Politics
Q and A

‘It’s a moot point’ - PM defends Labour Party general secretary keeping sexual assault allegations from her

March 18, 2018

Jacinda Ardern has insisted the main priority was the wellbeing of the allegedly assaulted teens, not Andrew Kirton's notification of Labour MPs.

Jacinda Ardern says she still has faith in Labour Party general secretary Andrew Kirton despite his failure to immediately notify the victims' parents, police, or herself of the alleged sexual assaults at a Young Labour camp. 

Speaking to Corrin Dann on TVNZ's Q+A this morning, the Prime Minister said she understands Kirton's decision was made based on the the victims' rights rather than a politics agenda.

Kirton reportedly knew of the assault allegations within days of the incident on February 10, but the Prime Minister did not find out until the story broke in the media last week.

They were focused on the young people rather than the political management and I stand by that being the more important question here," she said. 

Ms Ardern does however believe that the speed in which they reacted was not up to the mark.

"It's a moot point around when and where I should of known. The fact is what happened still happened to these young people and whether I was brought in or not doesn't matter, they're the ones we have the duty of care to." she said. 

Ms Ardern said after seeking professional advice they could not force the victims to speak to police or their parents, but admitted she would have wanted to know as a parent what had happened. 

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