Anthony Albanese’s deputy chief of staff, Sabina Husic, has resigned after a complaint was posted online which aired a series of uncorroborated claims against personnel in the federal opposition leader’s office.
The Labor leader had earlier on Tuesday responded to the anonymous attack on senior staff by saying the online letter was “fake”.
Guardian Australia has confirmed Husic has tendered her resignation citing mental health concerns.
The accusatory correspondence purporting to be from five “concerned” Labor staff was posted online on Monday night then taken down on Tuesday morning.
Husic had been on leave but returned to her duties this week. Nine newspapers on Tuesday night quoted from Husic’s letter of resignation in which she stated: “Last night I was the subject of a malicious, false, fake and defamatory attack on my character.”
“This was highly distressing and has had an incredibly harmful effect on my personal wellbeing. The defamatory attacks and online harassment I have experienced are beyond the bounds of what should be required for this job or any staff position.”
According to the Nine report, Husic said she no longer felt safe in the role.
Asked about the allegations contained in the anonymous online post during a visit to the Hunter Valley on Tuesday, Albanese characterised the document as a fake.
Pressed about the culture in his political office, the Labor leader said: “It’s a very good office – I have an outstanding office.”
Guardian Australia understands that Albanese’s chief of staff, Tim Gartrell, used a regular staff meeting in recent weeks to dissuade his colleagues from forming cliques. The anonymous critique and Husic’s resignation comes after a difficult few weeks for the opposition leader.
Labor’s plan last week to use Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election to intensify criticism of the Coalition’s climate change policies was derailed when the then shadow resources minister, Joel Fitzgibbon, declared it was “delusional” to interpret the US result as an endorsement of ambitious climate action.
Fitzgibbon’s rebuke triggered a boilover in the regular meeting of the left caucus. The outrage in the left was then followed by a blow-up between Albanese and Fitzgibbon in the shadow cabinet meeting last Monday.
Fitzgibbon announced the next day he would go to the backbench before he embarked on a media blitz which culminated in him calling for the shadow climate change minister, Mark Butler, to be dumped from his portfolio at a planned end of year reshuffle.
Last week’s crisis was the endpoint of a robust public dispute between Butler and Fitzgibbon that had rolled for months about Labor’s climate and energy policies. The warring has prompted a fresh round of speculation about Albanese’s hold on the Labor leadership.
Albanese has been travelling this week in the New South Wales Hunter region – close to Fitzgibbon’s electorate – but has not been accompanied by the former resources minister.
Asked by the ABC in Newcastle whether workers would still be employed in coalmines in the Hunter in 10 years’ time, the Labor leader said: “Coalmines in the Hunter will continue to operate and continue to export coal for a considerable period of time – so, in 10 years’ time those coalmines will still be going.”
Albanese said as the world transitioned to renewables “the coal that is produced in the Hunter, because it is of such quality and is cleaner than coal from other potential mines or sites, will continue to operate”.
“It will continue to operate certainly well beyond the next decade,” he said.
“All the protections are there. But the world is moving towards renewable energy, and that’s why we’ve adopted the position of zero net emissions by 2050, along with, it must be said, all of our trading partners, all our major trading partners, have adopted that.”
Speaking to journalists after touring an aluminium smelter at Tomago on Tuesday, Albanese said the ageing Liddell coal power plant needed to be replaced with a mix of solar, batteries and gas peaking power.
“Climate change is real,” Albanese said. “It will have an impact on our economy. We need to act, and we need to be a part of global action. We need to, as well, though, make sure that businesses like this one, that are energy-intensive, have access to affordable energy and reliable energy … and that’s why gas will play an important role here.”
