Raphael Arndt grilled over Disneyland Club 33 visit and executive assistant’s business class travel
Future Fund chief executive Raphael Arndt sent his executive assistant on at least two business class trips abroad, including one to inspect hotel rooms for executives, while Arndt joined the members-only Club 33 at Disneyland.
During questioning in Senate Estimates on Tuesday evening, Arndt was accused by Senator David Pocock of spending taxpayers’ money in a “cavalier manner”; because the Future Fund boss admitted he visited the Disney club “not as a recreational activity” and could not say whether taxpayers or Disney were footing the bill for the trip.
Raphael Arndt is CEO of Future Fund. Credit: Bloomberg
The Future Fund is Australia’s sovereign wealth fund and invests in and manages major institutions including the Medical Research Future Fund, the Housing Australia Future Fund and five others. It was established in 2006.
The exclusive Club 33 was founded by Disney creator Walt Disney in 1967, and membership is by invitation only. If invited to join the club, potential members must pay US$35,000 ($53,000) upfront, followed by annual fees of around US$15,000. According to online reports.
Arndt said he went to the private Disney club to learn about the entertainment giant’s educational programs.
“On one of the trips we took, when we were thinking about setting up a Learning Academy for the Future Fund, the Future Fund Academy, which teaches culture, one of the peer groups we identified in the study was Disney and Disney University, because they do cultural promotion for their teams in a way that seems to be quite effective. So we had some meetings with a person who was involved in that activity and a tour of the facility, which included lunch at the place you mentioned.”
At a hearing on Tuesday evening, independent senator David Pocock asked Arndt whether the unnamed former executive assistant had traveled abroad for work.
“I would think twice, but it could be more, but he supported a hostel trip and also went on a trip to evaluate hotels for their suitability for our staff and support with another person, negotiate prices with hotels to get better deals,” Arndt said.
“When I became CEO, I thought it would make sense to centralize this function. [travel booking] and negotiate prices with hotels. “From what I recently reviewed and recall, the business case was that the trip would cost about $20,000 and the annual savings should be at least $30,000, and my understanding is that we achieved more savings than that as a result of this project.”
