A veteran nurse has resigned from a major Brisbane hospital following an internal investigation into racially inappropriate comments he made while teaching a young Indigenous student.
Inappropriate Comments During Cultural Training
Gregory Rayner, 70, stepped down from his role as a nurse educator at Mater Health in February 2022. His departure came three months after he made a series of problematic statements while supervising four student nurses in November 2021. One of the students, identified only as AB, was known to be Indigenous.
The incident occurred during a workbook module titled 'Improvement of Communication with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients'. The session concluded with the Indigenous student leaving the room in visible distress, according to a judgement published by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal in May 2025.
Allegations and Denials in Tribunal Evidence
Two students accused Mr Rayner of asking why he could not use the racial slur 'n***er' and claiming that 'black people have more rights than white people'. While Mr Rayner denied making those specific remarks, he admitted to asking AB about the process of identifying as Aboriginal. He told the tribunal he 'wanted to explore his own potential Aboriginal parentage'.
The tribunal heard that Mr Rayner, who describes himself as 'BOOMER1' on Facebook, conceded telling the students that 'today's people are too sensitive' and discussing African American rappers. However, he denied using terms like 'half-caste' and 'quarter blood' in discussions about AB's heritage, allegations which were supported by two student witnesses.
Judicial Member John Robertson, who presided over the case, accepted the evidence of the students. One student, known as CD, stated that Mr Rayner's conversation led to him questioning why he would get in 'big trouble' for using a word that black people could say.
Aftermath, Apology, and Tribunal Findings
Mr Rayner sent a text apology to AB immediately after the incident, but she proceeded to make formal complaints to the hospital and the Australian Human Rights Commission. In communications with investigators from the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), Mr Rayner suggested there might be other 'root causes' for AB's complaint related to her personal conduct.
In his judgement, Judicial Member Robertson found that Mr Rayner's conduct was 'culturally inappropriate, objectively offensive and unsafe'. He noted it was concerning that junior students had to point out the distress of their peer to their senior supervisor. The member distinguished the case from a more deliberately racist 2023 incident involving a Canberra doctor, characterising Mr Rayner's comments as 'reckless' and 'insensitive'.
The tribunal heard that Mr Rayner, a registered nurse since 1980 with no prior disciplinary record, was upset by the situation and provided statements of support from Aboriginal childhood friends. He was not suspended but resigned during the investigation. When contacted this week, Mr Rayner told the Daily Mail he was still trying to 'get over' the situation and declined to comment further.
