Accusations of bullying and a toxic culture within acting Prime Minister Richard Marles’ office are about as embarrassing as they can get for the Labor government.
They are not made by a young Hamburger from the office who feels that his ambitions are not being adequately fulfilled.
The claims have been made by the Chief of Staff, the most senior person working for Australia’s deputy prime minister.
Jo Tarnawsky is a career diplomat plucked from the professional public service to serve in the government’s second most senior political position.
Not only is he supposed to be the right-hand man of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, but he is also part of the Labor Party’s leadership team. 2IC to Tim Gartrell, the Prime Minister’s chief of staff.
Tarnawsky may not be a household name, but she is the highest-ranking female politician in the government.
While he does not accuse the deputy prime minister of harassment, he does claim that it has been rampant right under his nose, in his office no less.
She also says she warned her about what was going on, and that’s when she was suddenly left out. They told him not to come to the office, but still paid him his $300,000 salary.
It is difficult to escape the conclusion that the government hoped this saga would remain quietly out of sight as it approached a tight electoral showdown.
Jo Tarnawsky, seen above in a diplomatic post with former Prime Minister Julia Gillard, is the most senior female politician in the government. His allegations of a toxic culture in the Marles office are as embarrassing as it gets for the Labor Party.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal the alleged perpetrators of the harassment are younger political staffers who have been part of the party’s organizational wing.
The allegations include claims that employees acted in a manner that was exclusionary, degrading and degrading to subject matter experts in the office, including the Chief of Staff.
One of the alleged perpetrators is claimed to be a younger employee who has the boss’s attention, avoiding direct line manager Ms Tarnawsky in the process.
Ms Tarnawsky’s claims have been disputed by Mr Marles’ office, with a spokesman saying: “Several of the claims and recollections are disputed.” “Ms. Tarnawsky has been treated with respect and courtesy,” the spokesperson said.
‘At all times, the wellbeing of staff, including Ms Tarnawsky, has been a priority.
“Out of respect for Ms. Tarnawsky and with the prospect of legal proceedings, it is not appropriate to comment further.”
The embarrassment for the Labor Party is heightened by the fact that Anthony Albanese promised to fix Parliament’s toxic culture and his government has done a credit to it by introducing new employment laws to protect employees.
However, one of the government’s highest-ranking officials has not felt protected.
Rather, in her own words, she feels “intimidated and abandoned by a job that I loved and was doing well.” How well he has performed has been reinforced by text messages Marles sent to Tarnawsky that were released to the media.
Ms Tarnawsky gave a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra this week. She said she felt “intimidated to leave a job that I loved and was doing well.”
Marles was somber in addressing the allegations, but on Thursday pleaded for due process in Parliament (pictured).
While the Labor Party now tries to avoid talking about this crisis, hiding behind the fact that it has become a legal matter, it cannot escape the comparison with how it sought political advantage while in opposition every time similar scandals engulfed the Morrison government.
They amplified the controversies and demanded answers from Team Morrison at the time.
Back then, as-yet-unproven weapons allegations were the Labor Party’s political business.
Now, suddenly, he wants due process to take its course before commenting on what supposedly happened.
Wherever the truth lies in this matter, the claims are serious and the implications, if true, would cast a dark shadow over the culture of a Labor government already struggling to convince voters it deserves another term in power.
If a well-regarded professional (and senior) member of the Canberra public service cannot fit into the culture of a Labor Party political office, that says a lot about how backwards that party culture really is.
A far cry from the way Australia’s main centre-left party likes to present itself to the general public.
