Focus Live: PM Jacinda Ardern gives press conference in Hamilton
The Labour staffer at the centre of allegations of bullying and sexual assault has resigned.
"I have enjoyed my time working in Parliament, but today have made the very difficult decision to resign because of the stress of the situation, and my wish not to be a distraction to thework of the Government," the staffer said in a statement.
"I adamantly refute the serious allegations made against me. I co-operated fully with the initial inquiry.
"I am co-operating fully with the Dew inquiry that is now underway, and will continue to do so, having been assured that this process will be fair to all parties."
This is the first public statement but the staffer, who was the subject of an internal investigation from the Labour Party earlier this year following seven formal complaints about his behaviour.
That investigation cleared him of wrongdoing, but is now being reviewed by Maria Dew, QC, after the complainants said the process was unfair and sexual assault claims were ignored.
The staffer's lawyer said in a statement that the staffer was in the distressing situation of a further inquiry, having been cleared by a previous one.
"The toll that is being taken on him is severe," the lawyer said.
"Given that this inquiry is currently being conducted, I have advised my client that it is completely inappropriate for these matters to be litigated in the media, and he will not be doing so."
The staffer, who was employed by Parliamentary Service, had been working away from the parliamentary precinct since media reports first surfaced about the complaints five weeks ago.
One of the complainants, a 19-year-old volunteer, has claimed that the staffer attacked her in a private residence in February last year.
She said that she told Nigel Haworth, who resigned as Labour Party president yesterday, and the three members of the party's investigating panel about what had happened. Haworth and the panel dispute this, saying they were never told about a sexual assault claim.
One of the panelists, Tracey McLellan, is now the acting party president.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with Nigel Haworth, who resigned as Labour Party president yesterday. Photo / Greg Bowker
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has confirmed that the man's swipe access had not been used, but she conceded that that did not mean he had not been on the premises, or had not used someone else's access card to gain entry to a parliamentary building.
At least one of the complainants had said that the staffer had been seen on the parliamentary premises in the last five weeks.
Some of the complainants were also angered that he had been present a party events, though Finance Minister Grant Robertson has said that people's safety had always been given the highest priority.
The staffer's resignation is likely to be welcomed to the complainants, who said that Haworth's resignation was a step forward but the issue of safety remained.
"We must also not forget that there is still a person facing these serious allegations in the Party, and we need to take immediate action to ensure that no more people can be harmed," a representative of the complainants said following Haworth's resignation.
Earlier today, Ardern would not be drawn on whether Finance Minister Grant Robertson had talked to her about sexual assault claims.
Robertson has also refused to say when he was told about sexual assault claims.
Complainants have claimed that Robertson was told about the claims on June 30.
Ardern would not say whether anyone else's job was on the line, saying she would wait for the review of the process and the complaints from Dew.
She said the terms of reference for Dew's review were being finalised with input from complainants, and they needed to be wide enough to allow Dew to cover what needs to be covered to the satisfaction of the complainants.
Yesterday Ardern said that she was seeking advice on what could be done about the staffer's employment status, keeping in mind that none of the complaints about him had been to his employer.
A complaint had been laid with Parliamentary Service, but it was not related to the staffer's employment.
