Valerie Myers alleged she was racially targeted while working at Mackay Northern Beaches State High School

The woman has alleged ‘racial hatred from students’ and ‘racial discrimination’ from staff members. However her lawsuit has come to an abrupt halt.

A Mackay high school teacher who levelled explosive allegations against Education Queensland that she students and staff members racially targeted her has had her case thrown out.

The woman claimed the department banned her from working in any state school in Queensland

Valerie Myers filed an application on October 7, 2020 to the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission claiming that during her employment at Mackay Northern Beaches State High School she was subjected to “racial hatred from students” which was allegedly not addressed by management and “racial discrimination by several staff members”.

Industrial Commissioner Roslyn McLennan, in a recent judgment, dismissed the case for repeated noncompliance with court directions.

The judgment stated Ms Myers repeatedly did not follow court directions despite being informed of the steps necessary to progress the application by the Industrial Registry and Industrial Commissioner Roslyn McLennan’s associate.

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Ms Myers was warned if she continued to be non-compliant her case “may be dismissed”.

In an email on March 14, 2021 she wrote: “To dismiss this file would give high schools in Queensland a ticket to continue bullying and harassing teachers from a different race/colour.”

Extractions from her email were included in the judgment.

Mackay Northern Beaches State High School.

“I would like Education Queensland to pay for the damages they caused to my mental state of mind, banning me from working in any state school in Queensland, thus damaging me financially too.

“I had no means of getting work in a primary setting, I could not leave Queensland as borders were closed due to Covid.

“I was in a predicament from August 23, the day I had no choice but to go on stress leave.

“The doctors took a long time to get me on adequate medication to improve my PTSD condition. This was all caused by Mackay Northern Beaches State High School.

“This is not a trivial matter, I have to be paid out by them.”

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Ms Myers said she wanted reimbursement from August 23 “as they didn’t pay me for the days I took stress leave” and term three holiday pay until January 2021.

The Department of Education pushed for the case to be dismissed over Ms Myer’s noncompliance.

The judgment stated she failed to comply with a court direction in relation to her application three times.

“Those failures have not been adequately explained nor have extensions been sought,” Industrial Commissioner McLennan said.

She further found Ms Myer’s “delay and unwillingness or inability to clarify her case” meant the issues in dispute were not defined and as a result the department was unable to prepare its case accordingly.

“Where a litigant‘s actions are repeatedly and blatantly inconsistent with progression towards a fair hearing, I consider it must be dismissed for not being desirable in the public interest,” Industrial Commissioner McLennan said.

Ms Myers was self-represented, which Industrial Commissioner McLennan said might “explain a slightly deficient or poorly set out pleading, but not a blatant noncompliance with clear guidelines”.

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“Noting that Ms Myers has failed to comply with three sets of directions, the cumulative effect of her noncompliance is substantial enough to satisfy me that Ms Myers is either unwilling to comply or for some reason is unable to do so and as a result, (Education Queensland’s) case is prejudiced,” she found.

An Education Queensland spokeswoman said the department was committed to creating workplaces where staff of all cultural backgrounds could “feel safe, valued and thrive”.

“Our Many Cultures workforce strategy recognises that the wide range of knowledge, skills and experience of our multicultural workforce is critical to being an employer of choice and maximising our organisation’s potential,” the spokeswoman said.

“The department has a responsibility to maintain confidentiality of employee information at all times and will be making no comment on this matter.”

Originally published as Valerie Myers alleged she was racially targeted while working at Mackay Northern Beaches State High School