Twist as deputy PM’s staffer sues

Richard Marles’ chief of staff is suing the Commonwealth, her boss and Anthony Albanese’s chief of staff a month-and-a-half after publicly making bombshell allegations she was being bullied out of her job.

Jo Tarnawsky, who has worked with the Deputy Prime Minister for a decade, has claimed she has been in employment limbo for months after reporting bullying behaviour to Mr Marles.

Speaking to reporters in Canberra on Monday, Ms Tarnawsky said her “workplace situation remains unresolved”.

“Today, after untenable delays in action from the government, I’m lodging legal proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia,” she said.

“Six weeks ago, I spoke out publicly to review what was happening to me behind closed doors.

“As far as I know, there’s been no investigation into the behaviours reported.”

She said no one from the government had reached out to her since she first aired her grievances in October.

“Three weeks ago I wrote a letter to the Prime Minister asking him to intervene and to hold the Deputy Prime Minister to account for the way that I had been treated,” Ms Tarnawsky said.

“The Prime Minister has not responded.”

She alleged she had been tossed about between various public service departments, and accused them of engaging “the same lawyers from the same law firm who were also clearly taking instructions from the Deputy Prime Minister.”

“They have not been able to assure me that my private information and psychological safety will be protected, and they cannot deal with the most important issue I have raised,” Ms Tarnawsky alleged.

“That is, for those who did this to me to be held accountable and to ensure that nobody else in this place is ever treated this way again.”

NewsWire has contacted both Mr Marles and Mr Albanese’s offices for comment.

Ms Tarnawsky named three respondents in her lawsuit, including the Department of Finance, Mr Marles and Timothy Gartrell, Mr Albanese’s chief of staff.

The Department of Finance pays public servant salaries while Mr Marles hired her.

In Ms Tarnawsky’s statement of claim, she outlined Mr Gartrell’s role as essentially being an intermediary between herself and Mr Marles.

More to come