Sacked minister calls for inquiry
Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 11 May 2009: 8.
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Abstract
Both Mr [Tony Stewart] and the university lecturer Mik Heyslop, who taught Tina Sanger, have always maintained their innocence. Both men’s careers were destroyed by the claims.
Professor Heyslop suffered professional humiliation and eventually resigned his position after Ms Sanger, then an undergraduate student, claimed he had made suggestive moves towards her. An investigation by the University of Salford found in Ms Sanger’s favour in 1999 and Mr Heyslop was warned.
Full Text
FORMER NSW small business minister Tony Stewart, sacked following allegations of sexual impropriety, has called on Premier Nathan Rees to reinvestigate his case following revelations the woman at its centre made similar claims in the late-1990s against a British academic.
Both Mr Stewart and the university lecturer Mik Heyslop, who taught Tina Sanger, have always maintained their innocence. Both men’s careers were destroyed by the claims.
Mr Stewart said the revelations, in The Sunday Telegraph, demonstrated the need for Mr Rees to order a new investigation into the allegations made by his former staffer.
Ms Sanger claimed Mr Stewart had bullied her and placed his hand on her leg at a charity dinner in October last year.
“It is not a surprise to me that Ms Sanger has previously made similar allegations against someone else,” he said in a statement.
Professor Heyslop suffered professional humiliation and eventually resigned his position after Ms Sanger, then an undergraduate student, claimed he had made suggestive moves towards her. An investigation by the University of Salford found in Ms Sanger’s favour in 1999 and Mr Heyslop was warned.
Mr Stewart said yesterday: “I have continually maintained that the allegations made about me by Tina Sanger are totally false and without foundation.
“I have done nothing wrong and it is now time for this issue to be properly re-examined through a judicial inquiry.”
Mr Stewart is suing Chris Ronalds SC and the state of NSW over a report she wrote into the incident which led to his demotion. He has said he is prepared to drop the legal challenge if Mr Rees orders a new investigation into the claims.
Mr Rees declined to comment, as did Opposition Leader Barry O’Farrell.
Credit: John Stapleton