National MP Tim van de Molen found in contempt of Parliament for ‘threatening’ Labour’s Shanan Halbert

National MP Tim van de Molen has been stripped of all portfolios after he was found to have acted in contempt of Parliament, with a recommendation he be censured for “acting in a threatening manner” towards Labour MP Shanan Halbert.

It comes after Labour’s Rachel Boyack complained about van de Molen’s conduct towards Halbert as chairman of the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee on June 29.

The matter related to an exchange between van de Molen and Halbert after the committee wrapped up for the day, where Van de Molen raised his concerns about the lack of questions he was being allocated.

He allegedly stood over Halbert in a threatening way, causing other MPs to gather around Halbert out of concern for his safety - van de Molen has disputed this aspect.

Halbert said he sought to resolve the issue there and at later meetings, but van de Molen wouldn’t accept there was any issue with his behaviour.

Halbert said he even raised it with the National Party whips - Chris Penk senior and Maureen Pugh junior - but they also would not acknowledge there had been any incident.

Speaker Adrian Rurawhe referred Boyack’s complaint to the Privileges Committee for consideration.

In a unanimous decision released today, the committee - with MPs from Labour, National and the Green Party - found van de Molen’s actions to have been in contempt of the House.

“We find that Mr van de Molen’s conduct towards Mr Halbert amounted to threatening him, that Mr Halbert was impeded in the discharge of his duties as a member, and that in doing so, Mr van de Molen committed a contempt of the House,” the report said.

The committee said acting in a “threatening manner toward a member of Parliament on account of their conduct in Parliament, and particularly for their conduct as a presiding officer, is a serious matter”.

“We therefore recommend that Mr van de Molen be censured by the House for threatening a member on account of their conduct as a presiding officer and impeding them in the discharge of their duties as a member.”

Labour Party MP for Northcote Shanan Halbert. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Van de Molen made a public apology in the House today during Question Time, addressing Halbert directly.

He said he had a different recollection of events, but accepted all of the findings.

“I apologise to all those who were in the room but specifically to Mr Halbert, who was most impacted by my conduct. I am horrified at the thought of my conduct having been perceived as threatening.”

Asked later about his wording and if he did accept the descriptions of his behaviour, including standing over Halbert, van de Molen repeated that he accepted all of the findings.

He said he didn’t realise at the time the nature of his behaviour.

An independent review of the complaint found that van de Molen’s conduct “as a whole was aggressive in the sense of being hostile, unprofessional and with an element that was objectively threatening, but not in the sense of physical violence”.

The reviewer also reported that his conduct “caused discomfort for all three of the parliamentary staff who were present at the time and each considered the need to ring for security”.

“None of them described a more enduring impact.”

Halbert said van de Molen’s behaviour was “really intimidating”.

“At the time I was seated and Tim was standing. But I’ve accepted his apology, and I will work with him in the future.

“There’s no place for that sort of behaviour for threatening behaviour or intimidation in Parliament. It’s not just about myself. It’s about my colleagues that were in the room, and particularly the staff and the team of clerks at the time.”

Halbert said he had sought to acknowledge the incident with van de Molen and then through the party whips but they wouldn’t acknowledge there were any issues.

“As a junior whip, should an incident come about my one of my team members, I would act on that and ensure that the incident was resolved as quickly as possible. And that’s not what happened.

“I think the National Party certainly should have looked into it further at the time, understood if there was an incident and resolved it immediately given staff were in the room at the time.”

National Party leader Christopher Luxon said following the decision van de Molen had been stood down from his portfolios, which included being spokesman for Building and Construction, Defence and Veterans, and ACC.

“Tim’s behaviour is not up to the standards I expect of National MPs,” said Luxon.

He expected “high standards” and would hold his team to them.

Van de Molen, who last year had a horrific chainsaw accident that saw him break his neck, back and both arms, has had a “difficult year”, but this was no excuse for his behaviour, Luxon said.

“Tim accepts all the findings and has publicly apologised. He has also committed to seeking coaching support to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

“Everyone makes mistakes, and there is a path back for Tim – provided he can demonstrate to me, the wider National caucus, and himself, that he has learnt from this incident and grown as a result.”

Luxon denied he was slow to act and said he only learned of van de Molen’s actions when it had been referred to the Privileges Committee.

He said he agreed the incident could have been resolved sooner if van de Molen had apologised at the beginning.

The committee found his conduct could not be condoned as normal or acceptable.

“We accept that he considers he did not intend to threaten or intimidate Mr Halbert.

“But the combination of factors in this incident—Mr van de Molen’s physical positioning, his words, tone, and failure to move aside when asked — justify a finding that his conduct was objectively threatening.

“There was an objectively threatening element to Mr van de Molen’s behaviour in standing near Mr Halbert and telling him to ‘stand up’ and in not moving when asked to, to enable Mr Halbert to leave.”