‘My white n****r’: Queensland public servant stood down for using racist slur at pub with workmates

A Queensland public servant who was stood down for using a racist slur at the pub with workmates has failed to have the decision overturned after arguing it was “just a word” that was even used as a greeting by young people.

Bryce Waite, 61, an agriculture officer with the Queensland Department of Environment and Science’s reef compliance and regulation division, was stood down after being accused of making the racist comment to a colleague during a work dinner at the Oxford Hotel in Rockhampton on February 22, 2023.

The statement included the words “my white n****r”.

The 30-year public service veteran and former police officer had been debating the racist slur with another colleague when a young, Indigenous female co-worker overhead his use of the word and became upset.

When challenged he said to the woman, “What, it’s just a word, n****r.”

He apologised the next day to the woman, telling her “sorry you felt offended”.

The woman made a formal complaint and Mr Waite was suspended the following month.

A disciplinary probe substantiated the allegation “on the balance of probabilities” and found that he had breached the public service standard of conduct relating to “inappropriate or improper conduct in a private capacity that reflects seriously and adversely on the public sector entity in which the employee is employed”.

“You do not deny that the offensive and racist term was used, and I reject any claim that a reasonable person could contemplate that the term can be used without it causing offence,” his manager wrote in the decision.

Mr Waite appealed the suspension with the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC), which earlier this month upheld department’s disciplinary decision.

According to the judgement published on June 11, Mr Waite argued he was not aware that the complainant identified as Indigenous.

He contended that the incident occurred while he was off-duty and not wearing any clothing identifying him as a departmental employee, and therefore that it was “unfair and unreasonable” to claim the conduct “reflected seriously and adversely upon the department”.

Mr Waite, who had no previous disciplinary or serious performance history, questioned why there could not be a less severe penalty than termination such as a financial or pay increment penalty.

He noted he had maintained a dedicated and professional career with the Queensland public service as well as Queensland and Victorian state and local governments, and was a recipient of both the Victoria Police Service Medal and National Service Medal.

“I contend that I did apologise to [the complainant] and I do hold remorse as I never intended to offend or upset her,” he said.

“I hold no ill will towards my colleagues and am seeking to maintain a professional working relationship with them all. I contend that the chief executive has unreasonably concluded that termination of my employment is appropriate in the circumstances.”

He had argued in his original response to the probe that the “context in which he used the term was that his daughter and her friends used the term as a greeting”, the judgement stated.

But Commissioner Jacqueline Power found that the department “reasonably determined that this context ignores the social and historical context of the term”

“It is not ‘just a word’,” Commissioner Power said.

“It is described as a racial slur, and its origins relate to African slaves on United States farms, human beings sold as property with no rights.”

She found that the fact that Mr Waite was unaware that the woman identified as Indigenous “did not change the offensive nature of the term”.

“This was a reasonable conclusion, as the term is offensive regardless of the race of the person to whom it is directed,” she said.

Commissioner Power rejected Mr Waite’s argument that it was the woman’s choice to join the conversation, saying he was “once again, blaming the complainant for being offended — as if believing that if the conversation had remained only between the [Mr Waite and the other person], no one could have taken offence”.

Mr Waite had suggested that previous employers had tolerated use of the racist slur as a “coping mechanism” and “stress relief” and that the team “banded together to disempower the term”.

But Commissioner Power said this was an “appalling reflection on that team” and “simply demonstrated that casual racism in that team was an acceptable, everyday occurrence”, adding it showed he failed to “understand the gravity of the term”.

Mr Waite attempted to argue that as a Jewish person, he had no problem being called “a Jew”. Commissioner Power also rejected this argument, saying calling someone a Jew “is not anti-Semitic”.

“It is the correct term for someone of the Jewish faith,” she said. “It is a result of a person’s religion. There are many derogatory terms for a person of the Jewish faith that they may not accept quite as readily.”

She found that Mr Waite being disciplined for his behaviour was “fair and reasonable”.

He has now been asked to show cause as to why he shouldn’t lose his job.

Mr Waite is not able to comment until the matter is finalised.

His partner told The Daily Mail on Friday the father-of-two thinks the situation is unfair, but that he now knows he should not use the term at all.

The Department of Environment and Science has been contacted for comment.

frank.chung@news.com.au