Woman accuses ex-One Nation senator Brian Burston of harassment in Pauline Hanson trial

A former staffer of ex-One Nation senator Brian Burston has told a court he repeatedly hugged, kissed and complimented her — and once ‘forcefully’ shoved $100 between her breasts.

Pauline Hanson has watched as a former One Nation staffer, testifying in court, accused former senator Brian Burston of years of unwanted sexual harassment as the party imploded amid a storm of alleged insults and sledges in 2019.

Mr Burston is suing One Nation leader Pauline Hanson in Sydney’s Federal Court, claiming she falsely defamed him as a pervert on Facebook, during a media interview and in text messages to Mr Burston’s wife in 2019.

Ms Hanson had delivered a speech in the Senate saying an unnamed senator was handling multiple unfair dismissal cases and women in his office had complained about his conduct.

Then-senator Burston claimed in the court this week that he was devastated his long-time friend and political leader had depicted him as a sexual predator because they were falling out over a political disagreement.

Ms Hanson is arguing the allegations are substantially true, and called one of Mr Burston’s former staffers, who alleged sexual harassment against the former senator, to testify on Thursday.

Brian Burston at the Federal Court, where he is suing Pauline Hanson, on Thursday. Picture John Grainger

Terri-lea Vairy repeatedly told the court she felt humiliated, singled out, degraded and uncomfortable as Mr Burston repeatedly hugged, kissed and complimented her, sometimes in front of other staff. “I feel sick, it makes me feel sick and saddened by it all. Just humiliated,” Ms Vairy told the court.

The former staffer said she was “shocked” when Mr Burston hugged her in front of staff when she was very new in the job.

Ms Vairy broke down in court while speaking about her time in Mr Burston’s office on Thursday.

Minutes later Ms Hanson was spotted with her legal team, Sue Chrysanthou SC and Danny Eid, and Ms Vairy downstairs at the court in Sydney.

On Thursday Mr Burston, 74, scribbled notes in court, seated next to his wife Ros, as Ms Vairy told the court he had given her a birthday card in early 2018.

“I opened the birthday card and $100 fell out, I tried to give it back to Brian but he forcefully shoved it between my breasts,” Ms Vairy said.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson walks out of the Supreme Court in Sydney with lawyer Danny Eid and witness Terri-lea Vairy. Picture: John Grainger

Ms Vairy, 47, told the court the then-senator repeatedly commented on her breasts, her dress, her hair, clothes and body.

On one occasion, Ms Vairy claimed in court, Senator Burston walked her to her accomodation in Canberra, invited himself in for a drink, then tried to kiss her as he left.

“When he was leaving he leant in and tried to passionately kiss me,” Ms Vairy said.

“I slapped him on the back and said ‘settle down’. He said ‘What? I’m just trying to say goodbye’.”

Ms Vairy, the court has heard was in a sexual relationship with One Nation Senator Peter Georgiou while working for Mr Burston.

The details leaked to the press, the court has heard, and appeared in a news article.

The former staffer cried telling the court the article was printed out and stuck on a glass wall by Mr Burston in his office.

The staffer denied ever sleeping with Senator Georgiou at Parliament House, under cross-examination by Mr Burston’s barrister Bruce McClintock SC.

But she agreed she had a couple of drinks and phoned Senator Georgiou to confront him about sleeping with “a whore” after he found out he was seeing another woman.

Terri-lea Vairy with Ms Hanson outside the Supreme Court of Australia. Picture: Monique Harmer

Ms Vairy told the court she ultimately filed an unfair dismissal claim, and learned Mr Burston had filed police complaints alleging she had stolen an oil painting and plates from the office.

They were her personal belongings, she told the court.

She stayed on stress leave for the rest of her employment because she “didn’t want to see his face”, Ms Vairy said on Thursday.

Ms Hanson sat at the back of the court throughout the hearing, flicking through binders of documents compiled by the lawyers in the case.

Ms Vairy told the court she did not raise official complaints because she needed the “astronomical” wage, which was much higher than she’d ever earned, and feared she would be sacked for speaking up.

The court has heard Mr Burston hired Ms Vairy to work in his office after she had cleaned his home for years.

She told the court the then-senator once told her he had fallen in love with her the moment she walked down his driveway.

The court has previously heard allegations of insults flying around the One Nation team as it splintered in 2019, including that people were called “numbnut”, “traitorous c***”, and “ugly as a hat of arseholes”.

Many of those claims are denied.

Mr Burston denies all wrongdoing.