nsw government – Michmutters

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NSW parliament’s culture of bullying and sexual harassment revealed by investigation

NSW parliament's culture of bullying and sexual harassment revealed by investigation

Allegations of sexual assault, harassment and bullying have been uncovered in a landmark investigation into the workplace culture at NSW’s parliament house.

One in three respondents said they had experienced sexual harassment or bullying in the past five years, according to the review conducted by former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick.

The report found 52 per cent of bullying incidents were allegedly perpetrated by members of parliament.

Two per cent of workers indicated they had experienced actual or attempted sexual assault and almost 10 per cent said they had heard about or witnessed at least one sexual assault.

“Both women and men reported experiences of actual or attempted sexual assault,” the report found.

The NSW Parliamentary Executive Group announced the engagement of Ms Broderick to lead the independent review in July last year.

Premier Dominic Perrottet said the culture in parliament had become “toxic” in many instances and the report demonstrated the need for change.

“It is sobering, confronting and unacceptable,” he said.

“Every workplace across our state should be free from harassment, sexual harassment and sexual assault but this is not the case in the NSW parliament.

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‘Sobering and confronting’: NSW Premier vows to end workplace harassment in Parliament

“If parliamentarians cannot lead and provide an environment where the workplace is safe, what hope do we have for other workplaces across our great state?”

Almost 450 people, representing 27.7 per cent of all NSW parliamentary workers, participated in the review.

There were more than 100 one-on-one interviews, seven confidential group listening sessions, and 58 confidential written submissions.

The review found bullying was significant across parliamentary workplaces, describing it as “systemic” and “multi-directional”.

Workers have low confidence in structural or cultural protections to prevent bullying or to stop it once it occurs, the report said.

Some offices were described as “well-known hotspots” characterized by high rates of staff turnover related to harmful behaviours.

A woman with a red skirt walks up the front steps of NSW Parliament
Workers told the review they had low confidence that bullying would stop if reported.(Supplied: Parliament of NSW)

About half of the reported incidents occurred at parliament house with the remainder occurring at electorate offices, during work-related travel, at work-related social functions and online.

Alcohol was considered to be a contributing factor.

Mr Perrottet said the report only marked the beginning of cultural reform in the NSW parliament and pledged to follow through on its recommendations.

These include strengthening internal policies and codes of conduct, reducing alcohol use, increasing support services and monitoring those “well-known hotspots” for bullying.

“Today, change will happen. This report will not be the end. This report will be the beginning,” he said.

Minister for Women and Mental Health Bronnie Taylor told MPs and parliamentary staff they need to set the example for behavior in the parliament.

“For those particular people that may be reading this report today, you know who you are, and my very strong advice to you is that you do not belong in the Parliament of NSW,” she said.

“I ask you to think very long and hard about this, and I ask you to make sure that if this is you that is mentioned, get the help that you need and please leave the NSW parliament.”

A man walks in NSW Parliament
The Opposition Leader said the review paints a “dark picture” on both sides of politics.(Supplied: NSW Parliament)

Opposition Leader Chris Minns said the review “paints a really dark picture” for all sides of politics.

“We all need to do better, reach across the aisle, and make sure that we’re making every possible effort to make the NSW parliament a safe workplace.”

He said the report showed there was no real avenue for people to make complaints in the workplace and he supports calls for an independent complaint process to deal with allegations against politicians, MPs and ministerial staff.

“[Currently the] only avenue is to make a complaint to somebody, potentially from the same political party, who has an in-built apprehended bias, a perceived bias or actual bias.”

Independent MP Alex Greenwich said the report painted an unacceptable and unsafe workplace at NSW parliament.

“The experience of women and LGBTIQA+ staff is harrowing, we should set the standard, not be beyond the pale,” Mr Greenwich said.

“Workplaces that welcome and support LGBTIQA+ staff are safer workplaces for everyone, and the NSW parliament has a lot of work to do in this regard.”

The review, commissioned by former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian, said ministerial offices were “unique workplaces”, where staff were under intense public scrutiny and employment protections for ministers were “vastly greater” than those of their staff.

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Australia

Former NSW building commissioner David Chandler’s resignation letter released

a man with hands lifted sitting behind a desk with his hands lifted

The resignation letter of NSW building commissioner David Chandler has revealed he held concerns about the relationship between sacked minister Eleni Petinos and the property development group that hired former deputy premier John Barilaro.

In his letter, Mr Chandler detailed how he received calls from both Ms Petinos and Mr Barilaro after he issued a stop work order to the Coronation Property Group.

