ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury has defended his office's handling of allegations of sexual misconduct made against backbencher Johnathan Davis.
Key points:
- ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury has faced intense questioning over his handling of allegations that led to outgoing Greens MLA Jonathan Davis's resignation
- The party has released its internal review into concerns over Mr Davis's conduct
- The ACT Electoral Commission says a new member for Brindabella will be announced on November 28 after a count back process
Mr Rattenbury held a press conference this morning, in which he outlined the timeline of his office's knowledge of the allegations and released a detailed internal review conducted by the party.
Mr Davis tendered his resignation late last night after being stood down from his duties as a member of the ACT Legislative Assembly (MLA) last week.
The allegations against Mr Davis relate to an alleged sexual relationship with a 17-year-old male.
The age of consent in the ACT is 16, so engaging in sexual intercourse with a 17-year-old is not illegal.
Mr Davis, 31, has not spoken publicly since the allegations surfaced and his social media accounts have been removed from all platforms. He has not responded to numerous requests for comment by the ABC.
His lawyer, Andrew Herring, confirmed that Mr Davis had no comment to make in relation to any specific allegations.
"Mr Davis understands certain matters have been referred to police. Whilst those matters are being reviewed by police, it is inappropriate for Mr Davis, or others, to comment upon them," he said.
Mr Rattenbury said only one person had come forward to discuss their "intimate experiences" with Mr Davis.
"That person was 17 years old at the time of the interactions they described," he said.
"I also need to be clear that I do not have any information confirming any illegal conduct by Johnathan.
"There has not been any person come forward to me who has said they were 15 years at the time of any sexual interactions with Johnathan."
Johnathan Davis stood down after senior staffer conducted review
Mr Rattenbury said that on Tuesday last week, he had asked a senior staffer to conduct an internal review to establish the facts the party was aware of.
He said the senior staffer conducting enquiries spoke to a man, who said he had been in an intimate relationship with Mr Davis when he was 17.
"This person had concerns about Johnathan's interactions with young people, but was clear that he did not believe his personal experience breached the law in any way," he said.
After being briefed by the senior staffer and meeting with the people who initially raised the concerns, Mr Rattenbury said he made the decision to officially stand down Mr Davis from his duties as a Greens MLA on Thursday evening.
Other members of the Legislative Assembly, along with the media, were briefed by Mr Rattenbury on Friday.
On Sunday night, Mr Davis resigned as an MLA and member of the ACT Greens party.
"I think it is fair to reflect that Mr Davis is very distressed and he is receiving considerable support from family and friends at this time," Mr Rattenbury said.
"I think in his act of resignation, Mr Davis has clearly understood the seriousness of these matters."
'We stand by that approach'
Mr Rattenbury defended the time it took for his office to act on the allegations, with Greens MLA Emma Davidson revealing she was aware of rumours about Mr Davis a week before she raised the matter with Mr Rattenbury.
"This involves listening carefully and without judgement to the concerns, and believing people who share their experiences," he said.
"It also involves providing appropriate fairness to a person who is the subject of the complaints or the allegations.
"The making of a complaint or allegation does not mean we immediately take disciplinary action or publicise the information – it is right and appropriate that we first seek to understand the situation, inquire into the veracity of the information, and have contact with the person who is accused.
"That's what we did and are continuing to do. That takes time, and we stand by that approach."
'Not one of them contacted me'
Mr Rattenbury also took aim at the ACT Labor Party saying he was "dismayed" by the statement released by Deputy Chief Minister Yvette Berry on Sunday night citing "frustration" over the handling of the allegations.
He said it was "highly inappropriate", particularly given he had spoken to her twice that day.
"So, for her to then issue a statement ... saying she had questions that had not been answered, she had ample opportunity to raise those matters with me yesterday," he said.
"Every single member of the Labor caucus has my telephone number and email address — not one of them contacted me."
Mr Rattenbury said it should be the ACT Labor Party's integrity under question.
"For them to try and make a political advantage out of the most difficult and most sensitive issue my party has ever faced, reflects very poorly on them," he said.
"They do not run my party. I do not have to answer to the Labor party."
Mr Rattenbury also defended asking a staff member to conduct an internal review, prior to referring the matter to police.
"Our understanding was that this was not a current matter, this was a historical question and so part of our judgement was that there was not an immediate issue of safety for a young person because these were considered to have been matters that had taken place in the past and that was an important part of our judgement," he said.
Mr Rattenbury confirmed the allegations against Mr Davis have been referred to the ACT Integrity Commission.
Mr Rattenbury also revealed that there had been "one other circumstance" a couple of years ago where "issues were raised with us about Mr Davis having a relationship with a staffer in the building".
That staffer was an adult.
"We counselled him [Mr Davis] on that and made it very clear that that was not acceptable conduct," he said.
Canberra Liberals echo Labor's concerns about handling of allegations
Canberra Liberals leader Elizabeth Lee said her party was considering referring Mr Rattenbury to the ACT Legislative Assembly Standards Commissioner.
She said any investigation into Mr Davis's alleged behaviour and the subsequent handling of the allegations by the ACT Greens needed to be independent.
"There's no doubt this has sent shock waves through the entire [ACT Legislative] Assembly," Ms Lee said.
Ms Lee also said Ms Davidson should have acted sooner when she first heard of the concerns.
New Brindabella MLA to be announced after 2020 vote countback
ACT Electoral Commissioner Damien Cantwell said Mr Davis's resignation as an MLA for the seat of Brindabella will trigger a casual vacancy process.
Mr Cantwell said it would involve the vacancy being publicly advertised this Friday before a 10-day period in which candidates who unsuccessfully contested the Brindabella electorate in 2020 could contest the vacancy.
The commission will tell the Canberra public which candidates have put their hats in the ring before the 2020 votes are electronically recalculated without Mr Davis in the mix.
Mr Cantwell said he expected the electronic countback to be completed in just minutes with the successful candidate to be revealed 24 hours later on Tuesday November 28.
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2023-11-13 03:42:51Z
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