Eye-watering sum taxpayers have spent on forced ‘gardening leave’ for Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles’ chief of staff

The extraordinary sum taxpayers have spent on forced ‘gardening leave’ for the Acting Prime Minister’s chief of staff can be revealed.

The eye-watering sum taxpayers have spent on forced ‘gardening leave’ for Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles’ chief of staff can be revealed.

Former chief of staff Jo Tarnawsky alleges she was driven from the job after she was “bullied” in Mr Marles’ office and accused her former boss of failing to support her. Mr Marles’ office has disputed her account of events.

But she’s still on the taxpayer-funded payroll after the Labor Party told her to cool her heels at home in May rather than come into the office.

The respected former diplomat is on a salary of around $300,000 in her role as chief of staff to Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister but has not worked since May when she says the Prime Minister’s office told her she could never return to the job.

That salary equates to around $25,000 a month or just over $100,000 in total since she was barred from coming into the office despite her willingness to work.

Richard Marles' chief of staff, Jo Tarnawsky. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

It’s not clear how Mr Marles’ office planned to resolve the matter or whether they planned to keep paying her until the election was called, but for months she has remained on gardening leave which was not of her choosing.

She remains on the payroll despite holding a press conference at Parliament House on Thursday.

The only work she was requested to undertake was some temporary project work to support and mentor other chiefs of staff.

“This shows I pose no security risk and there are no genuine concerns about my performance or behaviour,’’ she said.

Ms Tarnawsky does not allege she was bullied by Mr Marles but does take issue with how he handled her complaints.

“I am being bullied out of a job I loved, that I was doing well,’’ she said.

“It was a job that I dreamed of having since I first visited Parliament House as a child. Now, I am the most senior female Chief of Staff on the Hill and my workplace is not safe.”

Richard Marles disputes COS’ account

A spokesperson for Mr Marles has disputed Ms Tarnawsky’s account.

“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.

“The Albanese Government is committed to improving workplace behaviour and culture at Parliament House.”

‘Not safe’: Leaked texts from inside gov office

Leaked text messages chart the breakdown in the relationship after a challenging visit to Ukraine where the program collapsed and Ms Tarnawsky, a former diplomat, had to organise a new set of meetings with senior leaders at short notice.

During the flight home from an official trip to Ukraine in late April, she says she raised concerns privately with the Deputy Prime Minister about some bullying behaviour within the office.

Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Richard Marles Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“It is the single-biggest thing I have pulled off in my career,” she texted Mr Marles. “Given the same circumstances and the same ridiculous time pressures, I’d do it again.”

She said Mr Marles had discovered she had been recommended for another senior job but she considered her current position “an honour” and wanted to stay where she was.

“I just need to work out if I’m still valued in this role, and if you want me to stay.”

In response, Mr Marles was initially supportive but she said that soon changed.

“Jo, I know what you did to pull off the Ukraine visit, and as I’ve said to you, it was amazing,” he wrote.

“You should feel proud. I believe I’ve praised you in front of others, but I’ll make sure to do that again. I have not heard the negative talking. People are careful around me, but I don’t doubt what you say. I know things are not going well. I value you and value the job you have done for me. More than that, I am deeply grateful.”

In a statement, she said the relationship soon took a nose dive after she raised the concerns.

“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 said.

o improving the culture and professional conduct at Parliament House,’’ he said.

Richard Marles: “Trust me”

The former chief of staff and diplomat said things took a turn for the worse when she returned to Australia and Mr Marles called her into the office and in direct response to the concerns she had raised, claiming he made it clear that she should start looking for alternative employment.

“Any of my attempts to resolve the issue or to discuss it in person were refused. He demanded that I take several weeks of leave immediately. I was shocked, but he assured me that I had not been stood down and that I would be treated with total dignity,’’ she said.

“He said, ‘trust me, I know how to handle this’.

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

“But when I tried to return to work in June, it was left to the Prime Minister’s chief of staff to inform me that I could never return to my role or to the Deputy Prime Minister’s office.

“No fair process has been followed. I continue to be employed officially as the Deputy Prime Minister’s chief of staff, but I have been prevented from doing my job. I am unable to access my office unless I provide 24 hours’ notice and I have been warned by a senior staffing representative that I am not safe and to stay away from the DPMO. I have not seen or heard from the Deputy Prime Minister for months.”

