The toxic work culture of a government organisation has been questioned in Senate estimates, with the most serious claim involving a senior male manager urinating on staff members.
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Agriculture Minister Murray Watt is seeking an urgent briefing, following revelations of a "private urination incident" between staff at the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, which regulates the nation's animal and plant chemicals.
APVMA chief executive Lisa Croft was grilled by Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson about its workplace culture. The authority was controversially moved from Canberra in 2019 by then-deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce to the regional NSW city of Armidale, which sits within his New England electorate.
The senator asked about an incident involving a male member of the executive team urinating on staff members at a work Christmas party.
Ms Croft said she was "not aware of it in that context", but was aware of an incident that "occurred in a private capacity".
Senator Whish-Wilson questioned why she was made aware of the urination incident if it happened in a private setting. Ms Croft said the people "directly involved wanted me to be aware", however no official complaint was made.
"There was no official complaint made, yet they felt like they needed to raise it with you as CEO. That sounds like a pretty serious matter if they needed to raise the matter with you direct," Senator Whish-Wilson said.
Ms Croft revealed the issue was raised with the organisation's human resources team and the staff member resigned not long after, but did not speak to the staff member about the incident prior to their resignation.
"Why would you have spoken to them following their resignation, were they a friend of yours?" Senator Whish-Wilson asked.
Ms Croft said they were "a member of the executive team and we're a relatively small team".
Senator Watt said he was "shocked" to hear about the incidents and would be seeking an urgent brief from APVMA.
"It was the very first time I had heard of it, that's for sure ... that sort of conduct is completely unacceptable in 2022, whether it be in a workplace or a social setting," Senator Watt said.
The APVMA will also have to answer questions on notice about significant staffing issues, low moral and accusations of cronyism.
There are further internal reports staff are being asked to cut corners during chemical assessments and focus on maintaining mandatory targets of completion rather than quality work.
Jamieson Murphy
Whisper g'day mate to me at jamieson.murphy@newcastleherald.com.au
