Greens name candidate facing rape complaint
The Greens candidate stood down pending an investigation over rape allegations has been outed by his party as Dominic Phillips.
Victoria State Election
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The Greens candidate stood down pending an investigation over rape allegations has been outed by his party as Dominic Phillips.
Mr Phillips is standing for the seat of Sandringham and will still appear on ballot papers for tomorrow’s election.
He was ordered to stop campaigning yesterday after the Herald Sun revealed a woman had made a formal complaint to the Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam accusing the candidate of raping her.
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The Greens issued a statement yesterday confirming the investigation, without naming the candidate.
But this morning, Dr Ratnam revealed Mr Phillips’ identity on ABC radio to protect other candidates from being tainted by the issue.
“It is important voters have confidence when they go to the ballot box,” Dr Ratnam said.
“This is a very, very serious matter and we have tried to have a fair and balanced approach for all concerned.”
The party said it would respect the woman’s wishes and not reveal her identity.
In her complaint, the woman had implored Dr Ratnam to request the man step down and to “take this seriously as a woman, and as a leader”.
“I don’t believe he is the sort of man you want working for the Greens, a party that claims to believe women, support them and wants to make positive social change for Australian women,” she said.
“He coerced me into sex I did not want to have and raped me. On another occasion I remember having to physically push him off of me when he would not listen to me saying no. I … only just discovered that he was running as a candidate for the Greens,” she alleged.
“Seeing him running in a political race, and the possibility that he will gain some amount of power, makes me sick to my stomach,” the woman wrote in her complaint, which has been seen by the Herald Sun.
“The news hit me very hard and making the decision to say something or not has been a heavy burden. I never made a police report.”
The Herald Sun is not suggesting the allegations are true, only that they have been made.
The paper has approached Mr Phillips directly for a response to the allegations, and has asked the Greens to request a comment from him, which will be published as soon as it is provided.
Following the complaint, Dr Ratnam contacted the woman, telling her: “We will now start the process of immediately reviewing his candidature.”
And last night, a party spokesman said the candidate had been ordered to withdraw from all campaign-related activities pending a formal investigation.
The Greens have faced a string of scandals during the election campaign, with concerns raised that the party has a cultural problem.
Earlier this month, the Herald Sun revealed that the party’s Footscray candidate Angus McAlpine had been the lead vocalist in a rap outfit called Broken Aesthetiks, whose songs regularly referenced “b****es” and included homophobic slurs.
The party has stood by Mr McAlpine.
Upper House candidate Joanna Nilson stood down after Facebook posts in which she bragged that she was the “baddest shoplifter there is”.
Last week, it was also revealed the social media account of a staffer working for Greens Northcote MP Lidia Thorpe was littered with posts about porn, fat fetishes and misogynistic slurs.
The alleged rape victim made the complaint to Dr Ratnam about 8.30am yesterday.
In an email to her, Dr Ratnam assured the woman the matter was being taken seriously and that immediate actions were being taken.
“Thank you for bringing this very serious issue to my attention,” Dr Ratnam wrote.
“I am sorry to hear of the experience that you have had. We take matters of this nature very seriously and are committed to acting swiftly.”
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews yesterday reiterated that he would not strike a post-election deal with the Greens if the party held the balance of power, accusing them of having a “toxic culture” around women.