Politician with workplace safety portfolio denies allegation she threatened to kill employee

Eleni Petinos faces allegations she called an adviser ‘retarded’ and ‘stupid’, and threatened she would ‘kill’ them.

Ms Petinos on Wednesday strenuously denied the allegations. “I reject any allegations of bullying or improper conduct,” Ms Petinos said.

NSW Small Business Minister Eleni Petinos is facing allegations she called an adviser “retarded” and “stupid”, and threatened she would “kill” them for making a small mistake, despite workplace safety being part of her portfolio responsibilities.

A complaint sent by one former adviser, who The Australian has chosen not to name, to the ­Department of Premier and Cabinet claimed they had been “relentlessly bullied” in their short tenure in her office.

The staffer said they did not wish the matter to be registered as a formal complaint due to fears it would “jeopardise their ongoing employment”, but requested a “confidential file note” be kept.

An email sent to Ms Petinos’s chief of staff was included to ­demonstrate their concerns had been raised internally without ­resolution.

Ms Petinos on Wednesday strenuously denied the allegations when approached by The Australian. “I reject any allegations of bullying or improper conduct,” Ms Petinos said.

The office of NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said “concerns have been brought to the Premier’s attention and appropriate ­action has been taken”.

It is claimed Ms Petinos’s alleged behaviour has led to a number of staffers leaving her ministerial office since she was promoted in December last year, sources said.

Another 30 staffers have left her Miranda electoral office since she was elected in 2015.

One example of Ms Petinos’s alleged behaviour came after the adviser wrote an email to the Premier’s office, with the Miranda MP – who is the minister responsible for safe work and occupational health and safety – berating her staffer for referring to the Coalition as the Liberal-National Party, as referred to in Queensland, in an email.

“The minister shouted that she would ‘kill me’ for an email I wrote to PO addressing small business/fair trading mentions in Chris Minns’ budget-in-reply speech,” the email claimed.

“It was a sustained barrage of belittling and invidious comments for two hours, which also included her telling me that I was ‘basically useless’ and ‘totally worthless’.”

The tirade came to the attention of other ministerial staffers and Mr Perrottet’s office, the email claimed.

The Department of Premier and Cabinet said it had received a complaint under the Respectful Workplace Policy but the complainant wanted no action taken.

“I can’t count the number of times the minister has called decisions I’ve made in the course of my work “stupid”, even on one occasion in parliament offices, calling a briefing I wrote ‘retarded’,” the staffer claimed.

Speaking to The Australian, the staffer, who suffers a minor disability, said they could cope with the robust nature of politics but the “ableism” of Ms Petinos was “galling”.

Their account has been corroborated by several former staff members contacted by The Australian, who all requested anonymity due to concerns about retribution.

After sending the email to DPC, the staffer was fired.

An independent review into bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct in the NSW parliament, led by Elizabeth Broderick – the Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner for more than eight years up to 2015 – was expected to be released during the July winter break.

In one incident recounted by multiple sources, Ms Petinos attended a Respect at Work training session on the morning of April 28, and after an altercation over what constitutes bullying, Ms Petinos berated the young female facilitator in front of Mr Perrottet, his chief of staff, and other ministers.

Ms Petinos has been left with a skeletal staff, impairing her ability to undertake government work, sources said.

Departmental staff have refused to work for her, leaving her a depleted roster to handle a mounting body of ministerial work – much of which has not been done – and in some cases ­requiring staff members to be flown in from other states.

One staffer who worked in Ms Petinos’s electorate office said: “The role clearly affected a lot of people’s mental health. It’s not ­unusual for a lot of staff to be seen or heard in tears.”