Several members of the Sydney Heritage Fleet wrote letters of complaint to the organisation's board about the Facebook page of general manager Ross Muir. The posts, since deleted, included an image of women with the words: “France & the Netherlands BAN the burqa on security grounds. Share if you think Australia should do the same.” The post was accompanied with a comment added from Mr Muir's account which said: “Absolutely - there could be anyone hiding under those rags!” Another post depicts a man surrounded by four women, who appear to be Muslim, and the words: “Pauline Hanson wants a crackdown on multiple wives welfare rort. Share if you support her.” Neither Mr Muir, who is also company secretary, nor Mr Hunt responded to questions sent by The Sydney Morning Herald. In a statement, Mr Hunt said members past and present “may have an axe to grind and therefore a particular personal view on the conduct and management” of the SHF.

“If that is the case, I would suggest that the issues raised be approached with a great deal of scepticism,” he said. SHF general manager Ross Muir shared a post about Pauline Hanson on his Facebook page. “In any organisation of 1300 people there is plenty of scope for differing views.” But in an email sent on Thursday night to its members, Mr Hunt said the board had received complaints that Mr Muir had brought the organisation into disrepute through views that “readers may find, depending on your point of view, questionable”. “The Board agreed to Ross’ offer to personally apologise to the five complainants and he is in the process of doing so,” Mr Hunt said. He also warned members of “a worrying crisis developing” and expressed concern about the leaking of internal dramas to the media.

"If the story is published in the SMH, the damage will be beyond your board's control,” he said. “There is no exaggeration in the statement that the whole 54 years of our history may be irreparably damaged in a day.” A 2015 internal report recommended the board consider dismissing Mr Muir for inappropriate managerial behaviour including bullying. An investigation was prompted by a complaint made against him by an employee who was found to have been "inappropriately managed and bullied" by Mr Muir. The investigator’s report said there had been previous complaints about bullying by Mr Muir and a “high level of concern” about his management style. “The interview process revealed significant concern among some staff about the appropriateness of the general manager’s behaviour including but not limited to the day of the incident,” the report said. “It also revealed a high level of disharmony between certain individuals and areas of the SHF’s activities.” A 2016 email written by Mr Hunt said an ex gratia payment of $500 had been offered to the employee “to compensate her perceived hurt” - the complainant accepted the offer despite initially seeking $14,000.

There was no suggestion the complainant was Muslim, or that Mr Muir's conduct was anti-Muslim or prejudiced in any way. The investigation also found that concern had been expressed that an unfavourable finding against Mr Muir “would probably impact the level of support from the Patron”. The Herald spoke to SHF volunteers who feared retribution if they spoke out publicly about their concerns regarding Mr Muir, the management of the SHF and its patron Robert Albert, whose music publishing and recording business was behind acts such as AC/DC and The Easybeats. A member said management showed little concern for the 400 volunteers, who put in an estimated 100,000 hours of labour worth up to $8 million a year. “They don’t seem to be interested in the volunteers,” he said. “Without the volunteers, the fleet wouldn’t exist.”