The employee was fired after a positive performance review
New South Wales’ outgoing secretary of Transport will receive a payout of more than $800,000 after he was terminated without reason just six weeks after a positive review with the premier.
Rodd Staples will step down Feb. 19, three months after he was told his contract would be terminated with “no stated reason.”
Correspondence between Staples and Tim Reardon, secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet, revealed that Reardon told Staples he would be sacked under Section 41 of the Government Employment Act, according to a report by The Sydney Morning Herald. The section allows for executives to be sacked “at any time, for any or no stated reason and without notice.”
“This was a decision made by the transport minister who has responsibility for transport for NSW,” a spokesman for the premier said.
Staples’ termination payment will be $837,584, according to the Herald. That amount includes 38 weeks’ pay and his outstanding leave entitlements. Staples’ annual salary is $599,000.
Staples said in a Nov. 17 letter to Reardon that there had been no issues with his performance in the job.
“I accept this termination in the context that my documented performance, including my recent performance review with the Premier, has been satisfactory with no performance issues raised,” Staples wrote. “I accept this termination on the basis that there will be no negative formal or informal statements made about my performance and its relationship to my termination before or after the date of my termination.”
Staples told his staff that he would be leaving the job two days after it was reported that the NSW government paid three times as much as the valuer-general’s estimate for a parcel of contaminated land in Camellia, earning Sydney property developer Billbergia a $15 million payday. Staples, who replaced Reardon as transport secretary, was head of the Sydney Metro rail projects at the time of the deal, the Herald reported. However, the paper did not suggest a connection between the controversial land deal and Staples’ termination.
NSW Labor finance spokesman Daniel Mookhey called Staples’ sacking an “internal power-play at taxpayers’ expense.”
“To fire a deeply respected public servant like Rodd Staples for no reason is an arrogant act that risks the delivery of every transport project meant to create jobs,” Mookhey said. “The premier needs to take responsibility and explain to taxpayers why they’ve paid close to $1 million to indulge this internecine power trip.”
Following the revelations about the Camellia land deal, Transport Minister Andrew Constance referred the deal to the auditor-general and the Independent Commission Against Corruption. The NSW upper house also voted to refer the deal to the ICAC, the Herald reported.
In announcing Staples’ sacking, Constance said “now is the time for a new focus on delivering out record infrastructure program.”
Staples took over as transport secretary from Reardon in 2018. He had worked for the department for 15 years. In an email to staff last year, Staples said he was sad to leave the department.
“Transport is in my blood and is part of my family’s story, with my grandfather helping to build the Sydney Harbour Bridge,” he said. “Now almost 100 years later, I’ve had the privilege of being part of this great organisation for over 15 years.”
