Matthew Hughes (born 9 February 1950) is an Australian politician. He has been a Labor member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly since the 2017 state election, representing Kalamunda.
Matthew Hughes | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for Kalamunda | |
| Assumed office 11 March 2017 | |
| Preceded by | John Day |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 February 1950 Audenshaw, England, United Kingdom |
| Political party | Labor |
| Occupation | Teacher and principal |
Hughes was born in Audenshaw in the United Kingdom, and moved to Australia in 1979.[1] He was a teacher and the principal of John Septimus Roe Anglican Community School, and also served on Swan City Council.[2]
He is affiliated with the United Workers Union, which is aligned with the Labor Left faction.[3]
Hughes announced his retirement as the Member for Kalamunda on 9 February 2024, his 74th birthday. He will serve until the 2025 Western Australian state election.[3]
Controversy and bullying claims
editIn April 2020, Hughes was called on to resign from the Joint Standing Committee on the Corruption and Crime Commission by Liberal leader Liza Harvey and Nick Goiran after posting comments on Facebook that broke the confidentiality of parliamentary committees.[4] Harvey accused Hughes of breaking the Chatham House Rule nature of all parliamentary committees and damaging the integrity of the parliamentary committee process.[5] Hughes decided to attack the Liberal Party in his defence, despite the fact that a member of the Greens was voting with the Liberal Party in the committee.[6]
In March 2021, prior to the 2021 Western Australia state election, Hughes was accused of bullying by three former staff members.[7]
Later in March 2021, further claims from these three former staff members were published that detailed Hughes verbally abusing staff, punching objects in the office to startle staff, and the toxic environment.[8] These accusations led to the Community and Public Sector Union asking the Department of Premier and Cabinet to better educate Members of Parliament on how to treat their staff.[9] The women involved in the complaint said they had been let down by Premier Mark McGowan, who defended Hughes by saying he was a decent man.[10]
After the election, McGowan promoted Hughes to the Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on the Corruption and Crime Commission.[1]
In late June 2021, complaints about Hughes emerged again, this time from a former student of John Septimus Roe Anglican Community School about the conduct of Hughes when he was principal there.[11] The former student alleged that she was sexually assaulted as a 13 year old by a student who was 4 years older than her, and that as principal of the school, Hughes did nothing to help and that the school took no steps to create a safe environment for her after she reported three incidents, including one on school grounds.[11]
References
edit- ^ a b "Mr Matthew Hughes MLA". Member List. Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- ^ Green, Antony (2017). "Kalamunda". ABC Elections. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
- ^ a b Dietsch, Jake (9 February 2024). "Kalamunda Labor MP Matthew Hughes announces he'll retire at 2025 election". The West Australian.
- ^ Hondros, Nathan (17 April 2020). "Harvey calls for Labor MP's head over CCC stoush and 'inept' Facebook post". WAtoday.
- ^ de Kruijff, Peter (17 April 2020). "Kalamunda MP Matthew Hughes won't resign over allegations he revealed secret deliberations in CCC furore". The West Australian.
- ^ Kagi, Jacob (24 April 2020). "With little explanation, one of WA's top crime fighters appears headed for the exit". ABC News.
- ^ Brookes, Sarah (8 March 2021). "Kalamunda MP Matthew Hughes denies bullying allegations from former electoral office staff members". The West Australian.
- ^ Hastie, Hamish (23 March 2021). "'He punched the table': Three women allegedly bullied by WA Labor MP call for end to 'put up and shut up'". WAtoday.
- ^ Hastie, Hamish (26 March 2021). "Back to school: Union calls for better education of MPs to avoid toxic workplaces". WAtoday.
- ^ Hislop, Madeline (24 March 2021). "More women in politics detail allegations of sexual harassment and bullying". Women's Agenda.
- ^ a b Flint, John (30 June 2021). "Kalamunda MP Matthew Hughes under fire from ex-student who claims he did little to help when she was abused". The West Australian.