ONLY one person had come forward to talk about their intimate experiences with Greens MLA Johnathan Davis, says ACT Greens Leader Shane Rattenbury in a “detailed account” of  the events that led to the Davis resigning from the Assembly on Sunday evening. 

Davis resigned following misconduct claims last week that relate to an alleged sexual relationship with a 17-year-old male.

The Canberra Liberals are calling for an independent review into how the issue was handled by Rattenbury, the leader of the ACT Greens, and the ACT Greens Party.

In the statement, Rattenbury reveals that only one person had come forward to his office to talk about their intimate experiences with Davis.

“That person was 17 years old at the time of the interactions they described. I also need to be clear that I do not have any information confirming any illegal conduct by Johnathan,” he says.

“There has not been any person come forward to me who has said they were 15 at the time of any sexual interactions with Johnathan, but other people have raised concerns that they believe that did occur.

“If that did occur, it is a very serious matter and I am grateful to those people who recognised its seriousness and had the courage to bring it to my attention. It was with the same concern that my office referred what had been shared with us, to police.

The Greens leader says that on November 6 he was informed of concerns about Davis’ conduct, and asked a member of his  senior staff to conduct initial enquiries to determine the most appropriate next steps.

“The concerns were raised by people who were not personally involved, but who stood strongly by the information they were presenting,” Rattenbury says.

“In the course of his enquiries over the following days, my staff member spoke with a young person who had been in an intimate relationship with Johnathan when this person was 17 years old. 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.

“As my staff member continued his enquiries, he did hear repeated concerns about Johnathan’s engagement with young people, including the possibility that he had engaged sexually with a person under the ACT’s age of consent, which is 16. No such person has come forward, and we have not been able to find any evidence that such an interaction took place.”

The senior staff member gave an initial brief to the Greens leader on November 8. On November 9 they had a further discussion.

“I spoke with people who had raised the initial concerns, which led me to stand Johnathan down from his duties as a Greens MLA – meaning that he shouldn’t come to the office, attend functions or meetings, or engage with electronic communications related to his role as an MLA,” says Rattenbury.

“He accepted this decision. At this time I also informed the rest of the Greens MLAs and the staff directly employed in Johnathan’s office.

“The following morning, on Friday, November 11, we informed the rest of the Greens staff in the Assembly, our party management, the chief minister’s office, the police, the clerk of the Assembly and the ACT Integrity Commission. We provided information directly to our party members, and to the broader community via the media.

“On Sunday night… Johnathan advised me of his intention to resign as an MLA and relinquish his ACT Greens party membership.

“There has been no finding about Johnathan by any authorities. The intimate information that has been alleged about his personal life has caused immense community concern, and distress to him, and the ACT Greens Party Room supports his decision to resign from office.”

Rattenbury says the ACT Greens take complaints and allegations very seriously.

“This involves listening carefully and without judgement to the concerns, and believing people who share their experiences. It also involves providing appropriate fairness to a person who is the subject of the complaints or allegations,” he says.

“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.

“The ACT Greens take the conduct of our MLAs seriously and believe Canberrans are right to expect the highest standards of behaviour, integrity and accountability from our representatives and members in office. To that end, ACT Greens MLAs went through a process earlier this term of  agreeing to standards of behaviour that we expect of each other, in addition to the frameworks that exist in our party, in the Legislative Assembly, and in the law. Consultation with all Greens staff in the Assembly was a part of this process.

“The agreed standards of conduct include a commitment that the Greens MLAs will not tolerate, condone or ignore behaviour or allegations, including those of a sexual nature, that are not consistent with earning and maintaining the respect and support of the people who have elected them to office. I believe we have adhered to this commitment in a timely and appropriate way.

“We are committed to openness, transparency and accountability. Today, following discussions with those involved, we are releasing the report from my office’s internal enquiries into the concerns raised about Johnathan Davis, to enable additional insight into the process we undertook and the rationale behind the decisions we’ve made.

“While we await any further outcomes, I don’t expect the community to just move on. We’ve all been shellshocked. I know there are people who may feel relieved to have shared their concerns, and it’s important that we commend people for doing so.”

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