The deputy opposition leader, Sussan Ley, says Richard Marles should resign if he has failed to provide a safe and respectful workplace as required under the ministerial code of conduct.
Ley said on Friday that allegations from the deputy prime minister’s chief of staff, Jo Tarnawksy, were “extremely serious” and expressed concern for her welfare.
Guardian Australia reported on Thursday that Tarnawsky alleges her boss has not spoken to her in five months and that she has been barred from her office without 24 hours’ notice, after she raised concerns about other staff and he responded by effectively sacking her in a phone call.
Through a spokesperson, Marles said that “a number of the assertions and recollections are contested”.
“Ms Tarnawsky remains a member of staff. Ms Tarnawsky has been treated with respect and courtesy. At all times, the wellbeing of staff, including Ms Tarnawsky, has been front of mind.”
In parliament on Thursday, Marles praised her as “a wonderful person”. He insisted he had upheld the provisions in the ministerial code of conduct.
Ley suggested on Friday that if Marles had breached the code of conduct, he must resign.
“Breaching that responsibility requires resignation,” Ley said. “There’s no other course of action – so let’s see what happens.”
“All members of parliament owe it to their staff to provide a safe and respectful workplace,” she told Seven’s Sunrise program.
Later, at a news conference, she said ministers had to meet a higher standard.
“The demands on ministers are higher because it is specifically written in the ministerial code, which is the rulebook for ministers – that responsibility to provide a safe and respectful workplace.”
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, seemed unaware his deputy was calling for resignation when he spoke about the issue on breakfast television.
“Had the shoe been on the other foot, of course, the Labor party would be completely outraged and calling for sackings of ministers, et cetera, as they did in the Morrison government,” Dutton told Nine’s Today Show.
Dutton demanded answers from the prime minister.
“The prime minister’s office had been involved in this issue for months and months and there’s still no resolution to it,” he said. “So, you would have thought the priority for the prime minister’s office would be to find resolution and to find a satisfactory outcome by way of mediation or support for the individual involved.”
Also speaking on Sunrise, the education minister, Jason Clare, insisted the culture in Parliament House was not perfect but had improved.
“I’ve been in parliament now for 17 years and I’ve got to tell you, it’s a hell of a lot better than it was when I got there all that time ago,” Clare said. “But there’s still more work to do.”
Tarnawsky repeated her allegations in a public statement at Parliament House on Thursday and described having suffered dark, depressive and suicidal thoughts since being sidelined in May.
She remains employed as chief of staff but is unable to perform the job and was moved into a specially created temporary human resources job elsewhere in Parliament House which expired on 30 September. She is unclear what happens next.
She has not been terminated but was instead asked to consider a “mutual termination agreement”. Tarnawsky said she does not consider it to be “mutual”.
She said that when Marles asked her to find another job she agreed to do so and asked to just “depart with dignity”. But five months on, she has not secured other employment and her situation is uncertain.
Tarnawsky said her daughter had persuaded her to speak out because the secrecy had become corrosive and her daughter said “maybe if you tell the truth … someone will help you”.
Ley said Tarnawsky’s prepared public statement was moving but also concerning.
“I am worried for Jo,” she said. “I am worried for a woman who has clearly experienced something pretty awful and has been very brave in standing up to tell her story. And I’m particularly touched that it was her daughter, who encouraged her and she wants to be an example for her daughter, and I really admire that.”
