Where Do Our Tax Dollars Go: A Case Study (Part 8) - The Man at the Top
I did what the speak-up posters at the Department of Internal Affairs office were asking everyone to do. I sent an email to Paul James reporting bullying. Within 30 minutes, the institution showed me exactly what that was worth.
Where Do Our Tax Dollars Go: A Case Study (Part 7) - Lisa Gibson, New Girl Forever
What does it take to get a manager role in the New Zealand public sector without interviewing for it? Apparently, knowing the right person. This is the story of Lisa Gibson, and the questions her appointment raises about how your tax dollars are being managed.
Where Do Our Tax Dollars Go: A Case Study (Part 6) - Blind by Choice
Richard Ashworth was the General Manager. He chose me for the role. And he was the one person in my entire experience at Department of Internal Affairs I genuinely believed to be honest. This is the story of what he chose not to see.
Where Do Our Tax Dollars Go: A Case Study (Part 5) - The Man In Every Room
75 percent of people who experience workplace harassment never report it. I was one of them. This is why.
Where Do Our Tax Dollars Go: A Case Study (Part 4) - "We Used to Do This on Purpose." The Unmanageables, Part II
Kylie Matson’s formal complaint against me included this allegation - I had copied her in an appreciation email about her.
I as her manager had recognised her work in writing to senior leadership and copied Kylie in. That appeared in a formal misconduct complaint. HR accepted it. An external investigator was appointed.
Over four years, New Zealand taxpayers paid her between $70,000 and $120,000 per year. She managed one database.
Where Do Our Tax Dollars Go: A Case Study (Part 3) - "You Have My Job." The Unmanageables, Part I
He filed a formal privacy complaint against me for disclosing his health condition.
He had posted it himself, under his own name, on a public website, in 2011.
It is still there.
Where Do Our Tax Dollars Go: A Case Study (Part 2) - The Manager Who “Had my back”
For six months, I continued working alongside the people I had raised formal complaints about, with no meaningful intervention from my employer, while my health deteriorated visibly.
HR declined to accept my formal complaints about two colleagues. But when my manager produced a private diary note I had shared with him in confidence, they acted within days.
That contrast is the story.
Where Do our Tax Dollars Go: A Case Study (Part 1)
Why would my direct report need my phone number on the weekend?
This case study documents the sequence of events I experienced in a toxic workplace. It is shared in parts to reflect the complexity of how public service systems in New Zealand can reward bullying and penalise those who speak up.