A senior Queensland transport official has said she resigned from the public service after her children were subjected to what she described as stalking behavior by representatives of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU). Amanda Yeates, former deputy director-general of the Department of Transport and Main Roads, provided testimony to a state commission of inquiry detailing the harassment she and her family endured.
Ms. Yeates led the government’s $27 billion roads and infrastructure program beginning in 2018 but said she encountered ongoing verbal abuse and intimidation from former CFMEU state secretary Michael Ravbar and assistant state secretary Jade Ingham. She recalled Ravbar making a demeaning remark during their first meeting, telling her, “you’re a woman, get me a glass of water,” and using profane language to insult the then-transport minister, Mark Bailey. Mr. Ingham reportedly referred to Ms. Yeates and other senior female bureaucrats with derogatory terms such as “a mob of c..ts,” and labeled them “incompetent” and “lazy.”
The harassment coincided with efforts by the CFMEU to have the department implement the state Labor government’s Best Practice Industrial Conditions policy. This procurement rule affected taxpayer-funded infrastructure projects exceeding $100 million and was widely criticized as the “CFMEU tax.” Ms. Yeates expressed concerns to senior officials that the policy risked driving up costs and complicating project delivery, suggesting the union sought to extend its reach into the civil construction sector through these agreements.
In the lead-up to the 2020 Queensland state election, Ms. Yeates reported the abusive conduct to director-general Neil Scales, Minister Bailey, and ministerial staff. While Bailey acknowledged her concerns and advised her to confront union officials, she said he also emphasized maintaining a cooperative relationship with the CFMEU due to political pressure. Ms. Yeates described being told that the union threatened to drive a truck displaying the minister’s face along George Street to undermine his re-election campaign.
The situation escalated between March and May 2022 when Ms. Yeates said union representatives began making references to her children’s activities, indicating knowledge of their whereabouts. She recounted Mr. Ingham complimenting one daughter’s netball performance and commenting on another’s bus travel, statements she found deeply distressing and threatening. Although Minister Bailey advised her to involve police, no further protective actions were reportedly taken.
Facing ongoing intimidation, Ms. Yeates decided to leave the public sector in 2022 and has since moved to the private sector. Her testimony highlights concerns over workplace harassment linked to union pressures within Queensland’s public infrastructure administration. The Best Practice Industrial Conditions policy was subsequently repealed by the state’s current Liberal National Party government.