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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
Jasper Lindell

Another person contacts Greens over Davis behaviour

Greens leader Shane Rattenbury says another person has contacted the party wanting to share information about the conduct of former member Johnathan Davis.

"We don't know the nature of that information and we're examining the best way to have them provide information. It's probably not going to be directly to us," Mr Rattenbury said.

"We think it'd be better to bring an intermediary service to the table to consider that."

Mr Davis, 31, resigned from the Legislative Assembly late on Sunday night after being stood down by his party, which was investigating allegations he had sex with a minor and an inappropriate, but not illegal, relationship with a 17-year-old.

Mr Davis has declined, through a lawyer, to comment on any previous allegations put to him.

Mr Rattenbury on Wednesday said another person had come forward.

"Clearly our endeavours to deal with the situation ... have drawn a degree of commentary that suggest the community think we might have gone about it a different way," he said.

Mr Rattenbury said there was no delay to inform Chief Minister Andrew Barr about the issue due to a lack of confidence, "a point of frustration for the Labor party". He said he did not think to do so while dealing with other concerns.

Greens leader Shane Rattenbury and former party member Johnathan Davis, inset. Pictures by Richard Thompson and Sitthixay Ditthavong

The Greens leader told Mr Barr about the issue on Friday morning, shortly before The Canberra Times revealed Mr Davis was under investigation and had been stood down.

"With the benefit of hindsight, I probably would reconsider that. But I was very focused on the matters we had at hand. We had a lot of complex matters," Mr Rattenbury said.

"We had to think about the welfare of the young person, we were trying to gather information to understand the circumstances we were facing. I needed to be mindful of Mr Davis' safety and well being. I needed to communicate with our own staff.

"Our own staff are really distressed by this. They are very dedicated to their jobs and this week has been really difficult for them. They're here to work, focus on issues for our community, focus on issues for the future. They're distressed by this as well.

Mr Rattenbury acknowledged a "broad spectrum of views in the community" about Mr Davis' conduct.

"Certainly, from a Greens' point of view, I consider that his conduct was not the standard of behaviour that we would expect from an elected representative of our party," he said.

"And that's why I accepted his resignation, because he was clear that he didn't feel he had a future in politics. And I think he was right about that."

Mr Rattenbury said he and the party had been clear they felt they had operated to the best of their capabilities, with a focus on transparency and victim support.

"I am sure that there are lessons to be learned, both for ourselves and for the community more broadly. As a community, we are coming to terms with how to deal with difficult circumstances like this," he said.

"Unfortunately, we see them far too often and so all of us have got lessons to learn on how we've got to deal with these sort of circumstances."

The Greens have begun to reach out to its former Brindabella candidates who could stand for election in the countback triggered by Mr Davis' resignation, but no decisions have been taken.

Laura Nuttall, 24, a former staffer in Mr Davis' office, has been tipped as the likely replacement if she decides to run for the seat.

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