Defence defends culture after NCO convicted for homophobic slurs

THE ADF has defended its culture after a senior officer was convicted of calling a subordinate a ‘fag, faggot and homo’

Exercise Pitch Black for 2018 starts on Monday and continues for 3 weeks Exercise Pitch Black will have up to 140 Aircraft participating from 16 countries. Pic Katrina Bridgeford.

THE Australian Defence Force has defended its “cultural reform journey” after a senior officer was convicted of repeatedly using homophobic slurs to describe a subordinate.

Darwin Flight Sergeant Craig Rochester pleaded guilty in a Defence Magistrates Court on Tuesday to prejudicial conduct for calling the other man a “fag, faggot and homo”.

Prosecutors initially alleged Flt Sgt Rochester also referred to a female superior as a “dumb, fat bitch” and to indigenous people as “f***ing stinkies”.

But he pleaded not guilty to those charges and after the prosecution led no evidence to support them they were formally dismissed.

Flt Sgt Rochester was sentenced to a 12-month “reduction in seniority” for the homophobic language but not demoted in rank.

An ADF spokeswoman said on Thursday the organisation had been on “a cultural reform journey for many years” ensuring all personnel were “accountable for creating a more positive and inclusive culture”.

“Defence does not tolerate unacceptable behaviour in any form,” she said.

“In this particular case, the defence force magistrate did not accept the excuse that the language was acceptable ‘friendly workplace banter’ and held up the charge of prejudicial conduct accordingly.

“All defence personnel are required to conduct annual mandatory training which includes training on acceptable workplace behaviour.”

Flt Sgt Rochester pleaded guilty to a second count of prejudicial conduct for attaching penis-shaped key rings to his unit’s car keys and was fined a week’s pay.