Sports Minister Kate Lundy has embarked on a major restructure of the way her office is run, with new staff being brought in to address what insiders are describing as a ''level of dysfunction''.
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But while it appears Senator Lundy has instigated the restructure, sources close to her say some of the administrative problems are the fault of the minister herself.
''Kate is a hard worker and a nice person and she has lots of ideas, but she has no structure,'' one said.
''Three-hour staff meetings that go nowhere are the norm.''
Another contact said Senator Lundy had a number of issues with some of her staff, but ''those issues are certainly not one-sided''.
The minister is expected to make an announcement on Friday concerning a significant restructure for the Australian Institute of Sport.
The irony has not been lost on some within the government, who have noted that Senator Lundy's own office is in need of a shake-up.
Senator Lundy, Labor's senator for the ACT, presently has senior staff who do not live in Canberra and she has had problems with some who do not travel well. There has also been somewhat of a revolving door with staff in her office.
In response to questioning from The Canberra Times, a spokeswoman for Senator Lundy said: ''I can confirm minister Lundy has recently taken on new staff. There's absolutely no truth to your claim about dysfunction.''
The minister has recently appointed former employee Taryn Langdon as her deputy chief of staff to ''sort out the office''.
Sources say Senator Lundy has a lot of trust in Ms Langdon and has charged her with finding a new level of order for the office.
''Taryn worked for Kate before, and they have a good rapport,'' one contact said.
''But she has definitely been given the task of getting the ship in some order.''
A new electorate officer has also been recently employed.
