Robert Doyle, a former Melbourne lord mayor, has had his Order of Australia honor taken away.
A Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) was bestowed upon Mr. Doyle in 2017 in recognition of his involvement in local government and nonprofit organizations.
On the recommendation of the Council for the Order of Australia, Governor-General David Hurley terminated that appointment late last month.
The Commonwealth of Australia Gazette carried the news on Friday.
The reasons for the termination were not further explained in the gazette, and the Governor-General’s office does not comment on specific instances.
But according to the law, among other things, “the Governor-General may terminate an appointment or cancel an award if, in the Governor-General’s opinion, the holder of the appointment or award has behaved or acted in a manner that has brought disrepute to the Order.”
In 2022, a request to revoke the appointment was made to the Council for the Order of Australia, which is composed of illustrious community members and state or territory leaders.
In 2018, Mr. Doyle gave up his position as lord mayor after two women accused him of harassing them. At the time, he vehemently disputed the accusations.
Later that year, a City of Melbourne investigation produced four unfavorable conclusions about Mr. Doyle. It was determined that his actions toward the two women, including inappropriately touching one of their breasts and the other’s thigh, may have constituted sexual harassment and gross misconduct.
When he was the chairman of Melbourne Health in 2016, a third woman later came forward to express her displeasure with his behavior at an awards ceremony. She claimed that Mr. Doyle repeatedly placed his hand on the inside of her leg.
In a 2020 report that the City of Melbourne had requested, it was discovered that Mr. Doyle had acted in a “sleazy” and “sexually inappropriate way” toward the woman during the dinner.
An independent investigation into the claim was launched by the Victorian Department of Health, and in March 2021 it was concluded that Mr. Doyle had engaged in “serious misconduct of a sexual nature” at the awards event.
Mr. Doyle expressed regret for the suffering his “ugly” behavior caused the three women who made the accusations in a May 2021 radio interview. On the details of the interview’s conclusions, he opted not to comment.
No charges were brought after Victoria Police ended their criminal investigation into the accusations in 2020.
