Darebin Council bans men from applying for street sweeper job

A Melbourne council has advertised for a new street sweeper – but only “non-male identified” people are allowed to apply.

A male street sweeper at work in Melbourne. Picture: NCA NewsWire

A woke northern suburbs council needs a new street sweeper – but men need not apply.

The same council that last week resolved to rid the world of nuclear weapons has advertised a $63,000 a year job as a street sweeper operator and explicitly banned men from lodging their resume.

According to the job listing on Darebin Council’s website, the position is for a “non-male identified person” only, including those who are “non-binary” and “agender”.

At the bottom of the same listing is a note saying Darebin Council is an “Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate in its selection and employment practices”.

It has locked men out of the job under Section 12 of the Equal Opportunity Act, which allows an employer to take a “special measure” to promote equality for people with a particular attribute.

Darebin Mayor Lina Messina.

The listing spruiks the council as a “progressive leader” in local government and says it welcomes “unique contributions and perspectives of all people to ensure our workforce is representative of the communities we work with and live in”.

It also says Darebin is “one of the largest, most diverse communities in terms of culture, language, religion, socio-economic background, occupation, and housing needs”.

The council on Monday refused to answer questions about why men had been excluded from the job and what bearing someone’s gender would have on their ability to be a street sweeper.

A spokesman also said Darebin Mayor Lina Messina was not available for comment.

A government spokeswoman said the “recruitment of staff is a matter for the council”, however, the Local Government Act requires that council chief executives seek to ensure gender equality while also making sure people are hired on merit.

Darebin last week unanimously supported a worldwide ban on nuclear weapons, despite having no influence over the issue.

Councillors tasked staff with preparing a report into the council’s connection with nuclear weapons, including whether the council was unwittingly “transacting” with nuclear weapons dealers.

Darebin Council also sent a delegation of four councillors, at ratepayers expense, to the Australian Local Government Association’s Canberra AGM in June where they lobbied for the organisation to support a ban on nuclear weapons.