The Victorian premier is confident his former business minister Adem Somyurek, who was stripped of his portfolio and forced to the backbench for bullying his chief of staff, will “be the best backbencher member of parliament he possibly can be”.
But Daniel Andrews said it was not appropriate for Somyurek to be removed from parliament.
Somyurek’s demotion was announced by Andrews on Tuesday after an investigation that found Dimity Paul had been bullied and manhandled while serving as Somyurek’s chief of staff.
On Wednesday Andrews was asked to explain why Somyurek had not been forced to resign from the parliament.
The investigation into Somyurek’s conduct towards Paul was led by Michael Strong, the former head of the office of police integrity and a retired justice. It found Somyurek had grabbed Paul by the chin, shaking it from side to side while telling her to “calm down” and “put a filter on it”.
Andrews said the action he had taken against Somyurek was appropriate.
“I would say to you that properly, appropriately, rightly, [Somyurek] has paid a very heavy price,” Andrews said.
“I don’t think anybody could deny that, and now I’d expect and I’d be confident that he’ll attend to his duties of government as a backbencher. He’ll be the best backbencher member of parliament he possibly can be.”
However, Somyurek has not relinquished his position quietly. In an extraordinary press conference held on Tuesday, he denied any wrongdoing and called for the resignation of the deputy premier, James Merlino.
Somyurek claimed Merlino was being unduly influenced by the head of the Labor-right aligned Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association trade union, and blamed the union for fuelling the bullying allegations against him.
On Wednesday Andrews stood by his deputy, describing Merlino as “an outstanding deputy premier and an outstanding minister for education”. He described Somyurek’s comments that a union revenge plot was behind his sacking as “undignified commentary”.
“I’m not going to be drawn into dignifying absolutely nonsensical comments,” Andrews said.
“They’re just wrong, they make no sense, and they speak to the fact [Somyurek] is very angry. I make no apology for requiring the minister’s resignation.”
However, one senior figure in Labor’s right confirmed to Fairfax Somyurek’s resignation had led to factional tensions within the party, reportedly saying, “It’s on like Donkey Kong.”
There will be a vote on Friday to decide on Somyurek’s replacement.
On radio 3AW on Wednesday morning, the attorney-general, Martin Pakula, said he stood by the premier and deputy premier.
“If any minister of the government was the subject of a report of this nature, any one of us would be removed from cabinet,” Pakula said.
“It’s another matter entirely to remove someone from parliament.”
Pakula compared the matter to the prime minister, Tony Abbott, putting the Speaker, Bronwyn Bishop, on probation after claims she had inappropriately used her travel allowance, but not going so far as to sack her.
“[Somyurek] has been made to resign from cabinet and go to the backbench which, in a system of elected representative democracy, is the most substantial penalty you can impose,” Pakula said.
