Taskforce Salus Sees Senior Inspector of Victorian Police Stand Down
A senior inspector of the Victorian Police Force has been stood down as part of a probe into his potential sexual misconduct and harassment. The investigation is being conducted by Taskforce Salus, a team formed to look into and eradicate inappropriate sexual behaviour among the Victorian protective services, public service, and current and former police. As a consequence of the more than 100 cases that have already been investigated, three police staff has been fired and 23 have resigned. The Chief Commissioner, Graham Ashton, was apologetic but maintained that “these behaviours will not be tolerated”.
Worker Accused of Sexual Harassment Refused Leave to Appeal
The Fair Work Commission has refused a man leave to appeal his dismissal. Last year, Mr Parker, the former manager at Cricks Volkswagen car dealership, claimed to have been unfairly dismissed. It was alleged he had told a fellow sales worker that if confronted with sexist customers, she should “show them [her] tits”. The same woman claimed that he threatened to “backhand” her if she called him “that business guy, or that finance guy”. The commission originally held that the dealership had been justified in dismissing him for gross misconduct. However, in seeking leave to appeal, Mr Parker said the decision had been biased against him because the complainant’s testimony was “solely relied upon as fact”. The commissioner rejected this argument and found no reason to review the case. It said that, “The commissioner’s finding that the statements were ‘serious, hostile, derogatory and sexual harassment’ is accurate”. Mr Parker is entitled to $7459 for having been denied procedural fairness because he was not given an opportunity to respond immediately to the allegations when they were made.