Senator blames 'factionalism' for misconduct claims

Senator Jordon Steele-John denies misconduct claims, blaming factionalism within the Greens party.

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Senator Jordon Steele-John, a Greens senator, is being investigated over accusations of misconduct towards women. In an open letter, Steele-John claimed that he is the victim of a years-long smear campaign coming from within his party.

According to Steele-John, 'nasty political games' have weaponised elements of his personal history, including a nickname 'feels on wheels' that was originally a slur used by opponents to mock his disability and emotions. He welcomed the probe into the allegations, which are now in the hands of the party's WA branch.

Steele-John accused Greens leader David Shoebridge of effectively trying to force him to take leave from the party room on Thursday when the allegations became public. However, Shoebridge denied any prior knowledge of the allegations and claimed that he had not agreed to include a line in his statement about Steele-John taking leave.

Seven Greens members had penned a letter to the party leader on Tuesday night, demanding an investigation into the accusations of Steele-John's behaviour in the presence of women. Steele-John claimed that the letter's authors had not outlined any allegations in detail but vowed to participate in any investigation into specific incidents.

Steele-John also claimed that it was no coincidence that the letter had been written the day after the party had agreed on a timeline for the next preselection. He stated that this was an attempt to influence forthcoming party preselections by deliberately leaking out of context or misleading information to smear potential candidates and himself.