Deputy PM Richard Marles’ chief of staff ‘unwell’ amid bullying lawsuit

The Deputy Prime Minister’s chief of staff is in limbo and becoming “significantly more unwell” as her bullying lawsuit drags on, her lawyer claims.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles’ chief of staff Joanne Tarnawsky has been left “in the dark” and is becoming “significantly more unwell” as her bullying lawsuit drags on in court, her lawyer has claimed.

Ms Tarnawsky alleges she was pushed out of her $270,000-a-year role after she complained that she had been belittled, undermined, and barred from accessing key information.

She claims she was bullied and harassed by staffers including Mr Marles’ media director Kate Hanns from May 2023 but the behaviour escalated after Ms Tarnawsky made complaints.

Ms Tarnawsky is pursuing the government, her former boss, and Anthony Albanese’s chief of staff, Tim Gartrell, for damages over the alleged bullying.

Richard Marles' chief of staff Jo Tarnawsky alleges she was bullied in the workplace. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Neither Mr Marles nor Mr Gartrell have been accused of engaging in the alleged bullying.

Ms Tarnawsky was represented by her barrister Rebecca Davern in the Federal Court on Tuesday.

Ms Davern pushed the court to fast-track the dispute ahead of the looming federal election, which would impact her client’s employment status.

The court was told Ms Tarnawsky is still employed by the federal government but has been on paid leave since last year.

Ms Davern explained the leave was due to expire on February 28, but her client was “in the dark” and had “no indication of what happens beyond that point”.

“Our concern is to (run) these matters as expeditiously as possible,” Ms Davern said.

“(Ms Tarnawsky) is becoming significantly more unwell as this matter drags on.”

Barrister Kate Eastman, for the Commonwealth, Mr Marles, and Mr Gartrell, said she was “confident” the parties could reach an agreement about some of the issues before Ms Tarnawsky’s leave concluded.

“The Commonwealth’s position has always been to endeavour to take a trauma-informed approach and we will continue to do so,” she said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles is a respondent in the lawsuit. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

One of the issues to be resolved is a “limited request” by Ms Davern for the production of documents, including a record of a conversation between Mr Marles and Mr Gartrell, and communications from the encrypted platform Signal.

Ms Eastman opposed the request and noted the Commonwealth would be asking for documents such as Ms Tarnawsky’s employment search and her medical records.

“It’s unsurprising both of you have diametrically opposed views … given what’s at stake,” Justice Yaseen Shariff said.

He warned that although it wasn’t “lost on (him)” that Ms Tarnawsky wasn’t in the workplace, the legal battle would not be ready to proceed before the election must be called in May.

Justice Shariff ordered the parties to hold further discussions before returning to court on February 27.

Originally published as Deputy PM Richard Marles’ chief of staff ‘unwell’ amid bullying lawsuit