At the time, Coronation had run into trouble with the building commissioner over compliance at a major residential development in Merrylands in Western Sydney.

A building industry veteran, Mr Chandler abruptly resigned last month after three years in the role, which was created to crack down on building standards in the wake of the Opal Towers and Mascot Towers debacles.

In his resignation letter dated July 7, 2022, Mr Chandler spoke about “problematic” dealings with the office of Ms Petinos and voiced concerns about her relationship with the Coronation Property Group.

Eleni Petinos addresses the media
Eleni Petinos was sacked from the NSW ministry after allegations of bullying.(AAP: Bianca De Marchi)

He said the problems came to a head over Coronation’s Merrylands development.

“These concerns crystallized at the time of the Stop Work Orders issued under the Design and Building Practitioner’s Act…” he wrote.

“As advised to you I received a call from the Minister’s Office shortly after a draft order was issued on Coronation’s Merrylands Development.”

Shortly after that, I received another message from John Barilaro.

“This contact came to me on my personal phone requesting a meeting with me,” he wrote.

Mr Chandler said he was aware that Mr Barilaro had recently joined the Coronation board.

The building commissioner subsequently met with Mr Barilaro “to answer his questions”.

Mr Barilaro has said the pair met but did not discuss the building ban that Coronation faced.

“We never spoke about the stop work order nor did I request anything in relation to the stop work order,” Mr Barilaro said in a statement today.

a man standing and smiling
The former deputy premier acknowledges meeting with Mr Chandler but denies discussing the building ban.(Facebook: Dave Layzell)

Earlier this week, it was revealed that Mr Barilaro also met with Ms Petinos in the weeks before the stop work order was lifted on July 4, 2022.

Giving evidence at a parliamentary inquiry on Monday, Mr Barilaro said he was no longer employed by Coronation at the time of the meeting with Ms Petinos which he said was to celebrate his appointment as NSW trade commissioner in New York.

Mr Chandler’s parting sentiments were made public after Labor successfully moved a motion in the upper house on Wednesday compelling the state government to produce the letter within 24 hours.

The Premier last month sacked Ms Petinos as the state’s fair trading minister, citing bullying allegations involving her staff, which she denies.

Yesterday, Mr Perrottet stood by his earlier statement that Mr Chandler’s resignation had nothing to do with Ms Petinos.

The resignation letter was addressed to Mr Chandler’s manager, Department of Customer Service Secretary, Emma Hogan.

It’s been revealed that Mr Perrottet spoke to Ms Hogan shortly before sacking Ms Petinos.

In parliament today, the Premier was pressed on the content of those discussions.

“Was one of those issues concerned about the relationship between Minister Petinos, the Coronation Group, or Mr Barilaro?” Labor Leader Chris Minns asked.

“I had a discussion with the department secretary and the main purpose of that discussion was in relation to staff matters,” Mr Perrottet responded.

“The matters raised in relation to the question that the Leader of the Opposition has asked was peripheral.”

The departing building commissioner concluded his resignation letter by stating: “Given where all the above matters now rest, I believe my continued role as NSW Building Commissioner is no longer viable.”

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Australia

Parliamentary flood report finds SES and Resilience NSW failed Lismore, northern NSW communities

People in a boat rescue another man in the water

A parliamentary inquiry has found the government agencies in charge of preparing for and responding to major flooding in New South Wales this year failed affected communities.

Seven people died and thousands of people were displaced or cut off when floodwaters devastated the Northern Rivers region twice since late February.

Despite calls from authorities to stand down, residents took to boats and jet skis to rescue each other from rooftops, and took with them axes and other equipment to cut open roof cavities in which people were stuck.

Led by Labor’s Walt Secord, the parliamentary committee took evidence at a series of hearings across the state’s north as well as Western Sydney, where floods also became deadly.

“The committee found that the [State Emergency Service and Resilience NSW] failed to provide leadership and effective coordination in the community’s greatest time of need,” Mr Secord told parliament as he tabled the report.

A man with an "I Survived Lismore 2022" shirt at a flood meeting inquiry.
The NSW Parliamentary Flood Inquiry held hearings on the north coast in May.(ABC North Coast: Bruce MacKenzie)

The report found that information from the State Emergency Service (SES) and Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) was “incorrect and out of date”, leaving the community with “no other option but to ignore government advice and save lives”.

It made 37 recommendations, including that the SES, the state’s lead agency in a flood event, undergo a restructure to harness local knowledge and employ more salaried staff.

It urged the weather bureau to review its rain data infrastructure and flood modeling tools.

The report found the state agencies and BOM were “not prepared for, nor did they comprehend the scale” of the floods and that “some agencies were criticized for treating it as a nine to five business operation”.

