Steve Griffin was nicknamed ‘Handsy’ by staff. It didn’t hurt his career

The chief executive of Greyhound Racing NSW was nicknamed “Handsy” by staff in his previous job as head of the industry regulator, where he faced allegations of sexual harassment, a parliamentary committee has heard.

A formal complaint alleged Steve Griffin put his hand on the bare shoulder of a woman at a Christmas party despite an office-wide email sent a week before warning that inappropriate and over-friendly touching would not be tolerated.

But documents detailing the allegation were not handed to parliament, despite an order the regulator provide all paperwork relating to complaints about sexual harassment within the industry, including any involving staff at the regulator itself.

At budget estimates in state parliament on Tuesday, Animal Justice MP Emma Hurst asked Racing Minister David Harris if he was aware of sexual harassment allegations against Griffin, the former head of Greyhound Welfare & Integrity Commission (GWIC) who moved to Greyhound Racing NSW in March.

Harris said he had been informed “only very, very recently”.

Hurst also asked Harris whether he was aware that “it’s well known that staff referred to Mr Griffin as ‘Handsy’, a nickname that was given to him because of his behaviour while he was the CEO of GWIC”. Harris said he was unaware of the nickname.

Griffin was the chief executive officer of the industry regulator for six years, before moving to Greyhound Racing NSW – the industry’s commercial operator – in March. Some MPs were concerned the appointment would create perceptions of a conflict of interest.

This masthead is aware of a formal grievance lodged with GWIC by a staff member, who has since left, in December 2020 about Griffin’s conduct at that year’s Christmas party. The woman alleged he put his hand on her bare shoulder for an extended period, making her uncomfortable, and her discomfort was noticed by a third person.

Soon after the party, the woman met Griffin and a GWIC human resources officer to discuss the incident, notes from the meeting seen by the Herald show.

The notes say Griffin thanked the woman for bringing the incident to his attention and apologised for making her uncomfortable, saying it wasn’t his intention. The woman also alerted the organisation’s commissioners in writing.

A week before the 2020 party, human resources had sent a general staff email about an anonymous staff survey in which people raised concerns about inappropriate comments and physical touching in an inappropriate or overly friendly manner by unidentified co-workers.

“Whilst I am not aware of any formal complaints in relation to this, I would like to make it clear that behaviour of this type will not be tolerated by the commission,” the email said.

In a statement, Griffin said he prided himself on his professionalism during his a 40-year career as a police officer, regulator and senior public servant.

He said the sole harassment allegation against him involved a woman at GWIC saying she felt uncomfortable when he touched her on the shoulder at the Christmas party. He said he raised it with human resources and with commissioners himself.

“The employee subsequently acknowledged that I meant nothing by it but it made her feel uncomfortable based upon her previous life experiences with other unknown people,” he said.

He denied any imputation of wrongful workplace behaviour and noted that the allegations were raised under parliamentary privilege, “so standards of defamation do not apply”.

The woman wrote to Harris in June this year, concerned the incident was not produced for parliament after a call for all documents relating to sexual harassment in the industry. Harris wrote back on August 8, saying compliance with the order was a matter for GWIC.

On Tuesday, Harris said his office had made inquiries about the harassment complaints and GWIC had provided it with a response. “At this stage there was nothing more for us [the minister’s office] to do,” he said.

GWIC’s chief executive Matthew Tutt told the committee he hadn’t heard about the allegations involving Griffin until Tuesday. When asked whether he had used the “Handsy” nickname himself, he said, “I cannot recall ever doing that.”

Hurst also asked why the documentation relating to the allegations was not included in the call for papers for the upper house, which asked for all complaints about sexual harassment in the industry, including in GRNSW and GWIC.

She told estimates it seemed like the regulator was acting to protect the chief executive of greyhound racing by excluding these documents from its response. “You must admit that this looks problematic,” she said.

Harris said he had been told GWIC complied with the order. In a statement, GWIC said, “The Greyhound Welfare & Integrity Commission provided all documents covered by the scope of the resolution.”

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