Charlotte Varcoe
A MILLICENT man has been charged with disorderly behaviour and bailed to appear in the Millicent Magistrates Court after abusing the female staff of Member for Barker Tony Pasin.
The 61-year-old-man allegedly came into Mr Pasin’s office around 2pm on August 24 where it was reported that he yelled at staff and acted in a disorderly manner.
Police were called to the Mount Gambier/Berrin office and searched the area but were unable to locate him.
It was not until the following Tuesday the man was arrested.
Speaking with The Border Watch on the incident, Mr Pasin said at the time there was a 15-year-old work experience student who had witnessed the incident.
“The man was asked to leave and was told if he did not leave, my staff would call the police,” Mr Pasin said.
“The police were called and it was my understanding he left.”
Mr Pasin said the man had originally come into his office to speak to staff about the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament as he was “upset about the No campaign”.
“My staff tried to provide him with some information that seemed to aggravate him further and the behaviour has been captured on CCTV,” he siad.
“Changing the constitution is no small thing and I understand it is an emotive issue for many people but we need to ensure this debate is respectful.
“We need to remain respectful of others’ opinions and on the matter generally and we need to be able to have an open and respectful debate about issues as significant as changing Australian’s Constitution.”
Mr Pasin said this needed to be done without resorting to “abusive language and physical violence”.
“Quite frankly, regardless of the issue, no member of staff, no employee deserves to be verbally or physically abused at their place of work, whether they work for me or any other organisation,” he said.
“Nobody should be intimidated, verbally or physically abused and everyone is entitled to feel safe at work and I can say my staff felt unsafe.”
Mr Pasin said at the time he was interstate but was made aware of the incident and asked his staff to close the office and leave early.
“I have indicated to them they have available to them a dedicated counselling service,” he said.
“Measures were put in place in terms of electorate offices some time ago to ensure reception areas are secure and at the time I was against those changes because I thought it de-personalised the experience.
“Now I can see the merit of them and the Commonwealth also installed CCTV cameras inside and outside electoral offices which has captured this event and it also ensures when my staff were closing and leaving they could check the car park was clear of this individual.”
Mr Pasin said he expected the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament debate would reach this level but reiterated he believed it was inappropriate and asked the community to remain respectful moving forward.
“My call out to members of the community is to cast their vote, the Australian Constitution is owned by all of us,” Mr Pasin said.
“It needs to be Australians who decide what action we take in response to this question and my position is well known – that I think this is a proposal that will divide Australians, not ignite them.
“I want to ensure every Australian casts their vote so this can be a decision which we deal with once and for all.”
