Must not mention an Hispanic background?



An Hispanic businessman who was hired to run Australia's biggest telecoms company and who walked away from the job that had paid him over $30 million in four years is still not happy:

"After slipping out of Australia ahead of his June 30 resignation date and just days after boasting of his achievements at Telstra at a conference in San Diego, Mr Trujillo told the BBC that being in Australia was like "stepping back in time''.

In the BBC interview, the American claimed Australians were racist, including Kevin Rudd, who greeted news of Mr Trujillo's departure with the word, "adios''.

"Many Australians have come up to me and they've apologised, because they're embarrassed by that kind of behaviour,'' Mr Trujillo, who talks proudly of his Hispanic heritage, told the BBC in the interview.

But Mr Brumby said he did not accept Mr Trujillo's comments. "I think there was a bit of sour grapes in them actually,'' he said. "He's an example, he came here from overseas and he had a great job, he was awarded that job, there was no discrimination or prejudice against him. I don't know what he's talking about frankly.''

Telstra shares performed woefully during Mr Trujillo's four-year reign. From the day of his appointment in mid-2005 to his departure this month - before the end of his five-year "transformation'' plan - Telstra shares underperformed the wider market by about 20 per cent.

During his time in Australia, media commentators and cartoonists repeatedly made reference to Mr Trujillo's Hispanic background. The gang of American executives he recruited to work at Telstra, who have all returned to the US, were referred to as Mr Trujillo's "amigos''.

But Mr Brumby insisted people from all walks of life were accepted and welcomed into Victoria, where Telstra is based, and Australia. "I couldn't agree with his comments at all. Our country is the multicultural capital of the world. In our state we've got 44 per cent of our population born overseas, or one of their parents overseas. We are the land of opportunity.''

A spokeswoman for Mr Rudd told the ABC that Mr Trujillo's statements were "ridiculous comments which will disappoint Australians who welcomed him to this country".

Source

Australia is said to be second only to Israel for the percentage of the population not born in the country so Senor Trujillo is talking through his anal orifice. If he himself was treated badly in any way, that does not reflect how Australians treat immigrants generally.

He ran the company in a way that gave offence to just about everybody (including me) so I imagine that some of the people he angered might have called him a "wog" or the like in the heat of the moment but he was in a position of power when few of his critics were -- so people do tend to get back at arrogant people in power however they can.

Other commentators also trace Senor Trujillo's gripes to his own personal failures. And there are some details here of the appalling treatment Australian phone users got from Mr Trujillo. Another writer points out that Senor Trujillo made some racial slurs of his own. The cartoonists have been having fun with Senor Trujillo too. An example below: