Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has opened up about bullying allegations by his chief of staff, who claims she was forced to resign from her dream job.
Marles’ top staffer, Jo Tarnawsky, said during a press conference on Thursday that she loved her job prior to May, when she privately raised bullying concerns to her boss.
‘During the flight home from an official trip to Ukraine in late April, I raised concerns privately with the Deputy Prime Minister about some bullying behaviour within the office,’ she told reporters.
She said that Mr 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 – he made it clear that I should start looking for alternative employment,’ she said.
‘Any of my attempts to resolve the issue or to discuss it in person were refused. He demanded that I take several weeks of leave immediately.’
Mr Marles was forced to address the allegations during Question Time on Thursday when Coalition MP Sussan Ley asked whether he felt he had complied with his ministerial obligations to maintain a safe and respectful workplace.
The House of Representatives fell dead silent as he struggled through his response, telling the chamber: ‘To state the obvious, in this moment, I feel very sad that events have got to 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 is obviously very difficult.
‘Let me say that in the way in which I have tried to manage this, I have done so with Jo’s welfare in mind at every moment, as I would try to manage things on that basis for all of my staff.’
Mr Marles said he admired Ms 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 does mean that it is difficult for me to say anything more on this.’
Ms Ley then asked him about when Mr Marles first spoke with the Prime Minister about the allegations of bullying.
He replied: ‘What I can say is that it is evident now, on the record, that we have been, I have been working with the Prime Minister’s Office for months in respect of this matter, and the prime minister has been made aware of this.’
During Ms Tarnawsky’s press conference, her lawyer Michael Bradley told reporters that Mr Marles ultimately made the call to dismiss her.
‘What happened was Jo raised a legitimate concern about issues within the office of the Deputy Prime Minister, including bullying behaviour, and the response to that was to effectively drive her out of her job,’ he said.
‘She’s like every worker in the country, entitled to fair treatment, procedural fairness and her rights as an employee had not been respected.’
Ms Tarnawsky claimed she was forced to resign from her ‘dram job’ after she brought up bullying allegations with Mr Marles
Ms Tarnawsky said she had ‘been plagued with nightmares, flashbacks, symptoms of depression and anxiety, insomnia, panic attacks and suicidal thoughts’.
‘I had none of these symptoms before May 2024,’ the top staffer said.
‘The way I have been treated has been cowardly, cruel and completely unnecessary.’
While 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 have enabled his behaviour, to be held accountable for what has happened,’ Ms Tarnawsky said.
‘I am being bullied out of a job I loved, that I was doing well. It was a job that I dreamed of having since I first visited Parliament House as a child.
‘Now, I am the most senior 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 passed legislation establishing a new independent body to crackdown on bad behaviour in parliament. It began operations on October 1.