‘Outrageous’ allegations aired in ex-One Nation and United Australia Party senator Brian Burston’s defamation case
An ex-Senator has been quizzed about his dealings with female staff, while his wife says Pauline Hanson wanted to end their marriage.
A former Australian senator has been grilled about his treatment of a female staff member who accused him of trying to kiss her on the lips multiple times, while his wife says Pauline Hanson tried to ruin the couple’s marriage.
Details of Brian Burston’s dispute with the former staffer came to light after he sued Senator Hanson, alleging she defamed him on social media and by airing sexual harassment allegations.
Mr Burston, 74, returned on Wednesday to the Federal Court witness box where he was subject to questioning about his treatment of former staff.
PAYBACK ALLEGATIONS
Senator Hanson’s barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC told the court that as a form of payback, in December 2018 Mr Burston called an employment review meeting and raised concerns about how his former staffer Terri-Lea Vairy had consumed alcohol at a previous event.
“She rejected your advances and you were paying her back … you found out she had a relationship with Senator (Peter) Georgiou … you concocted trumped-up allegations against her and this was one of them,” Ms Chrysanthou said.
Mr Burston denied Ms Chrysanthou’s claims and alleged his former One Nation Senate colleague Peter Georgiou had complained about Ms Vairy making contact while intoxicated.
In the month after the employment review, the court was told that Mr Burston reported Ms Vairy to police about the theft of rings that were stolen in September 2018.
“My mother-in-law was robbed of her jewellery while she slept in her house,” Mr Burston said.
“Terri-Lea brought in a set of rings and said ‘are these the rings stolen?’”
Mr Burston denied the suggestion the police report was an attempt to discredit Ms Vairy and said he never reported the theft earlier because “it was a busy time of the year”.
Ms Vairy’s conduct is not the subject of legal proceedings and this publication does not suggest she has engaged in any wrongdoing.
“I never tried to discredit any of my staff,” Mr Burston told the court.
After Ms Vairy disputed the concerns Mr Burston expressed in the employment review meeting, the court was told that her employment was threatened and she went on stress leave.
PAINTING DISPUTE
Mr Burston then made another report to police about the alleged removal of a painting and plates from his office.
“She (Ms Vairy) gave it to me and said ‘here’s a painting, nobody likes it in the office’,” Mr Burston said.
“It was an oil painting of a forest scape, if I can put it that way, full of trees.
“She said these (plates) have been sitting around for ages, you can have them too.
Mr Burston said the painting was “badly damaged” and he used $456 of taxpayers’ money to get it reframed.
“The ownership, in my view, changed and I spent commonwealth money to have them reframed specifically to display in the office,” he said.
“She (Ms Vairy) actually helped me select the frame. She stole commonwealth property.”
Ms Chrysanthou said “after you sent her (Ms Vairy) a letter threatening her employment and making allegations about her, she took those items back … you are a disgraceful employer”.
Mr Burston hit back at that suggestion and said he treated his staff with respect.
“They had a great employment lifestyle arrangement with me,” he told the court.
COMCARE CLAIM
In a claim Ms Vairy later made with Comcare, the national workers’ compensation authority, the court was told Mr Burston was alleged to have told her “he hoped I got a good lashing”.
“I recall that was in response to going to a beautician for eyelash extensions, that’s just my warped sense of humour,” Mr Burston explained.
An allegation he sent Ms Vairy messages with repeated references to hugs and kisses was also denied by Mr Burston, who suggested the word “repeatedly” meant excessively.
“I did that at a time when Ms Vairy was going through a very dark period,” he said.
A message saying “I love you” was also sent by Mr Burston around the same time, the court was told.
Another claim by Ms VaIry – who suggested Mr Burston gave her a birthday card and when she tried to hand it back he tried to shove it down her top – was also denied and the court was told Ms Vairy’s Comcare claim was dismissed.
“I never give cards on special occasions, not even birthdays, as they are a waste of money,” Mr Burston told the court.
In response to the issues raised in Ms Vairy’s Comcare claim, Mr Burston told the court he believed she continually flirted with him because he was sent a photo of her with other women that had a caption underneath it that said “Charlie’s Angels … Brian’s angels”.
“I take that as a flirting gesture,” he said.
No other examples of alleged flirting were mentioned in court.
The court was told Ms Vairy also alleged Mr Burston hugged her and kissed her on the lips in May 2017 and tried to passionately kiss her in February 2018 after walking her to her apartment.
Mr Burston denied ever attempting to kiss Ms Vairy on the lips and said he only ever kissed staff on the cheek.
“I don’t think it would be inappropriate,” he said.
“They were giving me a kiss on the cheek as well.”
LETTER OF CONCERN
The court was told that after Mr Burston had reported Ms Vairy to police he sent a letter to a senior staff member at the Department of Finance.
“I am concerned about her state of mind,” he wrote in the letter, which the court was told also included references to Ms Vairy allegedly drinking heavily throughout the day and constantly phoning Senator Hanson’s office in a state of distress.
The court was told the letter Mr Burston wrote also contained a complaint that alleged Ms Vairy and the then Senator Georgiou were having sex “between their taxpayer funded apartments”.
Mr Burston said he could not recall referring to another staff member as a “numb nut” or smearing blood on Senator Hanson’s office door, but he accepted CCTV showed him doing that.
The court was told that during Mr Burston’s three years in the Senate four of his staffers resigned, four were sacked and another two never made it beyond probationary periods.
Mr Burston said Senator Hanson’s comments about him and the sexual harassment allegations were “outrageous”.
“I’ve never been investigated for sexual harassment,” he said.
Mr Burston claimed Senator Hanson sexually harassed him.
WIFE’S EVIDENCE
After Mr Burston finished giving evidence his wife Ros told the court she was “stunned and very upset” when Senator Hanson sent her a text message on Valentine’s Day mentioning the sexual harassment allegations against Mr Burston.
Mrs Burston said both she and her husband started crying when the message came through.
“I thought that she did that to upset me and break up my marriage,” Mrs Burston told the court.
“There was not a single thing true in any of it. It’s all just been made up.
“I couldn’t believe she was saying this.”
Mr Burton quit One Nation in mid-2018 and became a member of Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party.
The hearing continues.