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The association was established in May to lobby for legislation and policy change to support the hospitality industry.
Furolo’s departure is ACRA’s second major loss due to sexual harassment allegations: in August, former Swillhouse CEO Anton Forte resigned in response to an investigation by The Sydney Morning Herald and Good Food of claims of sexual assault, drug use and discrimination at its six venues, including Restaurant Hubert and the Baxter Inn.
“The Merivale representative on the ARCA Board will be stepping down pending the determination of the investigation,” ARCA chief executive Wes Lambert said on Tuesday.
“ARCA in no way condones unsafe workplaces, sexual harassment or discrimination and it has no place in the hospitality industry.”
Merivale has appointed one of Australia’s leading human rights and discrimination lawyers Kate Eastman, SC, to lead an investigation into allegations revealed by this masthead which covered claims the company created a toxic environment that exploited women, encouraged them to have sex with customers, perpetuated sexual harassment and facilitated frequent drug use.
Hemmes told staff there “are NO repercussions for speaking up, but rather it is absolutely encouraged”.
“We are living in a changing world, which in so many important ways is for the better,” he said.
Prabha Nandagopal, human rights lawyer and founder of SafeSpace@elevate
But ARCA’s own sexual harassment and workplace culture consultant Prabha Nandagopal, a former senior legal adviser to the Australian Human Rights Commission, said hospitality companies had been slow to take up services following the Swillhouse investigation in August.
“Hospitality is having its moment of reckoning, and the more investigations like this that shine a light on what’s happening, I think it emboldens other people to speak out as well about their experiences,” said the SafeSpace@elevate founder.
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“I think we’ve seen a big shift in community expectations. There are enormous legal, financial and reputational risks. This type of behaviour, even if it has been normalised for some time in hospitality, needs to stop.”
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