Under-fire minister denies ‘spurious’ claims behind staff turnover

Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber has broken her silence to reject reported concerns about her behaviour towards staff in her office.

The cabinet member recently lost her chief of staff, the third since December, with several other media and policy staffers turning over in that time.

Labor has seized on media reports that Gerber has screamed and sworn at staff, and called for Premier David Crisafulli to intervene.

Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber in Queensland Parliament.Credit: Jamila Filippone

The opposition used parliamentary question time on Tuesday morning to question Crisafulli and Gerber about the matter.

The premier reiterated support for Gerber.

Gerber, who in recent days had declined to be drawn on questions about her behaviour, accused Labor of “flinging mud”.

“They cannot come at me on my record, so they’re making spurious personal allegations,” she said – allegations she described as “clearly not true”.

Valeria Cheghov, a former adviser in the Morrison and Turnbull governments, was the latest chief of staff to leave Gerber’s office, following the departures of David Fraser and Matt McEachan.

Director-general Bob Gee has taken a secondment as secretary of the government’s CFMEU Commission of Inquiry – though publicly denied he requested the move.

Labor raised the staffing issues of Gerber’s office in July, hinting at turmoil in her office.

In response, a visibly angry Gerber accused unnamed Labor ministers of throwing staplers at staff.

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Gerber was a notable absentee at a media conference in Brisbane on Monday about what Crisafulli described as the “biggest police operation addressing youth crime in our state’s history”.

Crisafulli played down Gerber’s staff turnover to journalists as people who “might take other opportunities”, before suggesting he was being asked to “comment on a gossip column”.

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