We welcome the report from the independent inquiry into the handling of allegations against Johnathan Davis.
It reflects the integrity and deep concern that we brought to handling this matter, while saying there are different steps we could have taken.
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.
