Labor disputes Husar claims probe into bullying claims compromised

Labor disputes Emma Husar’s claims an investigation into allegations she bullied and misused staff was compromised.

Federal Labor MP Emma Husar leaving her home in Penrith. Picture: Jane Dempster

NSW Labor has disputed Emma Husar’s claims that an investigation into allegations she bullied and misused staff has been compromised.

Barrister John Whelan was appointed by NSW Labor in March to investigate the allegations against Ms Husar.

Since then he has received more than 200,000 words of evidence from more than 20 former staff members.

His report is due to be handed to the NSW Labor leadership this week, ahead of parliament returning on Monday.

Ms Husar made the claim after a letter Mr Whelan sent her, detailing the allegations against her, was leaked to the media last week.

A NSW Labor spokesman said Mr Husar’s allegation of a breach was “rejected and plainly wrong”.

“Any breaches in confidentiality have not come from the independent assessment,” the spokesman said.

“It has been carried out in accordance with standard operating procedures for investigations where many complainants ask to be deidentified for fear of recrimination.

“The Party’s independent assessor, Mr John Whelan should be allowed to provide his advice to the ALP without himself being smeared.

“Mr Whelan is a professional of the highest standing who provides independent advice to clients all over Australia.

“This process has been conducted fairly and professionally in the manner in which Mr Whelan has conducted other assessments for the ALP.”

Ms Husar told Fairfax Media bullying allegations against her surfaced after she sacked an adviser for poor performance.

“The coverage of this has been nothing short of devastating professionally and reputationally. I’m not sure I will ever recover. But I am determined to clear my name,” she said.

The member for Lindsay has been accused of bullying and sexually harassing staff in her electorate office and diverting Labor funds into her personal bank account.

Ms Husar said the vast majority of the allegations were vague and without names or dates.

“I reject them absolutely,” she said.

Ms Husar alleges the original allegations came to light after the staffer’s dismissal last October.

The former staffer has denied Husar’s claim about his poor performance, labelling it “false and defamatory”.

Husar’s $570 Comcar bill

It comes amid revelations Ms Husar clocked up a $570 taxpayer-funded Comcar bill for a trip from her home in Sydney’s west to catch an interstate flight by ­allegedly having her driver wait for hours in the city while she attended a breakfast fundraiser and Bill Shorten policy launch.

The bill, more than four times the usual cost of a direct Comcar trip to Sydney airport, was incurred in March on the day Ms Husar flew to Queensland for ­official business, and to attend a Bruno Mars concert with a friend.

Guidelines for MPs’ taxpayer-funded travel are strict in stating Comcars are available only for direct transport between home and a local airport for parliamentary business or political party meetings.

The Labor MP, battling allegations she bullied staff and misused taxpayer funds, was entitled to use a Comcar on March 13 because she was bound for Cairns to attend a NDIS parliamentary committee hearing the next day.

But guidelines set by the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority do not appear to provide for detours to attend ­unrelated events on the way.

A review of Ms Husar’s expenses reports shows Comcar bills for journeys from her home or electorate office to Sydney airport have usually been in a range of $132 to $178. The estimated taxi fare for this trip is about $171, depending on traffic.

It appears Ms Husar’s Comcar bill for March 13 ran up to $570 because she left home early for Sydney airport but went first to Barangaroo, Sydney’s new corporate hub, where she ­attended a breakfast fundraiser for Women’s Community Shelters sponsored by Westpac.

It appears she remained at Barangaroo for some hours, possibly to attend a Labor policy launch next door at KPMG by the Opposition Leader.

The $570 Comcar bill, along with others, is likely to be the subject of an IPEA check of all Ms Husar’s spending as an MP.

The Australian asked Ms Husar why the Comcar charge in March was so high compared with others, why the Comcar ­appears to have been used for a detour to events at Barangaroo, and whether the Comcar use fell within IPEA guidelines.

A spokesman for Ms Husar said: “Emma has already asked IPEA to review her travel e­xpenses so she can be satisfied it is within the rules.”

The Australian reported last week that Ms Husar travelled to Cairns for an NDIS committee hearing in March but skipped the second day of proceedings to join a friend at a Bruno Mars concert in Brisbane.

Ms Husar charged taxpayers for the Cairns-to-Brisbane flight, for travel allowance and for a Comcar on the night of the concert. The Brisbane trip was work-related because of meetings with domestic violence groups the next day, she said.

The Daily Telegraph reported that the Brisbane schedule was fixed only the day before Ms Hussar arrived. In a tweet, Ms Husar said she was “confident” she had acted within the rules.

An interim report due to be handed to the NSW ALP’s head office this week on allegations from 20 witnesses about Ms Husar’s alleged bullying of staff and other conduct could be used to disendorse her if there are findings of wrongdoing.

Ms Husar told The Sydney Morning Herald last night that allegations of sexual harassment and bullying arose only after she dismissed staffer Jeremy Anderson for poor performance.

Mr Anderson “categorically denied’’ Ms Husar’s claims.

The Herald also reported Ms Husar had retained a defamation barrister and that letters were sent to Mr Anderson, BuzzFeed and News Corp Australia.