In short:
Greens senator Jordan Steele-John has addressed allegations of inappropriate conduct towards women.
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John → address → women
In a public statement on social media, he denied any wrongdoing and blamed the public fallout from the allegations against him on party "factionalism".
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he → deny → factionalism
Senator Steele-John says he is not on leave and the matter is now subject to an internal Greens investigation.
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matter → say → investigation
Greens senator Jordon Steele-John has denied allegations of inappropriate conduct raised in a letter to the Greens, which he says included false allegations of sexual assault, and blamed the public fallout from the allegations against him on party "factionalism".
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he → deny → factionalism
The Greens have been in crisis management since the existence of a 47-page dossier surfaced about how the WA Greens would manage media coverage of allegations made about Senator Steele-John.
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Greens → surface → John
It was previously reported Senator Steele-John had taken leave from the party room last week after a letter from seven party members was sent to the office of Greens leader David Shoebridge.
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letter → report → Shoebridge
According to media reports the letter alleged the writers were aware of "multiple allegations" about his behaviour in the presence of women, although none of the writers was said to have direct knowledge of "the matters involved", according to Senator Shoebridge.
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none → accord → Shoebridge
In a public statement on social media, Senator Steele-John said, among the false allegations made against him, was an allegation of sexual assault, which police had investigated and made no adverse findings against him, with a finding of no charges.
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police → say → charges
He said that, with respect to that complaint, he had faced abuse and threats before the original complaint to police was made.
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complaint → say → police
Senator Steele-John addressed several other allegations which he said were put to him by a journalist, which are now the subject of an internal Greens investigation.
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which → address → investigation
He said a nickname others used to refer to him, "Feels on wheels", had grown from its original meaning to something "more sinister".
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others → say → something
"Other parties started using [the name] to refer to me after I became emotional early in my career while giving speeches about the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of Disabled People," he said.
"
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he → start → People
This phrase, which mocked my disability and my emotions, had taken on a new, more sinister meaning: that I had treated women inappropriately."
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I → mock → women
The senator said his experience as a victim of abuse had collided with "political games", and denied he had taken leave after the allegations surfaced.
"
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allegations → say → leave
I had hoped to be able to share all of this when I was ready, but because of a political clique in Greens WA and a leader facing his first serious test of leadership, I feel that the silence of self-protection will be [and has been] perceived as the silence of guilt," he said.
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he → hop → guilt
The senator claimed an "unofficial faction" of the Greens WA branch had released a letter detailing the allegations against him.
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faction → claim → him
It is factionalism, and it has no place in the Greens," he said.
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he → have → Greens
In a statement, a Greens WA party spokesperson said they were "putting together an independent process to assess the allegations".
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they → say → allegations
"To ensure the integrity of that process, we will not be commenting further at this time," the spokesperson said.
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spokesperson → ensure → time
Senator Steele-John said he had asked Senator Shoebridge "not to announce that I had requested leave" as it would appear to validate the allegations against him.
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it → say → him
"I had expected him to recognise that absent any specific allegations, there was no procedural need for me to take leave of any kind," Senator Steele-John said.
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John → expect → kind
We've all made those in politics.
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We → make → politics
"So, to be clear, I am not on leave and did not agree to the inclusion of that line within David's statement."
Senator Shoebridge's office has been contacted for comment.
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office → agree → comment
The Aporia
