This masthead is not suggesting this conduct has occurred, but rather that the allegation has been made.
Three weeks later, on October 31, Leha arrived at BlaQ’s headquarters in Redfern, where a member’s meeting was scheduled to take place that afternoon.
Sturgiss had emailed members, including Leha and other directors who were not up-to-date on their membership fees, advising them they would not be able to attend the meeting unless they paid their fees.
“This squarely puts [Leha] in the office to act out of anger or frustration,” Sturgiss’ legal team told the tribunal.
According to Sturgiss’ statement of claim, Leha told Sturgiss to “get his ass” into a meeting room for a performance review, which Sturgiss refused to do as Leha was “too angry”.
Leha is then alleged to have said: “You shouldn’t be here; you’re not even Black, and I will be getting the board to demand a letter of Aboriginality.”
Aboriginal heritage isn’t a requirement of the chief executive, and the two chief executives following Sturgiss were not Aboriginal, the tribunal heard.
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Leha is then accused of yelling “take my cash” at Sturgiss to cover his membership fees and blocking the exit to BlaQ, leading one staff member to tell him he was acting “frightening and scary” and asking him to leave, the tribunal heard.
Sturgiss called the police following Leha’s departure.
“The words themselves are serious enough to incite hatred or ridicule, especially considering who the audience was, all of whom were Aboriginal,” Sturgiss’ legal team argued, calling Leha’s conduct “repulsive”.
“He blocked the door and prevented anyone from leaving. The applicant can show the day caused him significant trauma, so bad that he is on WorkCover and cannot work.”
Leha denies behaving threateningly, blocking the exit and attempting to pay his fees on the spot.
He said he requested a performance review because Sturgiss had sent another staff member to attend a key stakeholders’ meeting that morning, and he believed Sturgiss had broken company rules by excluding him and other directors from the membership meeting. He denied seeing an email alerting him to his overdue fees.
Minister for Families and Communities Kate Washington with AbSec chief executive and BlaQ founder John Leha.Credit:
Leha’s legal team argued that the board had a “series of concerns about [Sturgiss’] conduct and qualifications” as chief executive and requested a certificate of Aboriginality to assess Sturgiss’ suitability for the role.
“I was starting to wonder about the decision-making of [Sturgiss], and I wondered whether he had the sensitivity and cultural acumen … to serve the Aboriginal community,” Leha told the tribunal.
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The staff member who asked Leha to leave emailed a series of government contacts, as well as AbSec, where Leha is chief executive, about his “abusive” behaviour the day after the incident.
Her contract was terminated two days later. No reason was given as she was still on probation.
Sturgiss was placed on “gardening leave” the following day and was later terminated.
The board investigated the incident but closed it with no further action required.
Sturgiss is seeking $50,000 in damages plus costs and an apology from Leha and BlaQ.
Leha’s legal team argued that Sturgiss’ complaint was “vexatious” and did not meet the threshold for discrimination.
NCAT’s decision has been reserved.
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