New Essendon chief executive Andrew Thorburn has resigned a day after he was appointed, due to his position in a church with divisive views around abortion and homosexuality.
The former NAB boss, who resigned from that job in 2019 after receiving scathing criticism during the banking royal commission, was on Monday announced as the Bombers’ successor to Xavier Campbell.
But within hours of his appointment, Thorburn’s links to a controversial church organisation were thrust into the spotlight, and by Tuesday evening, the embattled Bombers were left searching for their third CEO in less than two months.
Essendon new CEO Andrew Thorburn stepped down a day after being appointed
Thorburn is chairman of City on a Hill, a church that condemns homosexuality and has an article on its website from 2013 titled ‘Surviving Same Sex Attraction as a Christian’.
‘If you struggle with same-sex attraction, it is vital to speak to a mature Christian whom you trust, so you can receive the support and accountability you will need in the long term to survive these temptations,’ the City on a Hill article reads.
Another sermon published in 2013, but still on the church’s website this week, compared the ‘freedom’ of abortion to the Jewish holocaust.
‘Today we look back at [with] sadness and disgust over concentration camps, future generations will look back with sadness at the legal murder of hundreds of thousands human beings every day through medicine.’
In a statement on Tuesday, Essendon president Dave Barham said the board had accepted Thorburn’s resignation after they had made it clear he couldn’t hold positions at both his church and his football club.
‘As soon as the comments relating to a 2013 sermon from a pastor at the City of the Hill church came to light this morning, we acted immediately to clarify the publicly espoused views on the organisation’s official website, which are in direct contradiction to our values as a club,’ Barham said in a club statement.
The former CEO of NAB, Thorburn is chairman of the controversial City on a Hill church
The City on a Hill Church has several locations in Victoria and has published hardline views on abortion and homosexuality online
‘Essendon is committed to providing an inclusive, diverse and a safe club, where everyone is welcome and respected.
‘The board made clear that, despite these not being views that Andrew Thorburn has expressed personally and that were also made prior to him taking up his role as chairman, he couldn’t continue to serve in his dual roles at the Essendon Football Club and as chairman of City on the Hill.
‘The board respects Andrew’s decision.’
In his first interview after being appointed to lead Essendon, Thorburn had said he understood some of the church’s views ‘are offensive and upset people’.
Thorburn joined City on a Hill in 2014, and he says some of the articles and readings on the church’s website pre-date his involvement and he had never heard such sentiments during his time there.
Barham stressed both the board and Thorburn had been unaware of the 2013 article before reading about it on Tuesday morning.
‘At the centre of my faith is the belief that you should create community, care for people, help people’s faith and respect them as humans,’ Thorburn told SEN on Tuesday.
Before leading NAB between 2014 and 2019, Thorburn was in charge of Bank of NZ for six years.
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews, an Essendon fan, described the views of City on a Hill as ‘absolutely appalling’ but insisted he would renew his Bombers membership
He pointed to those jobs where he led thousands of ‘diverse’ people as evidence he was the right person to take Essendon forward.
‘My role as a CEO is to ensure the organisations I lead, which I think my record stands for this, are inclusive and welcoming and caring,’ Thorburn said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Victorian premier Daniel Andrews had labelled the church’s views as ‘absolutely appalling’, but said the decision to appoint him was ultimately a matter for the club’s board.
‘There are many reasons to be a somewhat disappointed Essendon supporter,’ he said.
Thorburn was hired to replace Xavier Campbell, who resigned as Essendon CEO in August
‘I don’t want to make light of this but I don’t appoint the CEO of the Essendon footy club or the CEO of any footy club. That’s a matter for the board.
‘That kind of intolerance, that kind of hatred, bigotry. It’s just wrong. To dress that up as anything other than bigotry is just obviously false.’
However, Andrews, an Essendon fan, said he would continue to support the Bombers and renew his membership.
‘The Essendon footy club is about more than one person,’ he added.
The Bombers unveiled Brad Scott as their new head coach last week
‘I’d encourage all Essendon members to renew their membership. And I hope we can get ourselves on the back page of the paper a bit more often than we’re on the front page.’
After making a surprise finals appearance in 2021, the Bombers crashed down to 15th on the ladder this season and sacked head coach Ben Rutten at the end of the campaign.
The club last week unveiled Brad Scott as Rutten’s replacement last week.
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