Luke Foley denies ignoring Jamie Clements sex scandal
OPPOSITION leader Luke Foley yesterday attempted to defend his handling of the Jamie Clements scandal, and denied he avoided the issue while on holidays.
NSW
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OPPOSITION leader Luke Foley yesterday attempted to defend his handling of the Jamie Clements scandal, and denied he avoided the issue while on holidays.
Last week, The Daily Telegraph revealed details from staffer Stefanie Jones, who applied for an AVO against former Labor boss Mr Clements after she alleges he tried to kiss her in a locked Parliament House office last year.
Mr Foley came under attack by former Labor Premier Kristina Keneally on Sky News yesterday, over his absence during the scandal engulfing Labor head office.
“Didn't you miss a crucial opportunity to make clear your position on sexual harassment and respecting women in the workplace?” Ms Keneally asked.
Mr Foley said he “talked to the people I needed to talk to.”
“It’s become a summer staple that the tabloid media demands a political leader abandons his or her holiday and returns to face some crisis. My chief of staff contacted me, I spoke to (Federal Opposition leader) Bill Shorten, I spoke to the party president Mark Lennon, I spoke to Jamie Clements and told him I thought in the party’s interest he ought to resign,” Mr Foley said.
Ms Keneally said that “leadership is all about policing the boundaries, it’s about making clear what you will tolerate, and what you won’t”.
“By letting this drip for seven months, as the leadership of the party both you and Mark Lennon in NSW sent a message to women in the party that they don't enjoy the support of the leadership,” Ms Keneally said.
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Mr Foley denied this and said he could not interfere in what was a police investigation. He also criticised a comparison between how the Labor Party dealt with sexual harassment allegations and how Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull dealt with harassment allegations against former minister Jamie Briggs.
“Both gentlemen may be called Jamie but Mr Briggs was a member of Mr Turnbull’s cabinet — a member of his cabinet, in other words he reported directly to Mr Turnbull. Mr Clements is not a member of my parliamentary team, is an employee of the Labor Party organisation,” Mr Foley said.
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