Labor MP Emma Husar to resign after series of scandals
FEDERAL Labor MP Emma Husar will quit at the next election, following a scandal over bullying and harassment allegations.
NSW
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BESIEGED Labor MP Emma Husar has admitted to swearing and making employees clean up after her dog, during her announcement that she will quit federal Parliament at the next election.
Her resignation has come following an excess of 40 bullying and harassment allegations, which she told Nine News today have “ruined” her reputation and career.
“I want this over,” she told Nine News.
“Enough’s enough. It ends now and I’m doing this on my terms.”
Among them, claims that Ms Husar forced employees to attend to her dog, Thomas the Lab and its bathroom needs if she was unavailable.
“I would normally take her out so if I was in the office. But if I was detained in a meeting and she wanted to go to the toilet obviously there’s no set bathroom allocation breaks for Thomas the Lab,” she told Nine News.
“If I was an employee and I had an issue with it I’d certainly raise it and say I didn’t want to do it.”
She also admitted to swearing, explaining that anyone would swear in a pressurised work environment however denied directing foul language at any of her staff.
“I swear like a trooper as I think any probably newsroom, any bar, any office workplace that’s highly pressured does,” Ms Husar said in her interview.
“But I certainly don’t swear at my staff.”
The embattled MP believes the mounting raft of allegations are “vexatious” and designed to smear her but conceded she was not perfect.
“I don’t know that my reputation will ever recover,” she told 9 News.
“It’s a sad day, it’s a disappointing day for me and I’ve made the decision, the agonising decision that I won’t be re contesting Lindsay at the next election.”
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Ms Husar told 9 News the investigation into dozens of allegations of bullying and harassment by former staffers had taken a toll on her family, sparking her resignation this afternoon.
“Day after day, watching my reputation be smeared and my kids trolled online, that’s been incredibly tough,” she said.
“I’ve always said my kids are resilient and they’ve rolled with being in public life and accept that I’ve been busy at times.”
Ms Husar has vowed to fight the allegations which include claims she forced staff members to walk her dog and pick up its poo.
The single mother has been under siege for weeks after the allegations surfaced and faced immense pressure to resign from powerful influencers inside her own party.
Barrister and Labor heavyweight John Whelan is expected to submit his investigation to the NSW ALP this week.
It is believed there are up to 44 allegations being investigated by more than 20 former staffers.
The severity of the allegation ranged from forcing staff to walk her dog to diverting campaign funds into a personal bank account and bullying her employees.
Ms Husar said she was so disturbed by the allegations that she vomited when she first heard them.
“When I heard that in the initial assessment I threw up,” Ms Husar said.
Another allegation is that Ms Husar flashed a staffer while in the office of MP Jason Clare. Mr Clare was playing with his young son at the time.
“It doesn’t just allege that I did something wrong to a grown up, but there was a child in the room, and that’s absolutely the lowest part of what’s gone on here.”
The mother-of-three said she wasn’t going to “sit here and say that I’m perfect but did I do those things? Absolutely not.”
Opposition leader Bill Shorten has still refused to publicly censure Ms Husar.
“This has been a very difficult for Emma and her family. I respect the decision she’s made,” he said.
Earlier in the day Mr Shorten refuted reports that former staffers for Ms Husar had been in contact with his office about the Lindsay MP’s conduct.
“I don’t believe that. I’ve made my own inquiries, none of my staff have confirmed that,” he said.
He said the first he heard of the investigation was when it was raised with his office by the media two weeks ago.
“I think the obvious and appropriate course of action, once there’s been a complaints process initiated is to let that conclude,” he said.
“That’s what I’m going to do and I am not going to provide a running commentary about this matter until the report is concluded.”