Labour's deputy prime minister has opened up about allegations of bullying by her chief of staff, who claims she was forced to resign from her dream job.
Richard Marles' chief of staff, Jo Tarnawsky, said during a press conference on Thursday that she loved her job before May, when she raised bullying issues privately to her boss.
“During the flight home from an official trip to Ukraine at the end of April, I raised concerns privately with the deputy prime minister about some bullying behavior within the cabinet,” she told reporters.
She said Marles acknowledged her concerns and promised to address them.
“However, when we returned to Australia, he called me and – in direct response to the concerns I had raised – made it clear that I should start looking for alternative employment,” she said.
'Any of my attempts to resolve the issue or discuss it in person have been rebuffed. He demanded that I immediately take several weeks of leave.
Marles was forced to address the allegations during Question Time on Thursday when Coalition MP Susan Ley asked whether he felt he had met his ministerial obligations to maintain a safe and respectful workplace.
The House of Representatives fell into dead silence as it struggled to respond, telling the chamber: “To state the obvious, at this time I feel very sad that events have turned out where they have.”
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles is pictured during Question Time on Thursday
Richard Marles' chief of staff Jo Tarnawsky is pictured during her press conference at Parliament House on Thursday
'It's obviously very difficult.
'Let me say that the way I have tried to manage this, I have done so with Jo's welfare in mind at all times, as I would try to manage things on that basis for all my staff.'
Marles said he admired Tarnawsky for her commitment to social justice and described her as a “wonderful person.”
He added: 'As is evident, this matter is now in the hands of lawyers – of course that is absolutely Jo's right, but it means it is difficult for me to say anything more about it.'
Ley then asked him about when Marles first spoke to the Prime Minister about the bullying allegations.
He responded: 'What I can say is that it is clear now, publicly, that we have been, I have been working with the Prime Minister's Office for months regarding this matter, and the Prime Minister has been informed of this.'
During Tarnawsky's press conference, her attorney Michael Bradley told reporters that Marles had finally made the decision to fire her.
“What happened was that Jo raised a legitimate concern about issues within the Deputy First Minister's office, including bullying behavior, and the response to this was to effectively expel her from her job,” he said.
'She is like all workers in the country, entitled to fair treatment, procedural justice and her rights as an employee were not respected.'
Tarnawsky claimed she was forced to resign from her 'drama work' after raising bullying allegations with Mr Marles
Ms. Tarnawsky said she “was plagued by nightmares, flashbacks, symptoms of depression and anxiety, insomnia, panic attacks and suicidal thoughts.”
“I didn’t have any of these symptoms before May 2024,” the top official said.
'The way I was treated was cowardly, cruel and completely unnecessary.'
Although she did not accuse Mr. Marles of bullying her, she said she wanted him “to be held accountable.”
“What I want is for people to know the truth and for Richard Marles, as well as those who enabled his behavior, to be held accountable for what happened,” Tarnawsky said.
'I'm being bullied because of a job I loved, which was going well. It was a job I dreamed of having since I first visited Parliament when I was a child.
'Now, I am the highest-ranking female chief of staff on the Hill and my workplace is not safe.'
She called on Anthony Albanese to implement his government's workplace reforms.
The government last month approved legislation establishing a new independent body to crack down on bad behavior in parliament. It began operations on October 1st.
