Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
Jasper Lindell

Speaker considering investigation into Davis allegations handling

Speaker Joy Burch. Picture by Elesa Kurtz

Speaker Joy Burch is considering whether an investigation should consider if serious allegations made against a former Greens member of the Assembly were handled appropriately.

Ms Burch said some of the matters related to the handling of the allegations made against Johnathan Davis, who resigned late on Sunday night, had caused her concern.

The Speaker said she had taken an interest in what information had been provided to Greens leader Shane Rattenbury's office and Mr Rattenbury's public statements about his own internal investigation.

"I have no line of sight what that was, how appropriate it was and if indeed it was appropriate for the matters claimed at the time," Ms Murch said.

Ms Burch said she was concerned about the handling of allegations, mandatory reporting responsibilities and how people were alerted to concerns about inappropriate behaviour.

"I still have many a question that need to be answered and it's only when I start to put those questions forward and get information back can I be clearer about what steps I would have as speaker moving forward," Ms Burch told an inquiry into annual reports on Monday morning.

"I will be seeking information, I'll be getting advice and then that will determine where I go from here," she said.

Ms Burch noted it was open to any member of the Assembly to make a referral to its standards commissioner, Kenneth Crispin KC.

The Speaker said she had first found out about the allegations from reporting in The Canberra Times.

"I personally became aware of the resignation - I was alerted to an announcement - but I found out about it in The Canberra Times. A letter subsequently came to me quite late in the evening last night," she said.

"My source of information has been The Canberra Times in its limited capacity. I find that - I won't make a comment about how I find that, but it's not overly useful."

Mr Davis formally resigned from the Legislative Assembly and his party on Sunday night, two days after The Canberra Times revealed he had been stood down indefinitely by his party after allegations he had sex with a minor and an inappropriate, but not illegal, relationship with a 17-year-old.

ACT Labor and the Canberra Liberals have both expressed concern in the Greens' handling of the allegations.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.