Craig Kelly: Rogue MP’s staffer Frank Zumbo denies wrongdoing

Craig Kelly’s right-hand man is under investigation for alleged inappropriate conduct towards a teenage girl who once worked in his office.

A senior government staffer, under investigation for alleged inappropriate conduct towards a teenage girl, is still working in Craig Kelly’s office despite being the subject of an apprehended violence order.

NSW Police confirmed to news.com.au it was investigating claims made against Mr Kelly’s longtime office manager Frank Zumbo. He has not been charged with any offence and has previously vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

In September last year police from Sutherland, in Sydney’s southern suburbs, successfully sought an AVO against Mr Zumbo, whose job included hiring and managing interns and work experience staff.

The order means Mr Zumbo is banned from going within 100 metres of any place where the teenage girl — who is understood to have once been an intern at Mr Kelly’s office — lives or works.

Mr Zumbo, a former associate professor of law at the University of NSW has been described as Mr Kelly’s right-hand man. He has been with Mr Kelly for nearly a decade.

After Mr Kelly spectacularly quit the Liberal party and moved to the cross bench today, the Prime Minister revealed he had stern words with the Sydney MP about the continued employment of Mr Zumbo in his office.

Frank Zumbo is banned from going within 100 metres of any place where the teenage girl.

No charges have yet been laid and Mr Zumbo has vehemently denied any allegations of wrongdoing.

The St George Shire Standard reported that Mr Zumbo has been under police investigation since April last year over his alleged conduct towards a girl who cannot be identified due to her age.

“This investigation remains live and as such we will not comment further,” NSW Police told news.com.au in a statement.

Mr Kelly told the ABC today his staffer was entitled to a “presumption of innocence”.

“It’s a matter of an AVO. There are no criminal charges against him. He is entitled to natural justice and the presumption of innocence,” he said.

Mr Zumbo’s lawyer said the claims against his client, Mr Zumbo, have not been substantiated.

“Police have had ample time to proceed with an application or criminal charge but they have chosen not to do so. As it stands, that tells me it appears to be an extremely weak case,” he told the ABC on Friday.

However, Mr Morrison — who is facing questions over his own dealings with staffers — said he had concerns about Mr Zumbo for a long time.

“I have long expressed to Mr Kelly my concerns about that staff member and he has long understood what my expectations were about how he would deal with that matter,” he told reporters today.

Craig Kelly quit the Liberal Party today.

Mr Morrison is fending off criticism over his handling of the Brittany Higgins case. Labor say he was “at worst” a part of the cover up in the case of the alleged rape of a former staffer.

Brittany Higgins claims she was raped by a male colleague in March 2019. Ms Higgins was working for Senator Linda Reynolds when she was allegedly raped by another Liberal staffer in her boss’s office at Parliament House after a night out.

Ms Higgins claims she was forced to choose between her job and seeking justice.

Her boss, then-Defence Industry Minister Linda Reynolds, spoke with Ms Higgins about the alleged incident but did not report it to the Prime Minister, who says he retains full confidence in Senator Reynolds.

Mr Morrison publicly apologised to Ms Higgins last Tuesday over the way the incident was initially handled, before announcing he would establish an investigation into workplace culture at Parliament House.

Mr Morrison last Tuesday told parliament that his office first heard about the claims on February 12, but he only found out three days later.

Mr Morrison said the claims were deeply distressing and he had sought to be as “open and honest” as he could.

But on Monday, Labor’s Penny Wong made a series of pointed statements towards the PM in the Senate, arguing there has been no accountability and that his words “ring hollow”.

Scott Morrison is facing criticism for his handling of staffers. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

“We know that at best Mr Morrison leads a government where the culture is don’t ask, don’t tell when it comes to serious criminal allegations, and at worst Mr Morrison himself is part of the cover-up,” she told the Senate.

Today, Mr Kelly quit the Liberal Party — after handing his resignation letter to Mr Morrison during today’s party room meeting.

He confirmed his move to the crossbench was a result of his disagreement with the Prime Minister over alternative COVID treatments.

“I have the greatest respect for Scott Morrison,” he told Sky News.

“I hope he goes on to be one of our longest serving and greatest Prime Ministers.

“I’ll support the government, naturally of course, on all matters of supply, confidence.”

Mr Kelly was suspended from Facebook last week after he shared a series of COVID-related posts to his official MP Facebook page, which has more than 80,000 followers.

The five posts Mr Kelly said got him banned featured unproven claims about hydroxychloroquine by professor Dolores Cahill; a profile of professor Thomas Borody in The Spectator Australia which includes the promotion of ivermectin to treat coronavirus; and claims by pathologist Roger Hodkinson that masks are “useless” for children and “paper and fabric masks are simply virtue signalling”.

Neither of the drugs are recommended by health authorities in Australia to treat COVID-19 outside of a clinical trial.