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South Australia's deputy premier has defended messages he sent to the victim of a workplace assault.
The woman was assaulted by a colleague at Port Augusta Fire Station in 2018.
The male firefighter was found to have grabbed his female colleague by the back of the neck and pushed her to the ground.
Yesterday the firefighter lost his two-year bid to have his dismissal overturned.
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On the same day, Dan Van Holst Pellekaan, who is the victim's local member, reached out to the woman via text message and said she must be "relieved" at the outcome – but asked her to "spare a thought" for the perpetrator.
"It would be terrible if the impact was too great for him to deal with," the deputy premier wrote.
Max Adlam, Secretary of the United Firefighters Union South Australia, said today the victim was upset by the message.
"The inference being that she's the reason for all this, that she's at fault for all this," Ms Adlam said.
Mr Van Holst Pellekaan later sent another message, then followed up with a voicemail.
"I'm pleased for you that you got the result back that you asked for… There's no problem about that whatsoever," he said in the recorded message.
However, he appears to again ask the victim to consider the feelings of her attacker.
"My concern is just, putting all that aside, I would just hate the impact to be too great," Mr Van Holst Pellekaan said.
Listen to the voicemail below.
Ms Adlam said the deputy premier did not appear concerned about the victim's welfare.
Mr Van Holst Pellekaan has since issued a short statement.
"I reached out in support of a constituent during a very difficult time for her," he said.
"In no way do I condone that type of behaviour."
Premier Steven Marshall defended his deputy today, saying he would not have intended to cause any distress.
"He's got a heart of gold, he certainly didn't wish to put any further stress on this victim, he wanted to support the victim and he's conveyed that in a further message to her," Mr Marshall said.
Source: 9News
