3 hours Ago By Ellen Ransley
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles’ chief of staff is suing her boss and the Government in the Federal Court, over her allegations she was essentially bullied out of her job. Jo Tarnawsky went public last month with her claims she was bullied by staff members who worked under her, and that when she complained to Mr Marles she was forced out of the office. Speaking from Parliament House on Monday, Ms Tarnawsky said the claim was being brought against the Government, Mr Marles and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Tim Gartrell after “untenable delays in action from the Government”.
She said she had made the decision because there had been “no investigation into the behaviours I reported, nor regarding the actions taken by the deputy prime minister against me” in the last six weeks. “Three weeks ago, I wrote a letter to the prime minister, asking him to intervene and to hold the deputy prime minister to account for the way that I had been treated. The prime minister has not responded,” she said.
“Instead, my complaint has been passed around, first the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service, more recently to Comcover, both claim to be independent agencies but both chose to engage lawyers, the same lawyers from the same law firm who were also clearly taking instructions from the deputy prime minister. Ellen Ransley “They have not been able to assure me that my private information or psychological safety will be protected and they cannot deal with the most important issue I have raised. That is for those who did this to me, to be held accountable and to ensure that nobody else in this place is ever treated this way again.
” As of Monday, she is still employed as Mr Marles’ chief of staff. Mr Marles is not accused of bullying Ms Tarnawsky — one of the most senior women in Government — but is instead accused of shunting her earlier this year despite never raising issues with her performance. Mr Marles’ office has been contacted for comment.
More to come..
