Ten denies claims of bullying by reporter Tegan George at its Canberra bureau

Network Ten labels some bullying allegations by Tegan George as ‘vague’ and refutes claims about political editor Peter van Onselen.

Network Ten has denied bullying claims by political reporter Tegan George and described many of her allegations as “vague and embarrassing and liable to be struck out”.

In court documents lodged with the Federal Court on Friday, the broadcaster denied George’s claims that she had been bullied by multiple staff members while working in Ten’s Canberra Press Gallery bureau between 2019 and 2021.

George, who is still employed by Ten but has been on leave since June last year, launched legal action against the network last month, claiming she suffered stress and humiliation during her employment and named colleagues including the network’s political editor Peter van Onselen, also co-host of The Project and contributing editor at The Australian, as bullying her during her time working at Parliament House.

Ten’s defence documents responded to claims about George’s involvement in a sexual harassment investigation, revealing that she conceded she would not participate in any way.

The documents claim a text message sent by George on May 10, 2021 to Canberra bureau chief Achim Bormann explained she did not want to escalate investigations to her managers relating to a sexually lewd comment made by a male colleague and friend of hers about another female in the office.

George’s text message said: “Hey, just so you know, I told HR I will not be giving a statement, speaking to them or participating in their ‘investigation’ in any way.

“If it was something I wanted to take further, I would have said something in the moment.

“Or even in the week after. I need to do what I expect others would afford me in the same situation. See you tomorrow …”.

George’s legal representative, Maurice Blackburn principal Josh Bornstein, earlier this month released a statement after comments were made by van Onselen on ABC radio in Melbourne with mornings host Virginia Trioli where he said George did not comply with a sexual harassment investigation.

“Any suggestion that Ms George refused or failed to report an incident of sexual harassment is false,” Bornstein said in a statement on February 2.

George claimed in her legal action that from about February 2020 van Onselen “regularly had informal coffee meetings outside the office with other Network Ten journalists but did not with Ms George”.

Ten, who is being represented by Corrs Chambers Westgarth’s partner Stephen Price, said van Onselen was primarily based in Melbourne or Sydney and “only travelled to Canberra by exception”.

The documents also state van Onselen was not George’s manager, she reported to the station’s executive editor of network, Anthony Murdoch.

Ten’s also defended van Onselen’s inability to have coffee with George and said he was not in a position to meet with Canberra-based journalists in person “except during limited occasions when he worked from Canberra”.

The documents state van Onselen’s failure to acknowledge George being nominated in NSW’s 2020 Kennedy Awards, a prestigious media event, occurred because he was unaware who had been nominated or were finalists.

She was nominated for her coverage for the bushfires.

George also said she was relocated from her desk usually occupied by a senior reporter to allow for a more junior journalist to sit there.

Ten said it was done to “solely improve” bureau operations and her new desk was not inferior.

George also claimed she was “often directed” to write van Onselen’s TV packages but Ten said she wrote no more than 10 of his scripts during her employment and he produced more than 200 scripts a year.

Ten said in a statement they “take the matter very seriously and has been actively involved, over many months, in seeking a sensible resolution”.

“We have offered and provided support to all employees involved in this matter.”