Greens MP Jenny Leong accused of political hit on NSW colleague Jeremy Buckingham

Jenny Leong has been accused of using parliamentary privilege to “destroy” a fellow Greens MP over sexual harassment claims.

NSW Greens MP Jenny Leong has come under fire over her use of parliamentary privilege to make sexual harassment allegations. Picture: AAP

Greens upper house MP Justin Field has come out in support of his colleague Jeremy Buckingham over sexual harassment allegations and lashed Newtown Greens MP Jenny Leong for raising them under parliamentary privilege.

Mr Field said Ms Leong had used the allegations as a “political weapon” and had launched an “orchestrated political hit” on his colleague.

Highlighting the huge split in the Greens ahead of the state election in March after another MP, Cate Faehrmann, backed Mr Buckingham, Mr Field’s statement read: “This week Greens Member for Newtown Jenny Leong used parliamentary privilege to publicly and politically destroy another Greens MP.

“I did not support her making that statement and she does not speak for me or the Party I feel I belong to.

“The speech in parliament referred to allegations of sexual harassment made against Jeremy Buckingham that have been subject to an independent investigation as per the NSW Greens policies.

“The report by the independent investigator was conclusive and recommended no further action be taken against Jeremy by the Party.

Greens MP Justin Field.

“Did the report prove innocence or guilt? No it did not, but it is a dangerous path to go down for members of the public and politicians to then administer justice in their own form.

“These sorts of issues can only be dealt with independently and confidentially if anyone is to have confidence to make complaints and confidence that their evidence will be heard fairly.

“This is especially critical in the understandably partisan environment of a political party.

“What I do know however is that from the very start this process has been used by some in our Party as a political weapon.

“I have witnessed over many years the abuse of complaints processes inside the Greens to smear and undermine the work of certain MPs and activists.

“Almost entirely these processes have been used against MPs and members who are often branded as the environmental Greens or supporters of Jeremy Buckingham.

“Jenny’s statement was first and foremost an opportunistic effort to destroy and a continuation of a relentless effort by some in the Greens to use this complaint to force Jeremy out of the Party.

“At the Greens Party Room just hours before her statement Jenny threatened to use parliamentary privilege to call for Jeremy’s resignation and to allege other unspecified allegations if he did not resign.

Jeremy Buckingham. Picture: AAP

“The statement from Jenny Leong was an orchestrated political hit. It was not designed to improve the Party’s processes or ensure a safe space for women or others.

“It was calculated, co-ordinated with other people and timed to release statements on cue.

“It was live streamed on Facebook with deliberate turn-to-the-camera moments for maximum impact. The media was backgrounded and ready to go.

“Under Parliamentary Privilege Jenny used hearsay and innuendo to convict.

“No organisation should tolerate this kind of behaviour.”

Former staffer Ella Buckland made a harassment allegation against Mr Buckingham over a 2011 incident and an investigation found there was not enough evidence to sustain the accusation, but Ms Buckland has described the accusation as flawed.

Mr Buckingham denies the allegation.

Ms Buckland has responded to Mr Field’s Facebook statement and said she told him in 2015 about the alleged incident.

“On the 21st March 2015 Justin Field visited me at my house to meet my child. Me and Justin were friends from parliament, and had remained close since I left.” she wrote.

“On this occasion I told Justin about the incident with Buckingham. He was very upset for me.”

Ms Buckland said Mr Field failed to act as her witness.

Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham is resisting pressure to stand down after the state party joined calls issued by his colleagues and leader Richard Di Natale for him to step down.

When asked if he was going to aside in light of the Greens NSW statement, Mr Buckingham said: “I’ve been democratically elected to the parliament and to the NSW Greens Legislative Council ticket by a ballot of all members.”