Axed Labor MP Will Fowles breaks silence over sex assault allegations

Axed Labor MP Will Fowles says Dan Andrew’s office had its own agenda in the wake of his sex assault scandal, leaving him “bamboozled” by the claims as he hadn’t done “anything wrong”.

Axed Labor MP Will Fowles has broken his silence over sexual assault allegations he insists are false, but now threaten to end his political career.

The Ringwood MP will return to parliament on Tuesday for the first time since he was forced to resign from the government last August.

But he will remain in the political wilderness as an independent on the crossbench after Jacinta Allan this week ruled out welcoming him back to the parliamentary Labor Party.

“It’s been challenging but I’m very relieved that the process has concluded,” Mr Fowles said on Friday.

“I’m obviously disappointed with aspects of how I’ve been treated.”

Central to that disappointment is what Mr Fowles has described as a political hit job by former Premier Daniel Andrews, who demanded his resignation when allegations were first made.

He said he was on his way to an event on the first Saturday night in August when he got a call from the Lissie Ratcliffe, the chief of staff to former Premier Daniel Andrews.

She told him to cancel the event and make his way straight to the office to discuss a “serious personal conduct matter.”

When he arrived he was told a woman had made an allegation of “serious assault” at a city hotel after drinking at the parliamentary members bar in August.

He was ordered to sign a pre-prepared resignation letter.

The complaint had been made two days earlier, and the Premier’s office have repeatedly insisted they thoroughly investigated the matter before referring it to police.

It centred around a sexual liaison with a ministerial staffer, not employed by Mr Fowles, who said he was not interviewed as part of the investigation.

Will Fowles insists the sexual assault allegations levelled against him are false. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

“It was a fait accompli. It was very clear they spent two days working up a plan of action, not having an investigation, just working out their own agenda,” Mr Fowles said.

“Perhaps I shouldn’t have (resigned).

“I was just completely bamboozled, I’d of course had no preparation for it because I hadn’t done anything wrong.”

Mr Andrews didn’t attend the meeting and, according to Mr Fowles, hasn’t spoken to him since.

Police said this week they had closed an official investigation and decided not to lay charges.

“Police took a complaint, treated it seriously and investigated it thoroughly. That’s the process working,” Mr Fowles said.

“Where it doesn’t work is when people rush to judgement. Where it doesn’t work is if people started implying guilt...when people pick and choose the outcomes they want to adopt.”

Mr Fowles said an overhaul of the parliament’s process for dealing with misconduct allegations was long overdue.

“I think it’s important that we have confidence in a system, and in order to have confidence, you need to have some codification,” he said.

“Right now it’s all reactive, and it just gets cooked up based on the political winds of the day. I don’t think that’s good process.”

Fowles said former Premier Daniel Andrews hasn’t spoken to him since the allegations were made. Picture: Facebook

The Allan government has announced plans for a new parliamentary integrity commission to investigate wrongdoing — including bullying and harassment complaints — against Victorian MPs.

Any person, including MPs, ministers, parliamentary secretaries and members of the public could make reports of misconduct.

That could include allegations of bullying, occupational violence or aggression, sexual harassment or victimisation at parliamentary workplaces.

However, the commission would have no coercive powers.

It would have the power to investigate allegations such as those levelled at Mr Fowles.

“We need good processes,” Mr Fowles said.

“If the bar is set so low, that is that one staffer believes one lie, end of career, who would become a politician?”

Ms Allan said this week Mr Fowles, who remains a member of the ALP, would not be welcomed back to the parliamentary team.

“The wellbeing of staff and their right to a safe workplace is not negotiable and we will always act on any allegations of a serious nature,” she said.

“The Member for Ringwood was asked to resign from the Parliamentary Labor Party in August last year.

“He will not return.The complainant will continue to be supported and their privacy must be respected at this time.”

Fowles and his wife Jess. Picture: Michael Klein.

Fowles after the incident. Picture: Mark Stewart

Mr Fowles wouldn’t be drawn on the comments.

But Greg Barns, SC, national criminal justice spokesman for the Australian Lawyers Alliance, said the treatment of Mr Fowles was disturbing.

“The comments by the Premier that he would never be allowed back into the parliamentary Labor Party is disturbing in that it fails to have regard to the fact that police have conducted an investigation and no charges have been laid,” he said.

“To say that a person would never be allowed back into an organisation, in these circumstances, could be seen to be assuming wrongdoing on the part of that person despite the fact, that as I say, police have investigated the matter and no charges have been laid.

“We should expect our political leaders to respect the rights of individuals in these circumstances.”

Fowles was questioned over the trashing of a Canberra hotel in 2019. Picture: @kelliesloane

In 2019 Mr Fowles was questioned by police after he flew into a rage and smashed in the bottom half of a door at a Canberra hotel.

The MP said at the time that he had been dealing with “addiction and other mental health issues”.

He later told the Herald Sun he had privately been battling mental health issues for 15 years, which included self medicating.

“Five and a bit years into my parliamentary career, it obviously hasn’t gone to plan,” Mr Fowles said.

“I’m hopeful and positive about getting back to work and looking forward to what comes ahead.

“I’m going to complete this term because I promised the people of Ringwood that I would, I’m going to continue doing the work, albeit under slightly different circumstances.”

As for what comes next, Mr Fowles says he’s not yet sure whether he’ll contest the 2026 election.

“That’s a decision for closer to the time, I’m certainly not ruling it out,” he said.