A Māori Niuean man claims he was handed 'Black Guy Repllent' [sic] at a Queensland tour company he worked for in an act of racial discrimination against him due to his skin colour.
McDuff Tupetagi claims last year's incident was one of many while working at the Rainbow Beach Adventure Company in Queensland, the Brisbane Times reports.
Mr Tupetagi claimed he was later forced to take sick leave for mental distress after feeling "like an unwanted creature or pet" while working for the company.
In 2016, he twice asked for a sunshade. In the second instance, his boss' manager, "Byron", denied his request, saying to Mr Tupetagi to the effect of "because you're black", the statement of facts lodged this week reads.
"By Byron's words, Byron imputed to the complainant that he was less or not susceptible to sunburn and skin damage from the sun because of his skin colour."
Then in November 2017, colleageus told Mr Tupetagi there was a "a present" was left for him in his car. It consisted of an empty bottle of sunscreen covered in yellow tape labelled "Black Guy Repllent" [sic] and "Caution! Only use on blacks".
The incident was reported and the alleged perpetrator told Mr Tupetagi he was sent to his home to apologise.
Mr Tupetagi is now suing the company and two of its employees for discrimination, telling the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission he was often jokingly referred to as "the black fella".
Mr Tupetagi has since been diagnosed with severe depression and agoraphobia.
In a statement, Website Travel Group, which owns the tour company, said they "value all our employees" and that they are "supporting the proceedings".
The case is expected to appear before the courts in the next few weeks.
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