.
And the Greens are in turmoil again.
The Greens are facing serious questions over allegations concerning Senator Jordon Steele-John, and how the party has handled them.
Steele-John has taken leave from the party room and will not attend parliament during the investigation. He strongly denies the allegations.
The immediate trigger was a letter to Greens leader David Shoebridge from seven party members, including people reported as current or former staffers.
But here’s an important distinction: those seven should not automatically be described as seven alleged victims.
Shoebridge says none of the signatories asserted direct knowledge of the matters involved.
That is his account of the letter, not an independent finding about all the available evidence.
The reporting does not establish that the signatories personally experienced the alleged conduct. Their request for an investigation and the experiences of people allegedly affected are separate things.
That doesn’t make the concerns irrelevant. It makes properly gathering firsthand evidence essential.
The WA Greens are seeking legal advice about an independent investigation, including how it should operate and whether its findings would be public.
And that’s where the political accountability question comes in.
A party promising an independent process needs to explain what independence actually means.
Who appoints the investigator? Who can give evidence? And who decides what gets published?
“Independent” should describe the arrangements, rather than simply appear in bold on the media release.
My view? People raising concerns deserve to be heard safely, and Steele-John deserves a fair opportunity to answer specific allegations.
Neither principle cancels the other.
The humour here belongs with political bureaucracy, not the allegations or anyone potentially harmed.
And bureaucracy certainly provides material: a process to obtain advice about establishing a process is practically Canberra’s national sport.
But the outcome needs to be more useful than a flowchart.
Establish what happened, examine how concerns were handled, and explain the findings as fully as privacy and fairness allow.
Because public confidence requires evidence and accountability.
Another statement announcing that everyone takes everything very seriously won’t do the job.
Craig Hill is a Brisbane-based author, journalist, teacher, business consultant and social justice campaigner. He is the General Manager of the Australian Book and Language Studio.
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