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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-09-08 Daily Xml
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Minister for Infrastructure and Transport

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens) (14:28): My question is to the Premier, representing the Treasurer. Did an employee of Minister Wingard resign on 8 January 2018 because of allegations of bullying, harassment, abuse, physical aggression and dishonest practices by the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport in his electorate office. With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The opposition is in receipt of a resignation letter, dated 5 January 2018, addressed to the member for Mitchell:

Mr Wingard,

I hereby give notice of my intention to resign with effect Monday, the 8th of January, 2018.

Since April 2017 I have been subject to bullying, harassment and abuse within the workplace which I am no longer prepared to tolerate. I consider your behaviour during this period to have been inappropriate and inconsistent with community expectations and safe workplace practices.

Efforts to resolve these matters through mediation with Electorate Services present on the 14th June did not result in any change in your behaviour and my subsequent request to re-engage the support of Electorate Services, an undertaking you agreed to in October, was never pursued.

These patterns of behaviour emerged in April 2017 after I first raised concerns in relation to your decision to make an offer of employment to one of your family members, Mrs Tui Comas. Your behaviour towards me became increasingly intolerable after I subsequently refused to be a party to [your] dishonest practice of recording her time in a manner that did not accurately reflect the hours that she worked, including occasions when she did not work at all.

The verbal abuse and physical aggression I was subjected to on the 20th of November, witnessed by other staff members, have rendered an office environment in which I no longer feel physically safe and cannot return [to] for fear of physical harm and psychological distress.

A legal representative will be in contact with you in due course in relation to the aforementioned matters.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:31): Not that I'm aware of.

The SPEAKER: The member for King.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: What was that? What was the answer, sir? We didn't hear an answer, sir. Can the Premier just repeat his answer?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Not that I'm aware of.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my right! I heard the answer.

The Hon. V.A. Chapman interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, the Deputy Premier! I heard the answer. The Premier has now repeated the answer for the benefit of members. The member for King is seeking the call.

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