The man jailed for stalking Australian radio presenter Jackie ‘O’ Henderson has been awarded A$50,000 after the Fair Work Commission found he was unfairly dismissed from his job at a Sydney container terminal.
David Gourlay had worked as a stevedore for Sydney International Container Terminals, which trades as Hutchison Ports, at Port Botany for almost eight years.
He sent an email resigning at 4.31am on 26 September 2024, but later said he had been suffering from paranoid delusions and did not intend to quit. The company processed the resignation and declined to reverse it, despite concerns raised by colleagues and his union representative about his mental state.
In a decision issued in April, Commissioner Damian Sloan found that Gourlay’s resignation was not legally effective and that Hutchison Ports had effectively dismissed him. The dismissal was ruled harsh and unjust because the company failed to make meaningful enquiries after being told he was experiencing a mental health crisis.
The commission initially said there was insufficient evidence to decide whether Gourlay should be reinstated. A subsequent ruling instead awarded him compensation of A$50,000.
Hutchison Ports had argued that reinstatement would be inappropriate because Gourlay was in prison and it was unclear whether he held, or would be eligible to hold, the maritime security identification card required to work unescorted at the terminal.
Gourlay was sentenced to 16 months in prison in December after admitting to stalking Ms Henderson, including sending her up to 2,000 Instagram messages over several months. He was also made subject to a five-year apprehended violence order preventing him from contacting or approaching the presenter except through a lawyer.
The Fair Work Commission’s ruling concerned Gourlay’s employment dispute and was separate from the criminal proceedings arising from his conduct towards Ms Henderson.
