It seems state premier Nathan Rees may have been too quick on the draw when he sacked Tony Stewart.
On the surface, it looked cut and dried. A staffer complained that she had been verbally abused by her minister - and that he had put his hand on her leg to stop her leaving the table while this tirade happened.
The premier appointed a barrister to conduct an investigation - and the finding was that the staffer was believed in contrast to the evidence of the ex-minister - and that's where the wheels fell of this whole affair !
The barrister concerned happened to be a woman with strong feminist views who didn't bother to interview other people at that table when this alleged event took place. Those sitting close to the minister and his staffer have since reported that they neither saw nor heard anything that would support the staffer's claim.
Then it appears that this staffer was not as " saintly pure " as previously portrayed. It seems that she made a suspiciously similar claim against an academic at her workplace in England - and that individual was forced to resign as a result.
It has also been revealed that the CV that supported her job application had claims of qualifications that were untrue - and she is subject to a AVO for an alleged assault.
Now the premier is stuck in an awkward stance. He will have egg on his face is he back tracks and reinstates Stewart - and his standing with the public is already on the nose. He tried hard to give the impression of being tough on ministers who fail to maintain standards - but it looks evident that fairness was not an issue in this sacking.
It looks likely that the matter will result in the worst possible outcome. It will be ignored - in the vain hope that it will somehow go away !
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