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Title : Calombaris' $200,000 fine for wages scandal 'light', Attorney-General says
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Calombaris' $200,000 fine for wages scandal 'light', Attorney-General says

Attorney-General Christian Porter says former MasterChef judge George Calombaris' fine for underpaying staff $7.8 million in wages was too "light".

Key points:

• Mr Porter said he wanted to review the penalties for employers who underpay their staff
• He said criminal charges could be considered for those who repeatedly fail to properly pay employees
• Labor's Tony Burke touted the need for industrial relations reforms

The celebrity chef's hospitality group MAdE backpaid current and former employees the lost wages and will make a $200,000 "contrition payment" under a court-enforceable undertaking made with the Fair Work Ombudsman.

"I think that ... fine, myself, is light," Mr Porter said.

"I have said that is an area where we will review penalties.

"I am open-minded to submissions that there should be firmer penalties there, inclusive of potentially criminal penalties reserved for repetitious breaches."

The case prompted calls for Calombaris to be dropped from his role as a MasterChef judge, with a petition on Megaphone.org.au attracting more than 25,000 signatures.

Network Ten stood by the chef, but last night announced that Calombaris, along with co-presenters Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan would not be returning to the series next season.

Network chief executive Paul Anderson said the parties could not reach a deal "despite months of negotiation".

Preston released a statement on Twitter saying the judges were "really keen to continue but were unable to agree to all terms for the new contract".

The announcement came hours before the show's season finale last night, which attracted an audience of 992,000 across the Australian metropolitan market, according to figures published by TV Tonight.

It was a leap from the previous night's episode, which drew a viewership of 742,000.

'Wage theft' not enough for sacking

After the news of the judges' departure broke, Labor's industrial relations spokesman Tony Burke said it was disappointing the unpaid wages case was not enough to warrant the sacking of Calombaris.

"I wish the wage theft of workers had been enough for this guy to be sacked rather than it being 'oh no, he was asking for too much money'," he said.

"I hate that the threshold was their own cash, not his treatment of other people."

Mr Burke said employers should incur serious consequences for underpaying employees.

"If someone is deliberately and in a calculated way taking money that belongs to workers and keeping it to themselves I fail to see how that is different to a worker taking money from the till," he said.

"People have a legal right to be properly paid.

"And that a number of businesses think this is just 'oh yeah, just fix it up after or just pay the fine, not a problem', or that the Government thinks these are not the real issues where you need industrial relations reform is something that is shocking.

"[It's] just really sad that people can't see wage theft for what it is."

Chef dropped from tourism deal

Calombaris was axed as the face of a campaign with Tourism WA, in which the chef was contracted to feature in television advertisements and online content to "design your own gourmet escape" in the state.

WA Tourism Minister Paul Papalia said the wages scandal was a disappointing development.

"What George Calombaris has done is terrible," he said.

MAde, which Calombaris founded, self-disclosed the underpayment of staff at its Press Club, Gazi and Hellenic Republic restaurants.

Fair Work inspectors also found some employees at the Jimmy Grants chain — which shares some shareholders and directors with MAdE — had missed out on entitlements.

"We apologise to all our affected team members, past and present — as it is our people that make our restaurants great, and it is our priority to ensure all of our employees feel respected, rewarded and supported in their roles," Calombaris said in a statement.

"We are committed to acting as a force for change in the industry and leading by example when it comes to building and promoting supportive, healthy and compliant hospitality workplaces."

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