The ACT Greens’ handling of allegations against former MLA Johnathan Davis were “largely in line” with Legislative Assembly policy, but they made some questionable judgement calls, Lynelle Briggs AO argued in her independent review, released today.

Mr Davis resigned in November after revelations that he had (legal and consensual, but deemed inappropriate) sexual relations with a 17-year-old, and unsubstantiated allegations that Mr Davis slept with a 15-year-old. No authorities have made any findings about Mr Davis.

Greens MLA Emma Davidson heard of the rumours on 28 October, and reported them to the Greens chief of staff, Guy Bromley, on 30 October. As Mr Davis was away from Canberra, they did not inform party leader Shane Rattenbury until Monday 6 November. The next day, Mr Rattenbury ordered Mr Bromley to conduct an internal review to establish the facts of the allegations. As part of that investigation, Mr Bromley talked to young complainants, and heard stories of more allegations. Mr Bromley reported the matter to the police on Friday 10 November, due to concerns about potential illegal conduct with a minor. Mr Davis resigned on Sunday 12 November.

The Legislative Assembly agreed on 28 November to hold an independent review, over concerns about the Greens’ handling of the allegations was appropriate; and the timelessness and completeness of reporting the allegations to authorities.

In her report, Ms Briggs found that the Greens’ actions were “largely in line” with the Legislative Assembly’s Child Safety Code of Conduct and Policy – except for notifying the Speaker, Joy Burch MLA, of the complaint, as the child safety policy required. Ms Burch was not advised formally of the complaint until after Mr Davis’s resignation. Nor did the Greens seek impartial advice from the Clerk and the Ethics and Integrity Adviser until 10 November. The Greens explained that they did not report the allegations to the Speaker or seek advice from the Clerk because they treated it as a “party matter” rather than a parliamentary one.

Ms Briggs concluded that the Greens had not wilfully or improperly withheld information from authorities about rumours and allegations against Mr Davis.

“But, I do think they were mistaken in assuming that they were in a position to investigate the rumours/allegations. I would go so far as to say that, in hindsight, Mr Bromley should not have met with the young complainant at all and, even with his doubts and concerns about unsubstantiated rumours, he should have reported to the police immediately.”

Ms Briggs criticised the Greens for “paying insufficient regard” to four things. First, the needs and protection of vulnerable young people should come before workplace procedural fairness. Second, the probity standards expected from MLAs, especially when involved in high risk and potentially illegal activities. Third, that criminal investigations should be handled by the police, and allegations involving sexual abuse of children and vulnerable young people should be reported to them within 24 hours. Fourth, the Greens’ perspective was that of a party member, rather than recognising their rôle as part of the ACT Government, raising questions about the delineation between Ministers of the Executive Government and other MLAs from different parties.

Ms Briggs recommended that the Greens Party Room amend their policies and practices and candidate selection processes to ensure their governance agreements comply with Assembly policies and procedures, best practice in terms of handling allegations against their Members, and the Parliamentary and Governing Agreement.

She also recommended that the Legislative Assembly amend its Child Safety Code of Conduct and Policy, policies and procedures, and victim support arrangements for people outside the Assembly reporting inappropriate behaviour by MLAs.

ACT Greens response

Mr Rattenbury and Ms Davidson said they welcomed the report.

“It reflects the integrity and deep concern that we brought to handling this matter, while saying there are different steps we could have taken,” the Greens MLAs said in a statement.

“We accept this assessment. It is part of a learning process that we hope many others will also benefit from.

“At every moment, every member of our team responded to the information provided to us in good faith, with big hearts, open minds, and a strong sense of responsibility to every person impacted.

“The safety and wellbeing of young people is paramount, and we are committed to working within our organisation, across the Assembly and with the entire ACT community to set high bar and meet those shared expectations at all times.

“As stated in the report, from the moment we were first made aware of concerns about Mr Davis’ conduct, our primary concern was to ensure that the concerns were taken seriously and acted on promptly. 

“The report states that the actions of the Greens were largely in line with the Legislative Assembly’s Child Safety Code of Conduct and Policy, that we did not wilfully or improperly withhold any information, and that we ensured the information brought to us was followed up diligently and quickly, then acted upon.

“The Greens have been staunch advocates for believing people who come forward with sex-related allegations, and holding people in power to account. We were driven by those values throughout this process, which the report itself characterises as, ‘a challenging situation… [as] an understatement’.

“The report notes, ‘any political party dealing with such an unfolding nightmare would have struggled to know exactly what to do and when to do it…’

“Yet, it is critically important that we do know exactly what to do and when, which is why we welcome the recommendations in the report. Those include making reporting obligations clearer and more accessible across various Legislative Assembly policies and Codes of Conduct, making reporting obligations on staff and elected representatives more consistent with those in the ACT Public Service, and improving community awareness of the Legislative Assembly’s Commissioner for Standards.

“The ACT Greens take the conduct of our MLAs seriously and believe Canberrans are right to expect the highest standards of behaviour, integrity and accountability from our representatives and members in office. We hold the responsibility you have given us with great privilege and we are all committed to working harder than ever to face up to the urgent challenges facing our community and our world.”