‘Sad’ Richard Marles breaks silence on office drama

Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles told Parliament he’s ‘”sad” about the breakdown in his relationship with his chief of staff.

However, he suggested that it’s difficult to say more given “it’s in the hands of lawyers.”

Mr Marles, who is acting as Prime Minister while Anthony Albanese is overseas, was put in the awkward position of fielding questions on the matter on Thursday.

He told Question Time that he was satisfied he had upheld the highest workplace standards, including maintaining a safe and respectful workplace for his staff.

“[Ms Jo Tarnawsky] started working for me back in 2012 and she is someone who I have known for a long time,” he said.

“She is a wonderful person who in her role then and now, she has given me great service and I remain deeply grateful for that. She is a person who is completely committed to social justice in this country and I very much admire her for that.

“And given all that, to state the obvious, in this moment, I feel very sad that events have got to where they have.

“It is obviously very difficult. Let me say that in the way in which I have tried to manage this, I have done so with Jo’s welfare in mind at every moment as I would try to manage things on that basis for all of my staff.

“As is evident, this matter is now in the hands of lawyers – of course that is absolutely Jo’s right but it does mean that it is difficult for me to say anything more on this.”

“Incapable”: Peter Dutton hits out at Albo

Liberal leader Peter Dutton accused the Albanese Government of hypocrisy over workplace matters and said the issue was squarely in the Prime Minister’s orbit.

“One of the revelations, obviously, yesterday was that the Prime Minister’s office had been involved in this matter for months and months and there’s still no resolution to it,’’ Mr Dutton said.

“So, you would have thought the priority for the Prime Minister’s office would be to find resolution and to find a satisfactory outcome by way of mediation or support for the individual involved, and had the shoe been on the other foot, of course, the Labor party would be completely outraged and calling for sackings of Ministers, etcetera, as they did in the Morrison Government.

“But I think Mr Albanese’s office has a real, has obviously had a real role to play here and they need to answer why it’s dragged on and on and on and they’ve just been incapable of resolving it.”

Labor frontbencher Bill Shorten told the Today show that the Deputy Prime Minister had addressed the matter in Parliament.

“Out of respect for the people involved and because of the prospect of legal proceedings, there’s not much more I can comment about the individual matters. And the general issue, Labor is very committed t

PM grilled on Marles’ office drama in Laos

Speaking in Laos, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was aware of the issues that had arisen, including his own chief of staff’s role in managing the crisis.

“I am aware of it, and I was briefed on it. The Acting Prime Minister has responded to this publicly and due to the nature of it, I don’t intend to add any further comment,” Mr Albanese said.

In a press conference on Thursday morning, Ms Tarnawsky said she had made reports of bullying and other inappropriate behaviour but ultimately felt she was then driven out of parliament.

“So what happened was Jo raised a legitimate concern about issues within the office of the deputy prime minister, including bullying behaviour, and the response to that was to effectively drive her out of her job,” lawyer Michael Bradley said.

“Jo accepts that it’s a relationship of trust and confidence, and if that trust and confidence isn’t there, then of course, it can’t continue.

“She’s like every worker in the country, entitled to fair treatment, procedural fairness and her rights as an employee had not been respected.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Picture: AFP

Calls for the PM to take action

Ms Tarnawsky called on the Prime Minister to take action on her allegations.

“The Prime Minister has committed the government to parliamentary workplace reforms, to ensuring the safety of women in this building and to higher standards in the ministerial code of conduct,” Ms Tarnawsky said.

“I asked the Prime Minister, I asked the Prime Minister to hold these commitments in full. No political party is immune from poor, poor workplace behaviour, but the real test is how they handle it when it happens.”

Insomnia, panic attacks

She said the events of the last five months had been devastating.

“Cut off from my job and ostracised without warning, people have been unaware of my real situation,’’ she said.

“I have been plagued with nightmares, flashbacks, symptoms of depression and anxiety, insomnia, panic attacks and suicidal thoughts. I had none of these symptoms before May 2024.

“The way I have been treated has been cowardly, cruel and completely unnecessary.

“Despite what has happened to me, I have behaved professionally, all while trying to find suitable alternative employment.

“My family knows that what I am doing today is not easy,” she said.

“What I want is for people to know the truth and for Richard Marles, as well as those who have enabled his behaviour, to be held accountable for what has happened.”