Greens WA Senator Jordon Steele-John has accused a faction within the Greens of playing “nasty political games” and denied being on leave from the party, despite leader David Shoebridge’s announcement last week.
What we know:
- In a near-2,400-word statement posted to social media on Sunday night, Steele-John responded to complaints made about him in a letter by Greens members about allegations he had acted inappropriately towards women (The Age).
- Steele-John claimed the letter arriving at Shoebridge’s office the day after agreeing the timeline for the next preselection was confirmed as “an attempt to influence forthcoming party preselections by deliberately leaking out-of-context or misleading information to smear potential candidates and myself” (The Guardian).
- The senator said he had been pressured by Shoebridge to request leave on Thursday. He said, “It was a bad call from David. We’ve all made those in politics. So, to be clear, I am not on leave” (The Guardian).
- The letter to Shoebridge last week said Steele-John had been referred to in parliament as “feels on wheels”, which the WA senator said he believed originated because he had been emotional during speeches regarding the disability royal commission (The Age).
- “Eventually, I was informed that this phrase, which mocked my disability and my emotions, had taken on a new, more sinister meaning: that I had treated women inappropriately,” he said. “And now, in this letter, the existence of the nickname itself is the allegation” (The Age).