By Farrah Tomazin
A Victorian government minister has been stood down from cabinet and faces the sack amid allegations of systemic bullying, abuse and intimidation.
In the first major scandal to rock Daniel Andrews' six-month-old government, Small Business Minister Adem Somyurek is under investigation after his chief of staff complained to the Premier about a pattern of "intimidating, aggressive and threatening" behaviour.
Stood down: Adem Somyurek.Credit: Jason South
The alleged misconduct – which Mr Somyurek has strenuously denied – is said to have taken place over the past few months, and relates to a number of employees in his ministerial office, including his chief of staff, Dimity Paul.
At least one incident is alleged to have been physical, which led to Ms Paul feeling "unsafe" in his presence.
"The allegations that have been made are of a serious nature," Mr Andrews said. "It relates to the personal behaviour of the minister and it is alleged that his personal behaviour was of a threatening, intimidating nature. These are serious matters. I believe that every single Victorian should feel safe at work."
Mr Somyurek could not be contacted on Saturday but issued a statement denying the claims.
"Today I stood aside from official duties effective immediately until the completion of a review by the secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet, Chris Eccles," the statement said.
"Upon hearing of recent allegations I sought an immediate investigation. These allegations are completely baseless and untrue. I welcome the review and the opportunity to clear my name."
But the claims are nonetheless sensitive for the Premier, who has staked much of his leadership on trying to stamp out violence against women and bullying in the workplace.
They also come as the state government begins an inbound trade mission on Sunday, which Mr Somyurek was supposed to help lead. Mr Andrews has now assumed the minister's small business, trade and innovation portfolios, but the Premier could soon be forced into a destabalising cabinet reshuffle depending on the outcome of the investigation.
During a hastily organised press conference on Saturday afternoon, Mr Andrews would not be drawn on what would happen to Mr Somyurek if the claims proved to be true, or how many alleged incidents had taken place.
He said he was approached by Ms Paul on Thursday – the same day Mr Somyurek faced a grilling over his ministerial portfolios at a parliamentary budget estimates hearing.
The Sunday Age understands that an argument between the Minister and a number of his staff took place the night before the hearings, which led to one of his employees being sacked.
A formal complaint was lodged with the Department of Premier and Cabinet on Friday, sparking an internal review by Mr Eccles, which is expected to be completed within weeks. However, it wasn't until Saturday morning that Mr Andrews said he had the chance to talk Mr Somyurek, because he had been in regional Victoria the day before.
Some Labor insiders have suggested that part of the scandal could be tied up in a political power-play between Mr Somyurek and Ms Paul, whose factions fell out following a recent realignment within the Right of the Victorian ALP.
"This is clearly a political attack on Adem, and the Premier's got no choice but to do something about it," said one senior source.
However, others rejected the suggestion, saying it diminished the seriousness of the allegations.
Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said the case "was a very murky event that appears to pose more questions than invited answers".
"The Premier should have dealt with it up front and actually told Victorians the truth up front, and early on. I would have thought telling Victorians on a sleepy Saturday afternoon – two days after being told of an alleged incident – is something that provides more questions than it does answers," Mr Guy said.
Mr Somyurek has been a member of parliament since 2002, when he won the upper house seat then known as Eumemmering. Now representing the south-east region of the Legislative Council, the Turkish-born MP was appointed to Mr Andrews' frontbench in 2010, but is often targeted by the opposition.
Earlier this year, he earned the nickname "Minister For Google" after failing to be across his brief and answering a question by suggesting the opposition look up the details on Google.
Ms Paul was a former Labor candidate at the last state election and is the wife of shop assistants' union official Raff Ciccone. She did not respond to calls on Saturday.