A Victorian Labor MP at the centre of bullying claims has again lashed out publicly, this time at the national broadcaster, which she claims left out important aspects of her story following an exclusive interview with her.
Embattled MP Kaushaliya Vaghela spoke out publicly about alleged sustained and debilitating bullying of her by individuals within the Labor Party, claiming her complaints were ignored.
She said the alleged bullying had floored her self esteem and claimed she would not have joined parliament had she known what was to come.
Ms Vaghela this week demanded an apology from Premier Daniel Andrews in a story aired by the ABC’s 7.30 program.
But following the airing of the program on Thursday evening, Ms Vaghela criticised how her story had been handled.
“It disappoints me that only a fraction of what I endured was aired tonight,” she said in a statement.
“The most egregious aspects of the story were ignored, including the conduct of the Premiexjmtzywr, his staff and his personal friend.
“The fact that my strong views on having my mental health questioned publicly by the Premier and his team for daring to complain were omitted raises serious concerns.”
The program detailed Vaghela’s move from the Party’s Socialist Left faction to the right, which she believes prompted the alleged bullying.
She told 7.30 that following the switch she had been victimised by Labor MP and Minister for Women Gabrielle Williams and alleged a staff member in the Premier’s office, along with three of his friends, harassed and bullied her at public events.
The program also included Ms Vaghela’s claims her husband had been assaulted.
“I have suffered a lot over three years, me and my family, we have suffered a lot and I want justice,” she said.
“I want the Premier to acknowledge what they have done to me and apologise to me.”
An ABC spokesperson said the program represented the MP fairly.
“(The) story concerning Kaushaliya Vaghela was a fair and thorough report on the allegations that met the bar for publication and included lengthy comments from Ms Vaghela,” the spokesperson said.
Ms Vaghela was first elected to parliament in 2018 to represent Melbourne’s outer west but was dumped from preselection for the 2021 election.
Earlier this month she broke party rules and crossed the floor crossed the floor to vote with former minister Adem Somyurek to refer Labor‘s red shirts scandal back to the Ombudsman.
She claims her failure to gain preselection did not prompt her to speak out.
“I want women not to be victim-blamed, I want them to be believed,” she said.
“We need to send the message – speak up, you will be believed.”
The matter has been referred to WorkSafe.
