Jail and a $10,000 fine: former political staffer shares fear over MP complaint system

The brief

Jenny* was warned she could face jail time if she spoke to anyone except a lawyer or a psychologist about a workplace complaint she made about her former boss. The former political staffer is worried about publicly revealing details of her complaint against the federal parliamentarian, owing to heavy-handed gag orders that threatened to throw her in jail for six months and a possible $10,000 fine. Nearly two years after Australia’s parliamentary workplace watchdog opened its doors in an effort to clean up the bad behaviour within Parliament House, some are questioning whether it’s living up to the brief. “I had hoped to be treated with respect and dignity,” Jenny…