Family sent 'nasty threats': Dreamworld boss fears for safety
The chief executive of Dreamworld's parent company has received death threats following a fatal incident at the Gold Coast theme park.
Deborah Thomas, the head of Ardent Leisure, was criticised for not contacting the families of Kate Goodchild, Luke Dorsett, Roozbeh Araghi and Cindy Low after they died on the Thunder River Rapids ride on Tuesday last week.
"We've been getting some pretty nasty threats directed at myself and my family," Ms Thomas told the Australian Financial Review today.
"We've had some concerns for the safety of our family."
She said she was upset news.com.au published photos of her apartment complex in the Sydney suburb of Point Piper and her 14-year-old son's private school.
Numerous threats were made on social media, which the former Australian Women’s Weekly editor said she had passed on to the NSW Police for investigation.
Dreamworld CEO Craig Davidson was chosen as the company's primary spokesman, however, much attention was instead directed to Ms Thomas, given her high public profile.
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She was sharply criticised for being awarded a six-figure bonus at the company’s annual general meeting, which happened to be scheduled for two days after the deaths at the park and legally could not be moved within 48 hours of its planned starting time.
Ms Thomas said she was upset by the tragedy and would donate her annual $167,500 cash bonus to the Red Cross, so it could go towards supporting people affected by the incident.
"I am a mother, I have a family, I take my family to Dreamworld. This could have been my family and I am completely sympathetic to what [the victims' families] must be going through.
"I have been deeply affected and saddened by the tragic deaths of Kate Goodchild, Luke Dorsett, Roozbeh Araghi and Cindy Low at Dreamworld on Tuesday, in particular the impact of this incident on their children and families," she said in a statement.
"I will be making a personal donation of $167,500, which comprises my entire cash bonus."
At the press conference last Thursday, Ms Thomas claimed the company had reached out to the victims’ families, however, a reporter who had been in contact with Karen Dorsett, mother of two of the victims, said the family was angry nobody from Ardent had contacted them.
Ms Thomas admitted she was wrong to wait two days for the annual meeting to speak to the media, and should have made contact immediately following the deaths.
Former NSW Premier Kristina Keneally said on Sky News Ardent’s response would be taught as a text book example of how not to respond to a crisis.
However, outgoing Ardent Leisure chairman Neil Balnaves, who will retire at the end of this week, supported Ms Thomas’ handling of the aftermath of the Dreamworld disaster.
"Deborah has handled it superbly given the complexity and the advice coming from every corner making it difficult to do as you instinctively want to do," she told Fairfax Media.
Ms Thomas vowed to rebuild Dreamworld’s reputation for safety.
Dreamworld will remain closed until after the funerals for the victims.
News break – November 02
