Paula Bennett calls for Labour Party staffer to be stood down after new allegations of sexual assault published

September 9, 2019

Paula Bennett is calling on Jacinda Ardern to immediately stand down one of her office's staff after a Labour Party member described an alleged sexual assault at the hands of the man.

An account of the attack, which the woman says took place in February of 2018 at the hands of a man who she says has significant influence and connections within the party, was published today by The Spinoff .

The Spinoff reports that the man concerned may still be employed in the office of the Labour leader - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern - at Parliament.

The allegations are not related to the Labour Party Summer Camp case, which was before court last week and was settled when the accused pleaded guilty to amended charges.

The complainant in this case told the Spinoff she was invited to the man's house on the premise of carrying out official Labour Party work, before the man sexually assaulted her on the floor of an adjoining home office.

She said she tried to resist the man, but was violently subdued and silenced, and that she tried to attract the attention of the rest of the household by banging on the ground with her feet.

"I just wanted someone to come upstairs - anyone," the woman said.

She said the attack lasted between 10 and 20 minutes before the man stopped and she left the house as quickly as she could.

The woman took a complaint to the Labour Party after being encouraged to speak up after the summer camp investigation was announced in February, but says her complaint was swept under the rug, with her testimony not accurately recorded.

She said she met with Labour Party President Nigel Haworth and Assistant General Secretary Dianna Lacy at Wellington Public Library in March, and says she expressly described her sexual assault, both verbally and in writing to them.

Following that meeting, Labour's highest governing body, the NZ Council, set up a panel to investigate the woman's claims, as well as claims made by six other party members against the same man.

At the panel hearing later in March, the woman says she again expressly detailed being sexually assaulted by the man.

The Spinoff reported that the Labour Party disputes that they were at any point told of a sexual assault, either at the initial meeting, or at the investigation panel hearing.

On April 26, the woman wrote to the panel asking to be provided the testimony they had recorded from what she said, as was offered during the March hearing.

However, before receiving the notes, a decision was reached by the panel that no action should be taken against the staffer, and the NZ Council accepted that recommendation.

She received the testimony recorded by the panel 10 days later, and says no mention of her sexual assault was present.

A month after the recommendation was accepted, the NZ Council then decided that an appeal against the decision should be allowed - against the party's constitution.

Mr Haworth has said an appeal against the ruling is currently underway by "an experienced Queen's Counsel" which is "reviewing the original investigation and its findings".

Mr Haworth has also told the Spinoff in a statement that "it’s important to be clear that none of the complaints the party investigated related to sexual assault.

"The person leading the original review made it clear to the complainants that the party would never be the appropriate body to handle allegations of that nature and that they would need to be investigated by the police."

A spokesperson for police said that "in general police are not able to respond to queries which seek to establish whether a specific individual is or has been the subject of a police complaint or investigation".

Paula Bennett calls for staffer to be removed

National's Ms Bennett, who wrote a post earlier this year saying she had been contacted by some of the complainants against the man, today called for the staffer to be immediately stood down.

"The staff member accused of these violent acts needs to be stood down and removed from Parliament immediately until an earlier investigation into his conduct is completed," the National Party Deputy Leader said in a statement.

"Any other workplace would take this sensible step to ensure the safety of its entire staff.

"The Prime Minister cannot distance herself from this issue. The alleged attacker works in her office. She would be rightly criticising any other organisation that handled something like this so badly.

"Labour doesn't need an investigation into whether this was handled appropriately at the beginning – that much is blatantly clear.

"The victim who has spoken up today is incredibly brave. She deserves to be respected, and to not have to live in fear. It's concerning to read reports that parts of her testimony appear to be missing.

"She is not alone. Five people have now come forward to me for help because they don’t feel they have been taken seriously. Two other women have similar stories of sexual assault and numerous others of intimidation and bullying all by the same perpetrator."

The Labour Party was approached by 1 NEWS for comment this morning.

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