Audrey Young: Speaker Trevor Mallard sparks chaos in the midst of his mission for safer workplace

Speaker Trevor Mallard heads to his office after announcing to media that a parliamentary staff member has been stood down pending an investigation into sexual assault. Photo / Mark Mitchell

OPINION:

It was destined to be a chaotic day at Parliament after Speaker Trevor Mallard said he believed a rapist was working there.

It ended more in confusion than chaos when it was not immediately clear whether the alleged offender or alleged victim had identified himself or herself to Parliamentary Service, the staff employer.

But despite Mallard's less than perfect communications, he has gone some way to bring the parliamentary complex into the 21st century in a relatively short time.

Mallard created turmoil by giving his honest interpretation of the Debbie Francis report he had commissioned, "Bullying and Harassment in the New Zealand Parliamentary Workplace".

He had interpreted some of her descriptions of three extremely serious alleged incidents disclosed to her during interviews as meaning rape and by someone who was still at Parliament.

Mallard did not know who it was but if he did know, he would tell the police, he told RNZ in the morning.

By late afternoon, he told reporters he did know who it was but he was adamant it was not his role to tell the police.

In between, Mallard's honest assessment cast suspicion on all male MPs and some fear among women working at Parliament.

The black and white tiles in Parliament House resembled Grand Central as party leaders and senior MPs made their way to the Speaker's office - or to a meeting with the Vanuatu Prime Minister, Charlot Salwai, who was receiving guests in the Speaker's lounge next door.

Winston Peters lashed out at Mallard for making "repugnant" comments without evidence and Peters suggested he knew more than the Speaker, asserting it was not a person who worked for a political party or an MP.

Some MPs were saying Mallard had an obligation go to the police, some were saying he had an obligation not to go to the police because any allegations made by women to Debbie Francis was on condition of complete confidentiality.

Some were saying it was up to alleged victims to go to the police and while that may have been the moral position, to other it felt as though inaction was tantamount to harbouring a criminal, or alleged criminal.

Some wished Mallard had kept his mouth shut. But perhaps it was him publicly airing his concerns that emboldened one of the three alleged victims to complain to Parliamentary Service about an allegation of assault.

It transpires that the same allegation has been made before against the same person although it is not clear whether the complainant today was the same complainant last time.

The person accused of assault has been stood down while an employment-related investigation takes place. So sensitive is Parliamentary Service that it won't say whether it has engaged an independent inquiry - which it must do if it has previously investigated and dismissed it.

The police could become involved – the police can investigate anything they like without a complainant - but without the evidence of the complainant, they are highly unlikely to prosecute.

If it were to get to the stage of a prosecution, there may well be issues around fair trial.

Mallard commissioned the report after extensive publicity about staff feeling harassed and bullied by particular MPs.

His objective was to make Parliament a safer place to work and an easier place to raise complaints.

Despite some failings over a single day, in the broader picture, Mallard should be applauded.