‘He was let off the hook!’ Sarah Harris slams George Calombaris for underpaying staff and criticises ABC host Leigh Sales for not asking tougher questions
George Calombaris has been heavily criticised since it was revealed he had underpaid restaurant staff by $7.8million.
And Studio 10 host Sarah Harris weighed in on the debate on Thursday, saying that George ‘was let off the hook’ in his interview with Leigh Sales on 7.30.
On Wednesday night, the celebrity chef broke down in tears during his interview with Leigh, but Sarah said the veteran ABC journalist went easy on him.
‘He was let off the hook!’ Studio 10’s Sarah Harris has slammed George Calombaris (above) for underpaying staff, and also criticised 7.30 host Leigh Sales for not asking tougher questions
‘I feel like he was let of the hook a little bit by 7.30 last night,’ Sarah said.
‘He said in this interview that the company [MAdE Establishment] self-reported underpayments back in 2017.
‘But Leigh didn’t push him on the fact that the Fair Work Ombudsman [had] actually alerted him and said, “You’ve got some big payroll issues here”.’
Veteran broadcaster: George was grilled by ABC journalist Leigh Sales (pictured) on 7:30 on Wednesday, but Sarah claimed that Leigh missed an opportunity to really hold him to account
Sarah doubled down on her criticism later on during a panel discussion, saying: ‘I will reiterate that I felt like he was let off the hook in the interview.’
She also said that George’s punishment was not harsh enough.
‘When you accidentally underpay $7.8million, how does that $200,000 fine compare?’ she asked.
Sarah then suggested that George be given a similar punishment to conman Hamish McLaren, who is serving 12 years in prison for swindling more than $7.6million.
Strong words: Sarah (pictured) said that George should be sent to prison for wage theft