I completely disagree. It sounds like he was ambushed by the AFR reporter. He was there to raise money for the charity, not to talk about the business.
Also given the bad feeling between the AFR and BIG at the moment, and potential legal proceedings for damages, is it hardly surprising that he refrained from giving the AFR an interview?! I certainly wouldn't have, I would have told him where to stick it. Sounds like he was actually fairly restrained!