Bullying claims cast a ‘last days of Rome’ whiff over government

A ‘last days of Rome’ vibe hanging around the Albanese government has been made worse after claims of a “bullying” environment in Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles’ office, writes James Morrow.

The shambolic “last days of Rome” vibe hanging around the Albanese government has been made worse with Thursday’s claims of a “bullying” environment in Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles’ office.

The claims, made by Marles’ chief of staff Jo Tarnawsky in a snap media conference, include those that she was barred from her office and all but pushed out after she raised complaints about other “bullying behaviour”.

“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. He acknowledged the concerns, restated the value he placed in me and my work and said we should have a chat about it,” she told reporters.

Bullying claims... Richard Marles' chief of staff, Jo Tarnawsky holds a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“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.”

Tarnawsky said her “workplace is not safe” and called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to make good on his commitment to “ensuring the safety of women in this building”.

All of this puts Labor, and the Prime Minister, in a very tricky position.

Back when they were trying to knock off Scott Morrison, they were all about parliamentary workplace culture and – leveraging off the Brittany Higgins case – alleging that a Liberal bully boy culture had made Parliament House an unsafe place for women.

After the Sex Discrimination Commissioner handed down a review into parliamentary workplace culture, then Opposition leader Albanese said it was time to “walk the talk.”

“No-one deserves to feel unsafe or disrespected in any workplace, let alone our national parliament. Let us be the example for Australia that the national parliament ought to be,” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Richard Marles during Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Around the same time, Marles himself said “I think there is movement in relation to behaviour within the parliament here, and that’s really important.”

“This is a place which should set the standard, as the Jenkins report says,” he told reporters.

The allegations that the most senior female chief of staff in Parliament House has been the victim of a bullying campaign will of course have to be tested.

A spokesperson for Mr Marles disputed Ms Tarnawsky’s claims, saying the “wellbeing” of all staff was “front of mind”.

“A number of the assertions and recollections are contested. Ms Tarnawsky has been treated with respect and courtesy,” the spokesperson said.

“At all times, the wellbeing of staff, including Ms Tarnawsky, has been front of mind.

“Out of respect for Ms Tarnawsky, and the prospect of legal proceedings, it is not appropriate to make further comment.”

But Ms Tarnawsky’s claims simply suggest that Labor may not have be walking the talk, and that just maybe they only pushed for workplace change when they thought it would mean a change of government in their favour.