Monique Ryan

2023 - 3 - 7

Post cover — Image courtesy of "ABC News"

Judge rules Sally Rugg cannot continue working for MP Monique ... (ABC News)

A Federal Court judge has dismissed an application by political adviser Sally Rugg to continue working for teal MP Monique Ryan while their employment ...

The proposition of Ms Rugg returning to work for Dr Ryan was one the MP's lawyers and the Commonwealth did not want to entertain. Ms Rugg claimed Dr Ryan once said: "I want to be the prime minister one day and I need to know my staff are prepared to work hard for me." "I was hoping to preserve as much of my reputation and dignity as I could from the situation," Ms Rugg said. But a larger legal battle looms, with Ms Rugg seeking financial compensation from Dr Ryan and the Commonwealth, and for them to be fined for alleged breaches of the Fair Work Act. In her judgement, Justice Mortimer said "there is no real working relationship left between Ms Rugg and Dr Ryan, and it is unlikely to be restored during the trial process". - Ms Rugg was seeking to continue working for MP Monique Ryan while the case was heard

Sally Rugg's bid to keep working for Monique Ryan dismissed by ... (The Guardian)

The federal court's Justice Debra Mortimer dismissed Rugg's application to prevent the commonwealth giving effect to the termination of her employment, meaning ...

“There are real divisions in the accounts given by Dr Ryan and Ms Rugg, such that the reliability and credibility of their evidence about what happened during the five months of the employment relationship is going to be critical to the outcome of the proceeding.” Given the “untenable” relationship between Rugg and Ryan, a return to work would also be “likely to have adverse effects” on others in the office, she said. Mortimer also cited Rugg’s Instagram post to a private account that she was “devastated” to have missed out on the protections of the new code of conduct in parliament. The judge said there was a “live debate” about whether Ryan had lost trust and confidence in Rugg, about her working hours, and whether community engagement is part of her role. Mortimer said the case could not commence until at least June, meaning the pair would have to work “closely together over a number of parliamentary sitting periods, and for a number of months”. In her written reasons, Mortimer explained that although there was a serious question to be tried in the case, it was not convenient to require that Rugg remain employed because it would likely not be “tolerable” for the pair to work together for at least four months pending the trial.

Court says Sally Rugg not focused on helping Monique Ryan as she ... (The Sydney Morning Herald)

Federal Court Justice Debra Mortimer dismissed the application in a brief hearing on Tuesday. She agreed with lawyers for Ryan and the Commonwealth, who argued ...

“There could have been evidence of a high sense of willingness and dedication to assisting Dr Ryan … She said Rugg’s arguments indicated she was keen to return to political life in Canberra but did not demonstrate a willingness to work for Ryan in Kooyong. The period would likely be longer than the period Ms Rugg worked for Dr Ryan before the initial differences of opinion about Ms Rugg’s performance and working conditions emerged,” Mortimer wrote in her judgement. Previously, he was the national news blogger for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via Mortimer found Rugg had exaggerated elements of her evidence about her relationship with Ryan. [substantive claims made by Rugg about alleged workplace breaches by Ryan](/link/follow-20170101-p5cpik), which Mortimer said may well be successful in a later trial.

Judge's brutal words for teal MP's ex-staffer (NEWS.com.au)

An attempt by the ex-chief of staff of Kooyong MP Monique Ryan to maintain her taxpayer-funded role while she sues her boss and the Commonwealth over her ...

Ms Rugg, who claimed she was regularly required to work 70-80 hours per week, submitted that she and Dr Ryan could be “mature” and continue working together until their trial, or she could be placed on “miscellaneous leave” until her case was tried. Dr Ryan, who unseated Josh Frydenberg from the former blue-ribbon seat in last year’s federal election, opposed this on the grounds that their relationship was “not salvageable” and she had lost “all trust and confidence” in her former chief of staff. In her written judgment, Judge Mortimer was critical of aspects of Ms Rugg’s evidence and found there was “little of anything” in her declared aspirations to be a politician and her view of herself as a force behind the teal movement “that refers to supporting and assisting Dr Ryan”.

Rugg loses bid to keep her job with MP Monique Ryan (Sky News Australia)

A federal court has dismissed political staffer Sally Rugg's application to continue working for Monique Ryan while she pursues legal action against the ...

Sally Rugg loses bid to remain in Monique Ryan's office as the pair ... (Crikey)

Justice Debra Mortimer reasoned that Rugg's return to Ryan's office would not be tolerable, 'let alone productive and workable'.

Ryan said Rugg’s thinking at the time was that “half the plane” could be COVID-positive “with or without her” on it. She said Rugg seemed to love Canberra, being around the media “where it’s all happening”, but wasn’t “interested” in engaging with the electorate. The cover letter quotes a passage where Rugg says “as your chief of staff” she would look to foster a relationship built on “multifaceted trust”. “Both of those concerns significantly undermined my trust in Ms Rugg,” Ryan said. “I want to be the prime minister one day, and I need to know my staff are prepared to work hard for me.” given that it had the potential to place other people’s health at risk”. Crikey is able to be independent because of subscriber support. “The applicant’s submissions to the contrary had a significant degree of unreality about them.” “You don’t understand, I need to be the best. Among the earliest disagreements was one related to community engagement work in September, which Rugg felt didn’t fall into her wheelhouse. “During sitting weeks of Parliament, a standard day was at least 12 hours, and there were many days where I worked even longer than that,” Rugg said. In documents lodged on January 25, Rugg sought to prevent Ryan’s attempts to dismiss her after a dispute over working hours.