Former Victorian Greens Leader Greg Barber has moved to defend his reputation over sex discrimination and bullying allegations settled close to the end of his parliamentary career.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Barber hit back this week at a Liberal MP over remarks made in State Parliament in August about the matter.
The former top Green is also pursuing action against the ABC for its September reporting of allegations of inappropriate comments he was said to have made in his time in office, claims that Mr Barber denies.
The Age revealed in April that Mr Barber reached a $56,000 settlement with a female staff member over sex discrimination and bullying allegations, and quit politics two days after the claims were aired within his party.
The former politician has been tight-lipped on the matter, citing a confidentiality clause in the settlement. However he broke his silence this week in an official right-of-reply to State Parliament, over remarks made in the upper house chamber by Liberal MP Simon Ramsay.
“Neither I nor Parliament have ever conceded the basis of the complaint,” Mr Barber wrote.
“In the settling of the matter, Parliament determined to pay to the complainant only their accrued leave, a standard redundancy package and some legal costs associated with the negotiating of the settlement.”
Mr Ramsay said he was unimpressed by Mr Barber's right of reply.
"I think it's childish, petty and juvenile for a former MP, who spent much of his parliamentary career criticising and insulting other MPs should now be seeking a right of reply."
Mr Barber, who paid $9000 of the confidential payout from his own pocket on the condition there would be no apology, also challenged the notion that the settlement with the staffer caused him to step down as leader of his party and finish his parliamentary career.
“I had been considering for some years the appropriate time to ‘pass the baton’ and retire from Parliament.
“With party preselections for the 2018 election about to start, it was necessary for me to make a decision at that time.”
The settlement was reached in July 2017 after former electorate officer Liz Ingham threatened to take Mr Barber to the Federal Court, alleging she had been subjected to sex discrimination, bullying and victimisation during four years working in the politician's office.
Mr Barber denies the allegations.
He told The Age this week that the ABC had material from at least one other former staffer refuting Ms Ingham’s versions of sexist remarks by the party leader, but did not include that interview in its reporting.
The TV news report and associated online publication is now the subject of a complaint to the broadcaster’s internal complaints mechanism.
“I support the ABC and news division in particular, but in this case a piece of bad journalism has somehow slipped through, and they need to look into how that happened,” Mr Barber said.
The broadcaster confirmed that the complaint had been received and was being investigated.
Ms Ingham declined to comment.
