‘I was frozen’: Labor secretary sues party over alleged assault

A former Labor staffer who was once charged over a taxpayer-funded election fraud has been accused of assaulting a party secretary at a meeting at a Caroline Springs La Porchetta.

Kororoit Creek Branch secretary Jennifer Marriott is suing the Victorian branch of the Labor Party and member Jeffrey O’Donnell.

The Victorian Labor Party is being sued by one of its secretaries claiming it failed to protect her from an alleged assault by one of its ex-staffers who had a habit of “heckling” and verbally abusing members.

Former Labor staffer Jeffrey O’Donnell – once charged over a taxpayer-funded election fraud – has been accused in court documents of assaulting a party secretary, “habitually heckling” Labor members and calling a female member a “f***ing c***” at party meetings.

Kororoit Creek Branch secretary Jennifer Marriott, 53, is suing the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party and its member Mr O’Donnell amid claims his abuse caused her to suffer PTSD, adjustment disorder and depression.

Former Labor staffer Jeffrey O’Donnell has been accused of assaulting Kororoit Creek Branch secretary Jennifer Marriott. Picture: Supplied

The dispute centres around a Labor meeting at a Caroline Springs La Porchetta restaurant last year, where Ms Marriott claims she was assaulted by Mr O’Donnell when he approached her “aggressively, standing over her and raising his clenched fist in a threatening manner to her whilst pushing his head towards her face”.

According to her Supreme Court writ, Mr O’Donnell became “agitated” during a vote count at the executive elections for the Kororoit Creek Branch on October 11, 2023.

That was because “he had received only one vote for the position of Branch Executive,” the papers claim.

“I was frozen. I couldn’t move or believe what was happening,” Ms Marriott told the Herald Sun.

In documents filed with the court on October 31, Ms Marriott said the Labor Party should have known that Mr O’Donnell “had a propensity to behave erratically and threateningly towards other members of the party”.

During party meetings, he once called member Cassandra Angelone a “f***ing c***” and “f***ing rat”, and had a tendency of “habitually heckling” members, the writ states.

Ms Marriott claims Labor was vicariously liable as it failed to remove him from the party, supervise meetings or employ security staff.

It also allowed Mr O’Donnell to continue attending meetings although it was known, or should have been known, “that he had a propensity to behave erratically and threateningly towards other Party members and therefore posed a risk to their welfare”, court documents state.

“When you see Premier Jacinta Allen standing up saying violence against women is no good and they are putting things in place to stop it, for me, I know it’s lip service because at no point have I felt protected or that someone has had my best interests at heart,” Ms Marriott said.

Since the incident a year ago, Ms Marriott – the President of the Municipal & Utilities Workers’ Union – said she’d attended her workplace only six times because the “psychological effects of the assault have compromised” her ability to work.

She’s also stopped going to Labor Party meetings “due to ongoing fears for her own safety”.

Ms Marriott has made a claim for injury, loss and damage “as a result of the assault”, with the case set for a Supreme Court jury trial.

Arnold Thomas & Becker managing partner Lee Flanagan, who is representing Ms Marriott, said the ALP Victorian branch failed in its duty of care of their client.

“We also allege that the Party failed to assess or investigate the Mr O’Donnell’s character sufficiently before permitting his engagement with the Party,” Mr Flanagan said.

“We also understand that even now, with our client making a formal complaint, and requesting action, that the party has not taken steps to discipline or remove Mr O’Donnell from the Labor Party.”

The state government declined to comment on the matter as it is before a court.

Mr O’Donnell hit the headlines after he was spared jail in 2020 over the ALP printing rorts scandal.

He admitted he lied to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission to help cover up the fraud, where parliament was billed for fake printing invoices and the money instead used to pay for ALP branch stacking.

Mr O’Donnell got a community corrections order after he faced up to 25 years behind bars for conspiring to pervert the course of justice by liaising with others about evidence he would give IBAC as it probed the scandal.