Richard Marles’ chief of staff resigns in bombshell presser, alleges bullying at work

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles’ chief of staff has dropped bombshell allegations in a press conference announcing her resignation.

Richard Marles’ chief of staff says she is “being bullied out” of her dream job after reporting misbehaviour directly to the Deputy Prime Minister.

In a press conference on Thursday morning, Jo Tarnawsky said she “loved” her job working for Mr Marles, whom she had known for “more than 10 years”.

But she said everything changed in May when she raised concerns of bullying with her boss privately.

“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,” she told reporters.

Richard Marles' chief of staff Jo Tarnawsky has resigned over alleged bullying. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

She said Mr Marles “acknowledged” her concerns and promised to have a “chat”.

“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,” Ms Tarnawsky said.

“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.”

Her lawyer, Michael Bradley, told reporters that Mr Marles ultimately made the call to dismiss Ms Tarnawsky.

“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,” he said.

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

Ms Tarnawsky’s lawyer Michael Bradley says his client is ‘like every other worker in the country’ and is ‘entitled to fair treatment’. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Ms Tarnawsky said she had “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 top staffer said.

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

While she did not accuse Mr Marles of bullying her, she said she wanted him “to be held accountable”.

“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,” Ms Tarnawsky said.

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

She called on Anthony Albanese to implement his government’s workplace reforms.

The government last month passed legislation establishing a new independent body to crackdown on bad behaviour in parliament. It began operations on October 1.

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

A spokesperson for Mr Marles disputed Ms Tarnawsky’s claims, telling NewsWire 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.”

The spokesperson said the Albanese government was “committed to improving workplace behaviour and culture at Parliament House”.

MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS

Compared to people with other health conditions presenting at an ED, people with mental illness are: 

• nearly twice as likely to arrive by ambulance
• 10 times more likely to arrive by police or correctional services vehicles
• twice as likely to be in ED for more than 8 hours
• over represented among those kept waiting in ED for an inpatient bed
• even more over represented among those delayed in leaving ED due to an inpatient bed not being available.