Education Minister cleared of “inappropriate” behaviour following misconduct probe

Friday 06 April 2018

The Education Minister has been cleared of misconduct following an investigation sparked by an anonymous letter alleging “overly familiar” interactions with female staff and an incident involving a fellow Minister’s dress zip.

Amongst the allegations against Deputy Rod Bryans were reports of rubbing female colleagues’ shoulders and arms, and an incident in which he was said to have unzipped Social Security Minister Deputy Susie Pinel’s dress before commenting on the colour of her bra – something the Deputy herself did not complain about, but was raised by her Ministerial colleagues.

The Minister “stepped aside” from his position in February to assist a probe by the Commissioner for Standards, which came following an official complaint by his colleague, Health Minister Senator Andrew Green.

In a report released today, the Commissioner, Paul Kernaghan CBE, cleared him of breaching the States Members Code of Conduct. Deputy Bryans has now been invited to resume his position in the Council of Ministers.

The report revealed that concerns over Deputy Bryans’ “inappropriate” behaviour towards female staff were first brought to the attention of Director for Education Justin Donovan when an anonymous letter was sent to his home. Mr Donovan, who described the letter as “polite, non-emotional, [and] perfectly reasonable”, said that delivering it to his home would not have been an easy task.

Photo: Director of Education Jason Donovan had an anonymous letter delivered to his home regarding Deputy Bryans' behaviour.

The contents of the letter, which can no longer be located within the Education Department, were discussed with Deputy Bryans, who was reported to have then “modified his behaviour.”

Deputy Bryans told the Commissioner, however, that his physical interaction “amounted to no more than commonly used gestures of communication, such as a pat on the shoulder to emphasise a positive point.”

But the central allegation revolved around what the Commissioner described as the ‘zip incident’ involving Deputy Susie Pinel, which was said to have sparked discussions between Health Minister Senator Andrew Green, Home Affairs Minister Deputy Kristina Moore and Housing Minister Deputy Anne Pryke.

Deputy Pinel was reported to have been initially reluctant to speak about the incident, but later gave a “significantly different” account of what happened than the evidence provided by Deputies Pryke and Moore - neither of whom were actually present when it occurred.

Pictured: Deputy Bryans was alleged to have made a comment about the colour of Deputy Pinel's bra, but neither said they could recall the incident in detail.

Deputy Pinel explained that she had been engaged I conversation with Senators Alan Maclean and Paul Routier while wearing a dress with an “overt” zip, which Deputy Bryans had done up “whilst walking past her.” Neither Senator could recall the incident.

Grilled over whether this was accurate in comparison with the version put forward by her fellow female Ministers, she stated: “I really could not say. That is why I find things so extraordinary is because the only two people other than myself in the room were, as I mentioned, Alan Maclean and Paul Routier. Nobody else in the room. Yes, I felt him do my zip but other than that, as I say, I just did not really take much notice of it.”

Speaking about whether he passed comment on the colour of her underwear, she responded: “I do not really know what he said in detail. I mean he may have said something about underwear, but I thought he was just sort of doing my zip up”. 

In an email responding to the allegations, Deputy Bryans explained that he noticed the Deputy’s dress was undone at the top, so he pulled the zip up. “He might have made a comment or joke, but he simply couldn’t remember,” the report stated.

Pictured: Deputy Pinel's account of the 'zip incident' differed from that of her colleagues, Deputies Moore and Pryke, who were not present at the time.

The Commissioner commented on the “conflicting accounts” of the situation, but stated that he was satisfied with the explanation that Deputy Bryans “merely pulled her zip up.”

“I have no direct evidence to suggest that Deputy Bryans acted in an inappropriate manner. I recognise that both parties work closely together and openly acknowledge a degree of friendship, in addition to their professional relationship. However, I am satisfied that Deputy Moore and Deputy Pryke gave honest and sincere testimony. How a disparity arose between their accounts and that of the principal actors I cannot say,” he observed.

In his concluding remarks, he noted that no witness expressed concern about the Minister’s behaviour, but stated that he “can touch staff and colleagues where someone else might not.”

“Everyone was very clear that they impute no pejorative motivation to his behaviour and he was universally commended for his commitment to and, indeed, passion for his ministerial portfolio.”

Following the findings, the Chief Minister this afternoon invited Deputy Bryans to resume his role as Education Minister. He commented: “I would like to thank the Deputy for stepping aside while the complaint was properly investigated. The Commissioner considered that it was right to refer this matter for his consideration, as it is vital to public confidence that elected Members are held to account and operate to the highest professional standards.”