The senior ministerial media adviser who went public with her workplace treatment following her intimate relationship with her boss at the time, Alan Tudge, may have lost further work after speaking out about her experience.
Rachelle Miller had been due to start a contract with a defence contractor, but Guardian Australia has confirmed a tweet from Louise Milligan, the ABC journalist Miller told her story to, that the offer was now under consideration.
Miller declined to comment further.
Miller spoke to the ABC Four Corners program about her workplace treatment after she embarked on a consensual relationship with Tudge, while she worked as his senior media adviser.
She alleges she was humiliated and belittled over her work and then later “blacklisted” from further jobs. On leaving Tudge’s office, Miller worked for Michaelia Cash, but alleges she was prevented from carrying out her duties, and then later made redundant, once rumours of her previous relationship with Tudge began circulating.
Cash has denied the claims.
Miller has made an official complaint through the only avenue open to ministerial staff – the Department of Finance – which can’t take action against a parliamentarian, even if complaints are upheld.
The government attempted to stop the broadcast of the Four Corners episode. The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has declined to launch any further investigation into Miller’s allegations, saying it happened under Malcolm Turnbull’s government and there had been no breaches of the ministerial code of conduct under his administration.
Tudge admitted to the relationship in a brief statement released following the Four Corners’s broadcast.
On Saturday, he published a further statement on Facebook titled “Mistakes, regret and forgiveness”, pleading with his constituents for a second chance and an opportunity to regain their trust.
Tudge did not name Miller in his statement, only referring to her as “my media adviser”, and said his “huge mistake” was “this week held up in lights nationally”, reopening “wounds” three years later.
“My mistake was an affair with a married woman with children,” Tudge said in his post.
“I was a married man. And she was my most senior media person. A minister and his or her media adviser work closely together, particularly at the national level. You are constantly on the road, travelling from one location to the other, working long hours and often under pressure.
“In this situation, the error was mine and I take responsibility.
“There is nothing that justifies what I did and I will regret my actions for the rest of my life. The affair ended my 20-year relationship with my wife, a beautiful person. We separated in late 2017 but remain close. I will never be able to say sorry to her enough for the hurt I caused.”
In his Facebook post, Tudge indicated he was preparing to contest the next election.
“I am sorry to put my family though this again,” he said. “Over the last three years, I have done a lot of reflection, much grieving over our family breakdown, and have worked to be a better person.
“To my community, the Knox locals who have repeatedly put their confidence in me as their representative, I have also let you down and I am sorry. But I commit to continuing to work as hard as ever on the things our local community needs to make it an even better place to live.
“Over time, I hope to regain the trust of those I know and love and those whom I represent.”
A spokesman for Tudge said he had no further statement to add to his public post.
