While Australian Story glossed over bullying by Merri Rose during her stint in the Beattie Government, new claims have emerged of mistreatment of electorate office staff by several other Queensland Labor MPs, including by newly-defected Greens MP Ronan Lee, which have been ignored by the Queensland ALP and Queensland Parliament.
A number of former electorate office staff have approached Crikey to give their accounts of the misery they endured at the hands of Labor MPs wholly out of their depth or turned egomaniacs by their ascension to Parliament.
In one case, two staff members claim they were removed from Lee’s office on full pay following their witnessing of a dispute in his electorate office. One of the staffers claims Lee subsequently tried to prevent her from giving evidence in relation to the dispute. Police were sufficiently concerned about Lee’s alleged harassment of the staffer that they escorted the woman to court.
After five months, Queensland Parliament decided it was unsafe for the women to return to Lee’s office. One received a payout and a letter of commendation from Queensland Parliament stating that she had not contributed to the events leading to the cessation of her employment. Her colleague was moved to the electorate office of now-Health Minister Stephen Robertson.
Another former employee of Lee who worked for him has claimed Lee frequently engaged in extreme verbal abuse of her and other staff, always making sure to do so only when no else would witness it. According to the staff member, Lee asked her to lie in order to provide him with excuses for missing constituent meetings or other political engagements, and repeatedly blamed his staff for missing them. Lee would call the staff member on weekends and deliver tirades that reduced her to tears. She knows of other staff who endured similar treatment. Lee’s office underwent heavy staff turnover in 2007 partly, several sources say, due to his tendency to commence relationships with young female staff members. After going through more than half a dozen employees in 2007 in Lee’s office, Queensland Parliament turned to a temp agency to provide his staff.
However, Lee is by no means the only MP to make their staffers’ lives a misery. Other former and current staffers have told Crikey:
- The former Lee staffer moved to now Health Minister Stephen Robertson’s office found the experience of working there for Left faction player David Forde so scarifying she left.
- A veteran staffer who survived working for several years with Merri Rose was asked to work for a young backbencher to provide a mature and stabilising influence, but only lasted a few months due to her abuse and bullying. When concerns about the MP were made public, Peter Beattie supported them, stating “anyone who thinks this person is a bully is a wimp”;
- An MP refused to accept a staff member returning from surgery unless they immediately returned full-time, against medical advice. The staffer received compensation after a successful unfair dismissal claim.
This is in addition to numerous electorate offices who have received compensation settlements from Queensland Parliament or been forced to take extended sick leave due to the bullying and harassment – sometimes s-xual harassment — of MPs and fellow staff members.
Electorate offices are tough workplaces. They are routinely exposed to marginalised people, citizens who need help, sometimes with mental health problems. It turns out, however, that some MPs fall into that category as well.
Crikey repeatedly contacted Ronan Lee’s office for comment, but he did not respond. The Clerk of the Queensland Parliament said that there was a policy of not commenting on any human resources matter. Premier Bligh’s office did not return Crikey’s calls.
So if the police had to protect a court witness because the MP was trying to interfere with that witness – who covered it up? The parliament, the police minister, the premier or the MP? This is more than a scandal its a crisis! Queensland’s back to the era of Joh B or didn’t it move on?
This is typical of anyone who crosses the ALP, suddenly all the dirt comes out. If you saw the Australian Story on Mary Rose I think they played down the real story, how the ALP ditches those who cross them, and hangs them out to dry.
Good journalism would find dirt like this across the QLD ALP before the member leaves the ALP, when you now have to question the motives of the complainers.
I don’t think Conservative member’s staff are so under the thumb as the ALP staffers are. The ALP gets people in with promises of jobs so they toe the line, as show in the Mary Rose case. What a shock the ALP got staff for Lee from a temp agency and not from the party for once.
Joe…you’ve highlighted many failings from a skewed parliamentary administration to an amateur production from our so-called serious media. Both are devoid of astute professional operators as they limp along on dumbed-down and untrained personel unable to accomplish their purpose. It possibly suits a bunch of mediocre parliamentary performers locked in for life pensions in biased governance. As for the ABC its up to the Corporation to figure out what happened there. Put the two together it offers little hope for Australians looking to a well-oiled, tranparent democracy.
Thanks, Crikey for broaching an apparent taboo subject, certainly for the mainstream media. It appears that the new Queensland PM, Bligh`s policy is to continue Beatty`s cover-up, ignore or attack-the-victim agenda. There can be little doubt that this is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg, and similar abuses of workers` rights occur in other States and federally. The main point is that staff have no recourse for their complaints, that other employees have in other sections of the economy. It is high time for a system reform including an ombudsman, and the formation of a parliamentary workers` union. What about that, ACTU?
Questions should also be asked about the treatment of the staff of one other MP. Since she came to office in the 2006 state election three staff members have left due to verbal abuse.