Tensions between the ACT teacher's union and Canberra Liberal Elizabeth Lee have racheted up again this month, after the union unleashed thousands of robocalls targeting Ms Lee in her electorate of Kurrajong.
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On Thursday, a recorded call from a Canberra teacher named Sarah accused the politician of using personal stories of violence in the classroom for "political point-scoring" and criticising the ACT education system without offering solutions.
"Elizabeth Lee wants to be education minister but she has stopped talking to teachers through our representatives," the caller said.
"We teachers are sick and tired of being used as political tools and criticised for our work."
It came after the launch of a new Canberra Liberal website called Fix Our Schools, which the union has slammed as alarmist, and Ms Lee's comments to the ACT Legislative Assembly last month questioning the union's support for victims of occupational violence in schools.
Ms Lee had cited the stories of two educators attacked in Canberra classrooms - a pregnant teacher who was punched in the stomach repeatedly by students and a learning support worker known as Melanie who endured 34 attacks but was left in harms' way for at least six months by the education directorate.
"If I were a [education union] member, I'd be very disappointed at the lack of support," Ms Lee said.
Both victims were distressed by the remarks, saying the union had been the driving force behind resolving those dangerous situations and, in Melanie's case, getting compensation.
ACT head of the Australian Education Union Glenn Fowler demanded Ms Lee retract her comments the following day, stressing she did not contact him about either case before her speech in the assembly.
"That's what's so galling, we started this two years ago by bringing this to the directorate's attention," Mr Fowler said.
"[Ms Lee] wants to pick a fight and we don't run away from a fight."
The robocalls were just the start of a more targeted campaign in Ms Lee's electorate after she refused to retract the remarks, he said.
On Tuesday, Ms Lee said she had since been threatened with legal action, but was unable to offer more detail while she sought legal advice.
She previously hit out at union intimidation, saying she refused to be silenced or bullied while standing up for teacher safety.
She questioned why the union was not standing beside her in outrage following revelations last month WorkSafe ACT had launched action against the ACT government for failing to protect teaching staff from violence.
"Isn’t the union alarmed that it has taken two years and these scathing, scathing findings by the Work Safety Commissioner before she decided, 'hey it’s time to take it seriously'?" Ms Lee said.
"I've met with [the union] several times ... why did they not raise that alarm with me?"
Mr Fowler said the union had worked alongside the government to develop its new occupational violence policy, launched last year, as WorkSafe had investigated. While he was confident things were improving within a budding new culture that encouraged the reporting of violence, he acknowledged the problem was far from dealt with and said the union would be seeking further assurances from the government on staff safety.
It is understood many of the robocalls were listened to all the way through, but some voters voiced concern that the union had gotten hold of their phone numbers.
Mr Fowler confirmed "Sarah", the woman voicing the call, was a Canberra teacher.
"We had members lining up to do it," he said. "They're angry."
