Brumby set to leave Huawei role

OUTGOING Huawei Australia director John Brumby says his exit has nothing to do with the controversies that have engulfed the Chinese group.

And the former Victorian premier says the ban on the use of group’s 5G equipment in Australia will drive up broadband costs.

Huawei announced yesterday that Mr Brumby was stepping down from the board of its Australian operations after eight years.

Mr Brumby’s departure comes after the US government slapped almost a dozen indictments on Huawei – the world’s biggest telco network equipment supplier – over alleged industrial espionage and violation of economic sanctions and sale of US technology to Iran. Huawei’s chief financial officer, Sabrina Meng Wanzhou, was arrested in Canada in December and is facing extradition to the US.

Mr Brumby was appointed the next chancellor of La Trobe University last June, a role he will take up next month.

“The timing of my retirement from the board is completely unrelated to any recent commentary regarding China and Huawei,” Mr Brumby said.

“More than a year ago, I advised the board and Huawei HQ of my intention to retire to make time for new commitments I was taking on in early 2019.”

Mr Brumby said Ms Wanzhou had never had any influence on how Huawei had operated in Australia, despite being a director of Huawei Australia between October 2005 and August 2011.

Mr Brumby said that Huawei had become an unwitting victim in a broader trade war between the US and China as the two nations jostle for pole position on technology leadership.