Lismore resident Billy Curry was one of many in the “tinny army” who took it upon themselves to rescue people the day his home town went under.

He agreed there did not seem to be enough resources to assess and respond to the situation, and that without the impromptu volunteers “the community would have been in a lot of trouble”.

“There were scenes there where you were ducking under power lines and street lights in a boat,” he said.

“We lifted 64 older people from an elderly aged care place into a boat, so that’s something you don’t forget.”

Man in gray t-shirt, curly blond hair, unsmiling
Billy Curry wants a database created to better manage willing and able volunteers.(ABC North Coast: Bruce MacKenzie)

Mr Curry said he wanted the State Emergency Service to adopt a database of volunteers who had lifesaving skills and equipment such as jet skis, who could be quickly briefed via SMS in an emergency.

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Categories
Australia

Barilaro US job inquiry set to probe all NSW trade appointments in wake of claims against Premier

a composite image of two men one wearing glasses

All overseas senior trade roles are set to be investigated by the inquiry looking into the appointment of NSW former deputy premier John Barilaro to the US job.

Labor will seek to get the inquiry’s terms of references expanded and comes ahead of Mr Barilaro’s appearance on Monday.

And as reports emerge in Nine newspapers claiming Premier Dominic Perrottet had offered to create a new parliamentary trade role for Transport Minister David Elliott.

The report also claims the Premier spoke to Mr Elliott about the agent-general position in London as compensation following manoeuvres that could have seen him removed from cabinet. But that didn’t happen.

Leader of the Opposition in the upper house Penny Sharpe said the allegations against the Premier were very serious.

“We already know that there has been significant meddling in these positions for a long time,” she said.

“The Premier can’t hide behind an inquiry. This goes directly to his involvement and he needs to answer those questions straight away.

“I can indicate today that we will be seeking to expand the terms of reference of that inquiry to include all appointments for the senior Trade and Investment Commission role, obviously, including the UK agent-general.”

a woman wearing glasses standing outdoors speaking
Ms Sharpe says recent allegations against the Premier are very serious.(abcnews)

Mr Perrottet did not hold any press conferences today but the ABC put specific questions to his office asking if he “offered to create a parliamentary trade role” or “discussed the agent general position” with David Elliott.

A spokesperson responded in a statement: “Whoever the Premier considers appointing to his ministry is a matter for the Premier alone.”

The same questions were put to David Elliott but were not directly addressed.

“I’m committed to delivering the NSW government’s infrastructure pipeline, which is helping transform our state, and ensuring our public transport delivers first-class services for the people of NSW,” he said in a statement.

“I have no interest in working overseas again.”

The Premier has declined to appear before the inquiry, according to the opposition but they say it’s time for him “to come clean”.

“We would expect that he’d want to provide information to the public,” Ms Sharpe said.

“It flies in the face of everything the Premier has said for the last seven weeks, that these are arm’s length positions… that have absolutely nothing to do with him.

“And in fact, I think the Premier has said that it would be illegal for him to even interfere in these.”

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Categories
Australia

Lismore Mayor frustrated over flood report delay as media leaks show $3b recovery expense

Lismore Mayor frustrated over flood report delay as media leaks show $3b recovery expense

The Mayor of Lismore in northern NSW has urged the state government to release a flood inquiry report after hearing unconfirmed leaks from the media and nothing from the government.

The ABC understands the state government has received a $3 billion recovery cost estimate within the findings of a 700-page independent flood report it commissioned to investigate the preparation for, cause of and response to the crisis.

Other recommendations include offering buybacks and land swaps, the rebuilding of assets, and economic measures.

A man poses next to a fire place
Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg had both his home and business damaged in the February flood event.(ABC News: Bronwyn Herbert)

Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg said he was frustrated the government had not publicly released the findings.

“I read the information in the paper today, but I’ve had no direct information from the government at all,” Mr Krieg said.

“It would be nice to get a bit of an update and a briefing. What people in Lismore really need now is hope and certainty, and at the moment we don’t have any of those.”

About 4,000 homes were damaged by flooding in February and March.

It is understood the government will seek funding from the Commonwealth to help with rebuilding and disaster proofing of communities.

A dilapidated house covered in mold and grime
A flood-hit house on Wotherspoon St in North Lismore. (Four Corners: Tajette O’Halloran)

The inquiry’s recommendations, led by NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer Mary O’Kane and former police commissioner Mick Fuller, were handed to Premier Dominic Perrottet a week ago.

