An article published in The Australian on Wednesday, claimed Minister for Social Services Christian Porter was finalising a list of “corporate heavyweights” to replace the current board in a purge of management.

The claims were based on leaked letters seen by the news organisation which showed a list of new appointees including Helen ­Nugent, the chairwoman of credit reference outfit Veda Group, who is tipped to replace Bonyhady as chair at the start of 2017.

The Australian quoted a letter from Porter to the states and territories that said: “Should we not be able to reach agreement on any of these appointments, I intend to ­exercise my powers to appoint the nominees in the above final list after 90 days from the date of this letter (September 30) to ensure there is a fully functioning, high-quality board in place from 1 January 2017.”

Porter declined to comment on the specifics of the leaked letters but told Pro Bono Australia News there had been a consultation process for board appointments.

Source: Pro Bono Australia