Meteorological agency loses illegal sacking case as staff describe ‘toxic’ and ‘chaotic’ culture; institutional reluctance to deal with questions about climate change and extreme weather in Australia

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1. Excerpts of [full article](https://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/bom-loses-illegal-sacking-case-as-staff-condemn-toxic-and-chaotic-culture-20240817-p5k35d.html) by Caitlin Fitzsimmons and Nick O’Malley:

   *The Bureau of Meteorology has lost a bitterly fought unfair dismissal case that dates back more than five years, while a raft of current and former employees have come forward to describe the workplace culture as “toxic” and “chaotic”.*

   *The Commonwealth agency dropped its appeal of an unfair dismissal decision in favour of former employee Jasmine Chambers, who joined in 2019 as general manager of global and national science relationships. The appeal case was settled out of court late last month, which means the findings from the earlier judgment stand.*

   *The Chambers case concludes as five other current and former employees, speaking on condition of anonymity, have shared claims with this masthead of a “toxic” culture, “chaotic” decision-making, and bullying.*

   *All five claim that part of the reason for low staff morale was an institutional reluctance to deal with questions about climate change and extreme weather at a time when the nation was dealing with mounting climate disasters such as bushfires and floods. The BoM denies these claims.*