Fraser shorn of last duties at TVNZ

Ian Fraser

TVNZ's board has stripped its former chief executive Ian Fraser of his remaining duties because of comments he made to a parliamentary committee about his resignation.

Now Mr Fraser, who is serving out six months' notice on about $300,000, says he is considering a personal grievance case against the board, which he believes has breached parliamentary privilege.

In explosive testimony to the committee, Mr Fraser said the board held secret "bitch sessions" and he insinuated that director John Goulter leaked information to the news media to "destabilise" him and news chief Bill Ralston.

He said the fallout from the leaking of Judy Bailey's $800,000 salary "corroded the relationship between the board and management almost irretrievably".

Mr Goulter has denied the claims, and director Dame Ann Hercus resigned on the day of the hearing.

Mr Fraser confirmed last night that the board wrote to him after the finance and expenditure select committee inquiry in December and said his comments amounted to "serious misconduct".

Mr Fraser said he believed the board had breached parliamentary privilege by taking disciplinary action after he spoke in an inquiry "where I was obliged to speak the truth".

He resigned from TVNZ in late October and was meant to be doing limited duties, including attending a conference in India, but now has no role despite earlier assurances from the Government. He said his lawyers had also written to TVNZ twice in the past month and he would not rule out taking a personal grievance case.

"It has effectively acted as a prosecuting attorney, judge and jury. I have given notice. My lawyers have written to TVNZ to reject their claims of misconduct and to state categorically that I've done nothing wrong and to point out that they are not legally entitled to take unilateral action."

Mr Fraser said the board had also threatened to terminate his remaining employment, which ends at the end of April, if he made further damaging comments.

"Far from accepting that the TVNZ board has a right to both charge me and find me guilty of serious misconduct and to use that to penalise me, I contend that I did nothing wrong.

"I did the only thing I could have done in front of the select committee, which was to tell the truth. I was aware a failure to tell the truth or to give evidence in full amounts to contempt of Parliament."

Mr Fraser said he emailed a letter to the select committee chairman, Shane Jones, yesterday about the situation. Mr Jones said he had not yet seen it and declined to comment.

However, Act leader Rodney Hide said it raised an issue over whether people could be "punished" for evidence given to a select committee.

"For a public broadcaster to try and sanction a CEO from answering questions for Parliament is not on. It would have a huge chilling effect on civil servants' ability to give full and frank advice to select committees."

Mr Fraser said that after his resignation he and board chairman Craig Boyce formally arranged a variation of his contract, which included a range of tasks for him to do to take up his remaining six months.

The duties for the termination period were to include presenting a paper at the Commonwealth Broadcasters' Association conference in Delhi, India, this month.

He was also to represent TVNZ on various industry bodies.

The Government had claimed Mr Fraser's six months' notice period, worth about $300,000, was not garden leave or a golden handshake, and that he would work out his time.

Neither TVNZ nor its board would comment. Broadcasting Minister Steve Maharey would not comment.

The select committee inquiry into TVNZ will recommence this year.