ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury questioned why the Chief Minister needed further advice on whether the ministerial code of conduct had been breached during the Greens’ handling of allegations against former MLA Johnathan Davis. Photo: Supplied.
UPDATE 7 February, 3:30 pm – The Chief Minister has been challenged to deliver a motion of no-confidence in two Greens ministers in the wake of a review into the party’s handlings of sexual misconduct allegations against Johnathan Davis.
Opposition leader Elizabeth Lee made the comments following Andrew Barr’s referral of Greens ministers Shane Rattenbury and Emma Davidson’s actions to the Standards Commissioner (see below) to see if they had breached the ministerial code of conduct.
Ms Lee said that, instead of a “jibe from the side”, Mr Barr should be more direct.
“Be up front with the public, does this mean that the Coalition agreement that they have in terms of government is over? I mean, they’re pretty strong words.”
Ms Lee said her party was still digesting the report but felt the recommendations concerning policies and procedures across the entire Legislative Assembly were “sensible”.
“What we want to do is make sure that young people especially are going to feel safe, if anything happens to them, to report,” she said
“We would hate for the behaviour and the actions taken by the Greens to impede that in any way.”
The report found that while the Greens had responded as party rather than acting as a government, it also found both Mr Rattenbury and Ms Davidson hadn’t “wilfully” withheld information.
But Ms Lee said Ms Davidson especially still had plenty of questions to answer.
“There is still no explanation into how Emma Davidson, who, let’s not forget is a Minister in this Labor-Greens government, found out about these very serious allegations and yet still took a week before notifying her party leader,” she said.
“It defies logic that a minister of this government did not think that it was appropriate to notify the party leader until a whole week later.”
However it appears a no-confidence motion from the Labor side of the divide won’t happen.
Mr Barr said he had “confidence” lessons had been learned by his Greens colleagues.
“I [have sought] that further absolute clarification in relation to the ministerial code of conduct,” he said.
“If that comes back with no breaches then I think the matter is resolved.”
Mr Rattenbury did appear to be taken aback by the Chief Minister’s decision to refer the matter on, given the report’s author believed no breach had occurred.
“What further advice does he need?”
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the Greens’ communications with his party at the time allegations about Johnathan Davis were revealed “left a lot to be desired”. Photo: Claire Fenwicke.
7 February – The report that examined how the ACT Greens handled allegations of sexual misconduct against former MLA Johnathan Davis will be referred for further review to ensure no ministers breached their code of conduct.
The independent review by Lynelle Briggs outlined several further allegations against Mr Davis and found that while Greens ministers Shane Rattenbury and Emma Davidson didn’t “wilfully” hold back information, they should have reported what they knew to the police much sooner.
When the news broke about the allegations, both the Canberra Liberals and ACT Labor were critical of how the ACT Greens handled the matter.
Chief Minister and ACT Labor leader Andrew Barr said this report provided a “much clearer picture” of the circumstances that led to Mr Davis’s resignation and how appropriate the Greens’ response was.
“There were, plainly, a series of misjudgements on the behalf of the ACT Greens and these should be acknowledged,” he said.
“There are recommendations in the report that go to the ACT Greens’ policies and practices. I expect that the Greens Party will commit to implementing these recommendations as soon as possible.”
Another bone of contention was when the Greens let their governing partners know about the allegations.
Under their joint-government agreement, there is a “no surprises” policy, which dictates that each side should be notified of potential issues at least 24 hours in advance where possible.
However, Labor wasn’t told about the Davis allegations until a few hours before the story broke.
Ms Briggs’ report found the Greens did not breach the Parliamentary and Governing Agreement.
Mr Barr said while this may be the case, their communication on the matter still “left a lot to be desired”.
“I note the report’s finding that it is doubtful that Minister Davidson or Minister Rattenbury breached the Ministerial Code of Conduct,” he said.
“To remove any doubt, the government will seek further independent clarification from the ACT’s Head of Service. We will also refer the report and the findings to the Assembly’s Commissioner for Standards.”
The report also made a number of Assembly-wide recommendations, particularly around its Child Safety Code of Conduct and Policy, the Code of Conduct for all members of the Assembly and the Assembly’s victim support arrangements for people reporting inappropriate behaviour by Members.
Mr Barr said he supported these recommendations and would work to implement them as soon as possible.
While the report found there had been some confusion on the Greens’ behalf about which commissioners and departments to notify about the allegations, it also stated there was “no shortage of advice, and independent advice in particular, in the ACT Legislative Assembly”.
The Greens did not contact the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly in the first instance and wrongly referred the matter to the ACT Ombudsman, who informed them the conduct of MLAs was not under his office.
“It is incumbent on all Members and their staff to understand and trust these arrangements to ensure that we meet the very high community expectations for how sensitive matters are treated by elected Members,” Mr Barr said.
“I hope that all Members, especially the Greens MLAs, will support our collective efforts to improve public confidence in the Assembly’s support mechanisms for members of the public who may need to make a complaint about the behaviour of sitting members.”
Finally, Mr Barr expressed his concern for the complainant. The report identified he had experienced distress due to the Greens’ handling of the matter and as reports unfolded.
“I am sorry this occurred, and my thoughts are with the young person and anyone else who has been negatively affected by this very difficult situation,” he said.
“Ms Briggs AO acknowledges that this was a complex matter, but the internal decisions the Greens made throughout their internal review ultimately did not represent best practice support to the complainant.
“As Ms Briggs AO states, ‘despite their apparent attempts to be sensitive and considered, the young complainant did not receive trauma-informed care from the Greens’. This has the potential to erode confidence in the community. We all work hard in the Assembly to ensure that victims of crime, particularly crimes of a sexual nature, feel supported in coming forward with complaints.”
No findings have been made about Mr Davis by any authorities.
If this reporting has caused you concern, you can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, or call Triple Zero (000) in an emergency. You can report a crime or request police assistance on 131 444. Victim Support ACT can provide help whether or not you have had contact with police on 1800 822 272 or the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 6247 2525. QLife Australia provides support for the LGBTQIA+ community on 1800 184 527.
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