Labour's Sex Allegations: Two Neglected Aspects

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Gordon Campbell makes two overlooked and extremely important points in this article on Labour's Mishandling of the Alleged Sexual Assault, but they come almost as an afterthought in a footnote at the end when, in my opinion, they should have been at the centre of his analysis.

One. Why did the young women at the centre of the sexual harassment claim not take the matter to the police?

Two. Why has the mainstream and social media's sole focus been to cast doubts about the Labour "process" when National's "process" was found just as wanting last year with respect to the Jami-Lee Ross allegations?

Here is what Campbell wrote:

Footnote: The systemic failings involved extend beyond the Labour Party and the Beehive.

If the Police process of investigating sexual assault allegations was (a) less gruelling to complainants and (b) offered them more hope of a positive outcome, this issue would never have been left to a Labour Party trio of part-time panelists to investigate and to arbitrate upon.

Plainly – as last year’s allegations around the behaviour of Jami-Lee Ross indicated – the internal party processes in both National and Labour are inadequate vehicles for resolving serious allegations of this kind.

The complainants may have felt they had no other available option than taking it to the Opposition, and thus turning their grievances into a political football. Obviously, that is their call. Yet from the outside, it is hard to see how the current political bunfight is going to be any more satisfactory to them than taking the original complaint to the Police would have been.

Comments by other journalists questioned Labour's integrity, virtually called Jacinda Ardern a lair, and no doubt left some people thinking that only Labour is subject to such behaviour.  The conclusion? For an honest, decent, God-fearing New Zealand, vote National!

-- ACW