The findings will likely lead to the disbanding of the disaster agency Resilience NSW, which was heavily criticized for its response to the floods in the Northern Rivers.

The ABC understands a proposal to dismantle Resilience NSW will now be presented to cabinet.

Resilience NSW commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons, who led the government’s response to the Black Summer bushfires, has not yet commented on the report or his future employment.

The report is still under review by the government.

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Categories
Sports

NSW Sports Minister says moving NRL grand final from Sydney would be ‘extraordinary’ move

NSW Sports Minister says moving NRL grand final from Sydney would be 'extraordinary' move

NSW Sports Minister Stuart Ayres says it would be “extraordinary” for the NRL grand final to be moved from Sydney over a row about upgrades to suburban stadiums.

The NSW government’s decision to back out of plans to upgrade several suburban stadiums across Sydney put it at odds with Australian Rugby League Commission (ALRC) chair Peter V’landys.

Mr Ayres attributed the financial impact of the recent flood crisis for the decision not to proceed with funding the agreement.

Mr Ayres, speaking from the rebuilt Sydney Football Stadium on Tuesday, said the government had spent more than $1.5 billion on sporting infrastructure since 2014.

That figure includes the $828 million redevelopment at Moore Park, the $300 million CommBank Stadium at Parramatta and funds for ground upgrades and centers of excellence, he said.

He said projects such as those “massively benefits the NRL”, and he was sure the grand finale would stay in Sydney.

“I think if the NRL walked away from the home of its sport here in NSW, the state that the grand final has always been played in, with the exception of the COVID grand final from last year, that would be an extraordinary move,” Mr Ayres said.

“I’m very confident that the NRL will keep the grand finale here in NSW. They know it’s the right thing to do.”

Stuart Ayres looks to the sky with a grandstand behind him
Sport Minister Stuart Ayres says the government has made big commitments to stadiums in Sydney. (AAP: Bianca De Marchi)
A large blue and white grandstand with pristine grass before it
Allianz Stadium has been rebuilt at a cost of $828 million.(AAP: Bianca De Marchi)

Mr V’landys has lobbied the state government to pay for the upgrade of heartland grounds including at Manly, Leichhardt, Cronulla and Penrith.

It is understood Mr V’landys used the threat of moving the NRL’s decider interstate as a bargaining chip during a meeting with the government in April.

Asked when leaving that meeting if the grand finale would stay in Sydney, he said: “At this stage, yes.”

There has only been one year when the premiership was not settled in Sydney — that came in 2021 when the game was moved to Brisbane due to COVID-19 restrictions in NSW.

Mr Ayres today said the government would honor its commitment to build a new stadium in Penrith, his home electorate, as the development also formed part of its three cities plan for Sydney.

“We also know that we’ve always got limitations on what we can do,” he said.

“We are continuing our engagement with the NRL. We want to be able to upgrade suburban infrastructure but we want to be able to do that when the fiscal capacity of the state allows for it.”

The Australian Rugby League chairman speaks at an NRL media conference.
ARLC chairman Peter V’landys has pushed for investment in suburban grounds.(AAP: Joel Carrett)

The Minister said the government was facing huge costs associated with the recovery effort from NSW’s devastating floods, which ranged from the state’s north to Sydney.

He said a similar decision was made at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when a planned rebuild of Stadium Australia was shelved.

“We’ll continue to talk with the NRL about what we can afford to do. But we’ve got priorities and we’ve gotta make sure we stick to those,” Mr Ayres said.

“These are the tough decisions governments have to make.

“It just might mean that we have to wait a little bit longer before we can spend additional money on those venues.”

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Categories
Australia

NSW Minister Eleni Petinos sacked by Premier Dominic Perrottet after anonymous complaint by staffer

a woman standing behind microphones

The New South Wales Minister for Small Business and Fair Trading, Eleni Petinos, has been sacked, plunging the State Government further into crisis.

The Premier has dumped the Miranda MP from state cabinet, a day after returning from an overseas trade trip.

On Friday, it was revealed an anonymous complaint had been made by a staffer from Ms Petinos’ office, reportedly alleging bullying.

The Minister denied any wrongdoing, releasing a statement saying “I reject any allegations of improper conduct”.

Speaking from India, the Premier confirmed an investigation had taken place into the complaint but he was satisfied with the outcome.

The Premier now says her position has become untenable.

a man wearing glasses standing outdoors talking
Mr Perrottet says Ms Petinos’ service as a NSW minister will end with immediate effect.(abcnews)

“Today I spoke with the Minister for Small Business and Fair Trading Eleni Petinos after some further matters concerning her were brought to my attention,” the Premier said in a statement.

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