Senator Bridget McKenzie has revealed allegations of a “hotties list” created by male public service graduates in the government’s Department of Infrastructure and Transport.
During the Senate budget estimates for infrastructure, transport and regional development on Monday, the Nationals Senator grilled Transport Secretary Jim Betts over claims that junior male staff, under Betts’ management, circulated a list that rated and ranked their female counterparts based on their physical appearance.
Betts responded to the question raised by McKenzie over the “degrading list”, saying the department has “learned some lessons” based on the incident.
“This relates to allegations which were made within our graduate programme about concerns that some female grads had that certain male members of the graduate cohort had assembled a degrading list of women which assessed them by their so-called hotness, which is just a disgusting phrase that I hate to have to mention,” Betts said on Monday.
Male graduates in DITRCA allegedly compiled a "hotties list" that rated female graduates' sexual attractiveness. The secretary, Jim Betts, says he'll apply the most-severe sanction — sack those responsible — if the allegation is proved. pic.twitter.com/EZ12nrY8zX
— Markus 🎲 (@MarkusMannheim) October 23, 2023
Department officials were made aware of rumours of the list’s circulation on March 30 this year, the Senate heard on Monday, and more “formal investigations” have followed in the last few months.
In April, the graduates in the Department were required to complete a staff training model, present to all public service staff. The module was not specifically related to sexual harassment.
On May 19, the Department received an officially complaint over the list, which actioned Betts and the Department approaching the sex discrimination officer for advice. Betts said he also spoke with female graduates to ensure they were receiving the appropriate and necessary support.
No graduates were sacked as a result of the incident, and Transport Minister Catherine King was never informed of the list. Betts defended this decision saying involving politicians would complicate the issue further.
“We needed to protect the confidentiality and sensitivity of the staff concerned. Frankly, I’m the employer, not the minister,” he said.
The majority of the graduate cohort at the Department were under 30 years old, and two-thirds of the group were male.
“We’ve learned some lessons from this – and one of those is having gender balance in all of our cohorts,” Betts said.
McKenzie’s question to Betts was raised after Senators were aware of several complaints of “disrespectful behaviour” at the Department of Infrastructure and Transport, including gender bias, sexism and disrespectful language.
When asked, Betts confirmed there was one allegation of an employee being followed home from work “in a harassing or intimidating manner”, but urged “extreme caution” over the line of questioning.
“You may be asking questions which reveal to people who may be under investigation or may be perpetrators,” Betts said. “I would urge extreme caution.”
In 2021, the Australian Human Rights Commission released the Set the Standard report, based on an Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces (CPWs).
The report found one third of people working in CPWs (33 per cent) have experienced some form of sexual harassment, while 77 per cent have either experienced, witnessed or heard about bullying, sexual harassment and/or actual or attempted sexual assault.