Other complaints have come forward of sexual misconduct by former ACT Greens MLA Johnathan Davis, party leader Shane Rattenbury revealed today.

“We’ve now had one other person reach out to say they’d like to share information with us,” Mr Rattenbury said. “At this point, we don’t know the nature of that information.”

The ACT Greens are examining the best way to have the person provide the information, Mr Rattenbury said. It will probably go through an intermediary, rather than go directly to the ACT Greens.

“Clearly, our endeavours to deal with the situation we faced before have drawn a degree of commentary that suggests as a community we might go about it a different way,” Mr Rattenbury said.

Acting Chief Minister Yvette Berry yesterday said that an independent inquiry would be held into the Greens’ handling of the allegations against Mr Davis. Mr Rattenbury would prefer an independent inquiry, rather than a political Select Committee on Privileges.

“We’re quite clear about the fact that we operated to the best of our capability and with a focus on transparency, victim support, and making sure we had our reporting obligations fulfilled,” Mr Rattenbury said. “I am sure that there are lessons to be learned, both for ourselves and for the community more broadly.”

While ACT Labor and the Canberra Liberals have queried how long it took to report the allegations against Mr Davis – Ms Berry believes the Greens should have notified the Chief Minister as soon as the investigation began – Mr Rattenbury defended his party’s actions.

“We never saw ourselves as the final determinative agency,” Mr Rattenbury said. “We spent three to four days seeking to ascertain the facts and ascertain our reporting obligations, and then we acted on those reporting obligations. I think most people in the community would consider that a reasonable approach to take …

“We did communicate to the Chief Minister’s office prior to this becoming a matter of public knowledge. That’s how we generally operate. Our two parties have got a no surprises policy. I think the difference seems to be about when we should have approached the Chief Minister.

“We talk about a lot of confidential matters. It’s not a matter of a lack of confidence in sharing that information with the Chief Minister. Our view was that this felt like our responsibility. We needed to do our work, and then my intent would have been to approach the ALP. Things got a little ahead of us because of the story going to the Canberra Times [when the young man approached the media, rather than waiting for the Greens’ deadline] and then getting its own life.”

Mr Rattenbury said the Greens needed to deal with complex matters: to think about the welfare of the young person; to gather information to understand the circumstances; to be mindful of Mr Davis’s safety and wellbeing; and to communicate with Greens staff, many of whom are distressed.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t think to go to Mr Barr earlier while I dealt with all of those other matters, and I realise that’s a point of frustration for the Labor Party. That’s a conversation we’ve had, and we’ll both reflect on it.”

The Greens have had ongoing contact with Mr Davis since he was stood down. “We’ve endeavoured to provide a level of personal support to make sure that he’s receiving the necessary support to deal with what is clearly a distressing period of his life,” Mr Rattenbury said.

However, Mr Rattenbury condemned Mr Davis’s legal but, in his opinion, inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old. (There is no evidence that Mr Davis has slept with a minor.)

“From a Greens point of view, I consider that his conduct was not the standard of behaviour that we expect from an elected representative of our party,” Mr Rattenbury said. “That’s why I accepted his resignation, because he didn’t feel he had a future in politics, and I think he was right about that …

“For people across the Greens, this has been very difficult. Many people have known Johnathan for a long time. They are quite upset by his conduct. They don’t think it represents who we are as a party. It doesn’t represent our values in the way that this has played out. And so for many members of our party, this is a really difficult time.”

The Greens have indicated their willingness to support the young man with whom Mr Davis allegedly had a sexual relationship; that person has not taken up that offer yet, Mr Rattenbury said. The Greens have also provided information on support services available in the ACT.

Discussions have taken place with prospective candidates to replace Mr Davis.

The ACT Electoral Commission will start the process of determining Mr Davis’s successor through a countback process. They are expected to put a public advertisement out this Friday, and then run the count by 29 November.

“Once that’s formalised, we will work with those former [Greens] candidates to understand whether they’re willing to put their hand up and whether it’s one or both of them,” Mr Rattenbury said.

The Greens will soon vote on a deputy leader, and complete a pre-selection process.

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