A lawsuit billed as a test case for overworked political staffers fizzled into a modest settlement, with no admission of fault and taxpayers picking up part of the bill.
Independent MP Monique Ryan outside the Federal Court in March.The abandoned lawsuit brings to an end an unlikely and ultimately, ill-fated partnership between a former director of neurology at the Royal Children’s Hospital and a former campaign director of GetUp!, in their new respective roles as MP for Kooyong and chief of staff, in the heady months after last year’s federal election.
Although Rugg was nominally employed as Ryan’s chief of staff, her base salary of $136,607 is the pay rate set for a junior adviser. Rugg received an allowance of $30,205 to compensate her for “reasonable additional hours of work” but within months of starting her job, a disconnect emerged between what Rugg and Ryan considered reasonable.
Rugg was effectively sacked by Ryan a month later, on December 23, with Ryan telling her that the termination would take effect on January 31 this year.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Launched in a blaze of publicity, Ryan v Rugg settles in a whimperA lawsuit billed as a test case for overworked political staffers fizzled into a modest settlement, with no admission of fault and taxpayers picking up part of the bill.
Read more »
Sally Rugg accepts $100,000 to settle workplace dispute with MP Monique RyanPayment to former chief of staff involves no admission of fault by member for Kooyong or government
Read more »
‘Launched into a never-ending nightmare’: Hayne’s sexual assault victim speaks outIn a statement to the court, the woman sexually assaulted by the former NRL player said people talk about the horrible, private incident “like they were there”.
Read more »
‘Launched into a never-ending nightmare’: Hayne’s sexual assault victim speaks outThe woman sexually assaulted by former NRL player Jarryd Hayne says her life has been a “never-ending nightmare” and that, after three trials, she has not been able to move on or find peace.
Read more »
Government could have done ‘better’ than $2.4b petroleum taxIndependent MP Monique Ryan says the Labor government could have done a lot “better” than increasing the PRRT tax on large gas companies to $2.4 billion over four years. “When you’ve got a gas lobby which is happy with an outcome that the government suggested, it does suggest that the government hasn’t gone hard enough,” Ms Ryan told Sky News Australia.
Read more »
Oh no, it happened again: a famous woman didn’t follow the rules of ageing | Arwa MahdawiMeg Ryan was declared ‘unrecognizable’ in headlines after attending a screening – even though the tabloids clearly recognized her
Read more »