Troubled Labor MP remains in political exile despite police ruling out charges

Ringwood MP Will Fowles has always been a Labor man.

His dream of representing his party again, however, came crashing down this week when Premier Jacinta Allan said there was no chance the troubled backbencher would return to the caucus as long as she remains in the role.

Ringwood MP Will Fowles.Credit: Joe Armao

Her statement on Tuesday came just hours after Victoria Police revealed it would not lay charges against the exiled backbencher who had been accused of serious assault against a government staffer – allegations he strenuously denies.

“He will not return,” Allan said in a statement. “The complainant will continue to be supported.”

Fowles said he learnt he would not be welcomed back not from Allan, but from a journalist who forwarded him the statement.

“I was hopeful that there would be a discussion, and I was disappointed that there wasn’t,” he told The Age on Friday.

“I have not had a conversation with a single elected person about this, it’s all been handled by staff. I think that’s problematic.

“When you call for someone’s resignation, you’d hope you’d have the decency to pick up the phone. I don’t want to go back to any party room that treats people like this.”

After a six-month absence from Parliament House, Fowles will return to Spring Street next week to sit on the crossbench when Parliament returns.

No longer forced to toe the party line and free from a police investigation, Fowles said that while he won’t be a “bomb thrower”, he would assess each policy on its merit.

He said he would work with both sides of politics to deliver better solutions on housing and cost of living.

“Labor done well – Labor living its values – (that) has the capacity for enormous good, but we have seen an incredible centralisation of power and that has frayed the democratic DNA of the party,” Fowles said.

“My values are Labor values and the rank-and-file share these values. It’s fair to say that those values haven’t necessarily been lived out in recent times.”

Five years ago, shortly after he was unexpectedly elected to parliament in the 2018 “Danslide” election, Fowles was forced to face up to his battle with drugs and alcohol abuse.

He sparked headlines in 2019 after a wild night in the nation’s capital when he smashed a hole in the door of a Canberra hotel room after a heated argument with staff about accessing his luggage.

Fowles took months of leave to seek treatment for drug and alcohol abuse and stopped drinking. He was later welcomed back into the Labor Party caucus by then-premier Daniel Andrews.

But over the past five years of his “journey” – as he calls it – he has “enjoyed a drink” at different stages, including in August last year, the night he was accused of serious assault.

Fowles won’t detail publicly what happened that evening, except to say he was at a “government-sponsored drinks event” and then he went to state parliament’s members’ bar.

Three days later, he resigned from the parliamentary Labor Party at the request of the then-premier after his office received a complaint by a female government employee. Andrews’ office referred the matter to Victoria Police.

In October, the 45-year-old was arrested and questioned by police over the serious assault allegation, but has always denied wrongdoing. The Age on Friday attempted to contact the complainant through an intermediary.

Fowles said he was disappointed he wasn’t given a chance to discuss a potential return to the Labor fold, describing his treatment as “fundamentally unfair”.

He said had felt he had been treated inconsistently compared with cases in which allegations had been made against other politicians.

“It’s ultimately delivered up an outcome and I think it’s important that we accept that outcome,” he said.

“I have maintained my innocence right the way through.”

Back in parliament from Tuesday, Fowles has vowed to push for improvements to complaint procedures and workplace practices, so there are clear mechanisms and processes for MPs and staff.

“There is an opportunity now to make the processes better for everyone in the future,” Fowles said.

“There is a dearth of fairness that, I think, is noteworthy.

“Outside of the political bubble, people look at the circumstances and think, ‘That doesn’t seem right’.”

Three years ago, all state MPs were asked to respond to a draft framework that would set out clear pathways for staff, MPs and parliamentary employees to report accusations of bullying and harassment, including appointing a commissioner to sanction MPs.

Last year, the Allan government promised to introduce legislation in 2024 to appoint commissioners in the parliament who would be given sweeping authority to investigate bullying and harassment complaints against Victorian MPs.

Fowles believes a clearly defined code would “cure the ill or reactive decision-making”.

“The processes should be clear,” he said.

Fowles is yet to decide if he will contest the seat of Ringwood at the next state election – scheduled for 2026 – but continues to receive help from family, friends and professionals.

While the past five years have placed an enormous strain on some of his closest relationships, Fowles said his wife and children had offered him continued support during a “challenging period”.

“Like all marriages there are challenges to surmount, but we are a functioning family again,” he said.

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