Kaushaliya Vaghela slams ABC following TV interview

Kaushaliya Vaghela slammed the ABC after what was supposed to be a tell-all interview, saying it omitted “egregious aspects” of her interactions with Dan Andrews.

Labor MP Kaushaliya Vaghela at her electoral office in Werribee. She is accusing the Labor government and Dan Andrews of bullying. Picture: David Caird

Rebel Labor MP Kaushaliya Vaghela has slammed the ABC after appearing on 7.30, saying it omitted parts of the interview that concerned her interaction with Premier Daniel Andrews.

In a statement posted to her social media accounts on Thursday night, just hours after the heavily-touted ABC “exclusive”, Ms Vaghela said she was disappointed the program ignored “the most egregious aspects” of her interaction with the Premier after being approached by the program to tell her story.

“Considering the ABC had been running strong on the treatment of women in politics, I thought it was a good platform to tell my story,” Ms Vaghela said.

“It disappoints me that only a fraction of what I endured was aired tonight.

“The most egregious aspects of the story were ignored including the conduct of the Premier, his staff and his personal friend.”

That follows WorkSafe launching an investigation into allegations by Ms Vaghela of bullying by a former adviser to the Premier – allegations first exposed by the Herald Sun.

Ms Vaghela said she was concerned 7.30 did not air her views about the Premier publicly questioning her mental health.

Kaushaliya Vaghela with Daniel Andrews before the working relationship soured.

“The fact that my strong views on having my mental health questioned publicly by the Premier and his team for daring to complain were omitted raises serious concerns,” she said.

In the 7.30 interview Ms Vaghela said she felt “traumatised” after Premier Andrews referred to her as “that person” following her bullying allegations being made public.

She said: “That just triggered me. I was traumatised. I lost my identity. I lost my name. I felt worthless. And that’s exactly how I felt throughout – throughout last three years.”

Ms Vaghela said she had “suffered” a lot through the ordeal.

“Over three years. Me and my family, we have suffered a lot and I want justice. I want the Premier to acknowledge what they have done to me, and apologise to me.”

The Upper House MP has said she waited more than two years for her complaints to be taken seriously.

The government has angrily rejected the suggestion, insisting action was taken after it received a complaint in May last year.

It consistently said there was no record of a bullying complaint regarding the employee from 2019.

Originally published as Kaushaliya Vaghela slams ABC following TV interview