened soon after, when he promoted a staff member against her wishes.
The relationship appears to have broken down completely after Mr Kennett wrote in his regular Herald Sun column on September 9 that the best environment for the mental health of a child is a ”stable, loving environment in which a male and female are married to each other”.
The column sparked a furore in the gay and lesbian community and embarrassed major sponsor Movember, which provided more than $10 million to beyondblue last year.
Ms O’Neil distanced the organisation from her chairman’s comments, issuing a statement on the beyondblue website that said there was no evidence parents’ gender had an effect on children’s mental health. She tendered her resignation on September 16 and left the organisation two weeks later.
The Sunday Age believes Ms O’Neil was aware of Mr Kennett’s reputation for being heavily involved in the operational side of the organisation before she was appointed, but accepted the role with the understanding he would step down by the end of this year. Mr Kennett had told the media last year that he intended to retire at the end of 2010.
After seven years under the stewardship of chief executive Leonie Young, who was close to Mr Kennett, Ms O’Neil’s arrival at beyondblue was welcomed within and outside the organisation as a fresh perspective. But sources say she soon felt undermined, especially by Mr Kennett’s refusal to warn her of the content of his often controversial newspaper column, even when he was speaking on behalf of the charity.
Mr Kennett had previously upset mental health experts with his comments against changes that tackle problem gambling and has declined to resign from his directorship of a company that services poker machines.
Mental Health Minister Mark Butler told The Sunday Age Commonwealth funding – $9 million last year – required beyondblue to be governed appropriately but Canberra ”could not supervise the internal affairs of an organisation like beyondblue in the same way it would a Commonwealth agency”.
Nevertheless, concerns had been raised with him about an internal staff survey – commissioned by Ms O’Neil in January – in which beyondblue scored poorly on key values such as morale, leadership and integrity.
Mr Butler has asked Professor Baggoley to seek a full report on ”internal staffing matters” at the beyondblue AGM.
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