Bosses quit in wake of probe into Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority

The chief executive and chair of Australia’s agricultural and veterinary chemicals regulator have quit in the wake of a damning investigation triggered by allegations a senior staffer urinated on his colleagues. The review of workplace culture at the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority uncovered “serious and systemic issues” with the regulator’s operations, conduct and governance. APVMA chair Carmel Hillyard and chief executive Lisa Croft tendered their resignations in the days before the report’s release last Friday. Among the findings were revelations numerous “personnel-related complaints” were made between 2019 and 2022 and referred to relevant authorities for further investigation. Complaints of misconduct covered the “entire organisation” and were made by and about employees at all levels, according to the review by law firm Clayton Utz. “There were clearly cultural issues with the organisation given that on average there was a formal complaint about once every 4-6 weeks for 5 years,” the report stated. “There are also a significant number of complaints that refer to serious impacts for the persons involved, including numerous instances of employees having to take periods of stress leave or feeling unable to attend work due to mental health concerns.” Complaints ranged from allegations of nepotism to claims a senior public servant employed by the APVMA urinated on his colleagues at a 2021 staff Christmas party. The latter allegations surfaced during a Senate hearing in November, prompting a police investigation and an independent review of the APVMA ordered by Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt. At the hearing, Ms Croft denied the incident occurred at a Christmas party, describing it as a “private urination matter” that happened outside of work. Further details including the identity of the man — who resigned in the wake of the scandal — were not disclosed. In response to the review last week, Senator Watt said matters identified were “very serious and point to systemic problems with the administration and governance of the APVMA”. “Concerningly, the review found serious allegations of chemical industry capture of the APVMA, which appears to have played a key role in the organisation not performing its full regulatory responsibilities,” he said. “The report also found that former Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce’s decision to move the regulator to Armidale resulted in a loss of corporate knowledge, a loss of corporate culture and a loss of experience and knowledge of public sector values.” The review concluded there was no indication of “any instances” where agvet chemical products were “registered inappropriately”. The Federal Government has appointed former public servant Ken Matthews to conduct a “rapid evaluation of the APVMA’s structure and governance”, and submit recommendations by September 30. Senator Watt has also made the unprecedented move of issuing a ministerial direction to finalise the reviews of eight chemicals, each of which had been running for more than 17 years. “This has resulted in the review of a number of chemicals that are already on the market taking far longer than statutory timeframes,” he Watt said. “We cannot continue to have reviews of chemicals drag on for decades — this is not good regulatory practice.” National Farmers’ Federation chief executive Tony Mahar told media producers wanted an “independent and science-led” authority with a culture that was “above reproach”. “It is critical to the Australian agriculture sector that we have an efficient, capable and credible regulatory regime in place,” he said. Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, who first raised the “private urination matter” in Senate estimates, told the AAP there was a critical problem with the regulator being “primarily funded by the chemical companies it regulates”. “This raises serious questions of the APVMA’s independence and culture, and whether it can do important work such as the timely review of registered chemicals when it’s essentially dependent on the industry for its resourcing,” he said.