Unless you have been hiding under your doona for the last week and singing la la la, with your fingers in your ears, you could not help but be aware of the odd happenings in the life of Labor parliamentarian Emma Husar.
Our own version of Lois lane [Alice Workman at BuzzFeed] has been on the case for us just so that you don’t miss anything that is likely to titillate you over your cornflakes. But it was these breathless revelations that got me intrigued and I had to have a closer look into this matter [that wasn’t intended to be a pun but, you decide]. One of the allegations against our Emma was that :
“It is alleged that you and [redacted] attended Mr Jason Clare’s office at Parliament. Mr Clare was sitting on the floor playing with his son. [Redacted] alleged that he was sitting opposite you and that on three occasions you spread your legs, revealing that you were not wearing any underwear. [Redacted] felt that your conduct was deliberate, proactive and targeted towards Mr Clare.”
Another allegation possibly from a distressed male staff member was that ‘Husar had her right breast against his left shoulder and arm for about 10–15 seconds. On another occasion in September, he alleged Husar rested her right breast on his arm’.
How on earth are you expected to respond to allegations of that sort beyond perhaps observing that she is clearly not favouring one breast over the other – no workplace discrimination there !!
The media really piled on when video was taken of one of Husar’s staffers walking her dog and horror of horrors picking up after the dog ; can you imagine how they would have reacted had the staffer not picked up ?
These allegations, and others have been leveled against Ms Husar and submitted to her for comment by barrister John Whelan who has been commissioned by the NSW Labor party to look into these matters. Whelan is an experienced professional in dispute resolution. The questions he was asking of her were based on numerous allegations made against Husar by former staffers and other well-wishers.You can read more about them here : Labor MP Emma Husar Is Accused Of Sexual Harassment And Diverting Thousands Of Dollars Into Her Personal Bank Account
According to BuzzFeed Over 200,000 words of evidence have been given by at least 20 witnesses in the Whelan investigation so far ‘and nearly all the witnesses have given evidence anonymously’, evidently out of fear of repercussions from the powerful Right faction of the NSW Labor party.
Wait a minute, anonymous allegations, how can that be ? How can an individual be expected to respond to often salacious allegations of misconduct when the accuser refuses to be identified ? If BuzzFeed is correct and ‘nearly all ‘ of these allegations of wrongdoing are coming from anonymous sources, the person against whom the allegations are being made (Husar) is surely at an immediate disadvantage by being prevented from adequately examining his or her accusers, and fundamental natural justice is denied.
This confidential questionnaire from investigator Whelan to Husar appears to have been leaked to the media and you have to wonder if some of these anonymous accusers are supplying the media feed. Husar is expected to respond to these allegations within days and we can only hope that her responses will not be leaked by a well-wisher before the investigation is concluded.
Cutting through the salacious aspects of this issue it seems clear that it is factionally fuelled within the NSW Labor party with lots of side-line barracking and encouragement from the Liberal party who seem to be trying to link this to their kill Bill campaign. It appears that no matter what, the future of Husar as an effective member for her electorate on Lindsay has forever been tarnished and yet again we see the risks that people, in particular women, take when they aspire to public office.
