Grit Diaries
She Won Her Case Against Parliament House—But the Real Battle Was Survival
Jo Tarnawsky
A diplomat speaks up against systematic workplace bullying in Parliament House and finds purpose helping others trapped in silence.
Kintsugi Studio
Grit Diaries
Jo Tarnawsky
A diplomat speaks up against systematic workplace bullying in Parliament House and finds purpose helping others trapped in silence.
You don't have to be in crisis to call.
Jo Tarnawsky walked into Parliament House at 12 years old after winning a TV competition, and something clicked. She knew then that she wanted to work inside those walls, influencing the decisions that shaped the country. Decades later, after postings as a diplomat across Iraq, Zimbabwe, India, and Italy, she got the job she'd imagined as a child: Chief of Staff to the Deputy Prime Minister. For two years, she loved it. Then, without warning or explanation, she was locked out of her own office and pushed toward the door.
What started as small silences, her name missing from emails, meetings she should attend suddenly excluding her, became a pattern of exclusion designed to force her out quietly. When she raised concerns privately with her boss, asking only to be kept in the loop, he told her to take weeks off and find other work. No explanation. No chance to respond. Jo found herself isolated, unable to access her office or understand why. She wasn't eating. She wasn't safe. The government's system closed ranks to protect itself, not her.
But her 11-year-old daughter asked her to tell someone. That question became the turning point. Jo realised she couldn't teach her child to stand up to bullying while staying silent herself. She went public, held a press conference, asked only for an apology and accountability. The system refused to acknowledge her. After months of legal battle, she accepted a confidential settlement just before the election, not because she got what she wanted, but because she had already done everything she could to hold them to account. Now she helps others trapped in toxic workplaces understand what's happening to them, so they don't have to face that isolation alone.
⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses abuse & exploitation, which some listeners may find distressing.
If you need support, you're not alone. Help is available: • Blue Knot Foundation (complex trauma): 1300 657 380 · blueknot.org.au • 1800RESPECT (family, domestic & sexual violence): 1800 737 732 · 1800respect.org.au
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