Where Do Our Tax Dollars Go: A Case Study (Part 10) - The Note
Note: The views in this post are my own, based on my lived experience and personal recollection. My ERA proceedings against the Department of Internal Affairs are ongoing. All supporting documents and evidence will be disclosed through that process.
Writers write. It is how we process, how we think, how we survive difficult days. This is my OneNote. Random thoughts, observations, frustrations, jotted down the way a writer jots things anywhere she can. Not a complaint. Not a threat. A woman talking to herself through a very hard time.
The Department of Internal Affairs used it to remove me from my job. In my view, the only purpose it served was to paint me as violent, emotionally unstable, and inappropriately attached to my manager. I believe they were trying to shame me for being human.
I know what shame feels like. I carried it for twenty years in a violent relationship. I decided a long time ago I would not carry anyone else's shame ever again.
This note is mine. I own every word of it. Now you can read it for yourself.
The link below contains the scanned copy of my OneNote note as provided to me by the Department of Internal Affairs.
I had printed it and handed it to Andy James in the first week of May 2025. I never saw it again until DIA returned it to me on 18th June 2025. I shared it only as a last resort to reach out to him. I had never experienced a manager ghosting their direct report before, and I had no idea how to approach the situation.
Some names and personal details of colleagues have been redacted. Those are not my stories to tell. Everything else is exactly as DIA holds it.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vpXsHw3bHUaIxYvQg2WacmX8a-Sz9xXv/view?usp=sharing
I am also sharing my written response to DIA at the time.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ystKVSrzAHwlyjy4FHuPCi60OLEZAoWR/view?usp=sharing
Was this reasonable grounds to remove a manager from her workplace?
This note was used to place me on a leave that lasted nine months. Stay tuned to find out the reason the Department of Internal Affairs used to terminate my employment on 31st March 2026.
