Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern this afternoon has answered questions on alleged bullying within her party following claims made by Labour MP Dr Gaurav Sharma.
The Hamilton West MP alleges "rampant" bullying within Parliament, including between MPs.
In a social media post at 3pm today, Sharma claimed he had provided screenshots of messages to the Prime Minister's chief of staff when he made complaints about bullying in December last year.
He attached some of the messages to his social media post; however, it was lacking dates.
One of the messages said: "I fear I will have serious mental health issues staying here bro."
"I feel like I'm being poisoned," another message read.
Sharma went on to say in his post that after his column alleging bullying in The New Zealand Herald last week he was told not to talk to media and instead raise issues with the party whips or leader.
"But that's exactly what I have tried to do for last 1.5 years without being heard at all," Sharma claimed.
"And now I am being silenced again as such the bullying continues. I have been driven to this point because even now the party and its leadership refuse to believe that there is a problem. It's a sad day for our democracy."
Sharma said in his post the complaints made last year were about then chief whip Kieran McAnulty and his alleged bullying.
On Sharma's latest social media post saying he will have serious mental health issues, Ardern said Labour had been concerned about ensuring the wellbeing of MPs.
Resolution would be sought this week at a special caucus meeting, Ardern said at the weekly post-Cabinet press conference.
Asked whether she agreed mental health issues were present in her caucus, Ardern acknowledged Parliament was a tough place to work but outlined the various support mechanisms in place.
Ardern was wary to get into details about the employment issue concerning Sharma but said she was confident tools were used to support those involved.
Asked whether she would investigate former senior whip McAnulty or current whip Duncan Webb, Ardern said she had seen messages between parties and that Sharma hadn't welcomed some of the interventions. She said the messages didn't substantiate Sharma's claims of bullying
Caucus will convene this week, but Ardern said she couldn't predetermine what it would decide.
She said it wasn't unusual for caucus to meet in a recess week, citing the number of times it met to discuss Covid issues.
Ardern was confident the communication between the parties involved - whips, PM's office, Sharma - was above board.
Ardern said some processes involved in supporting Sharma and his staff could have moved faster but acknowledged it was still early days.
Caucus would consider how Sharma publicly released his allegations and whether it warranted any consequences, Ardern said.
She didn't believe it was in anyone's interest to get into the communication conducted between her and Sharma or Sharma and the party.
Asked whether other MPs had brought up their own issues or agreed with Sharma, Ardern said she had heard from no one who had been allegedly bullied by the whips.
She acknowledged there would be times that MPs wouldn't agree with whips but said this wasn't the same as bullying.
Asked whether she thinks there should be an independent avenue for MPs to go down if they have concerns about their whips, Ardern said the next rung up would be the leader and deputy leader of the party would be a source of aid should MPs need it.
She did believe it would be appropriate to have an independent person or body for MPs to approach as well as existing avenues. "Having that extra person would only benefit this environment," Ardern said.
On claims against McAnulty, Ardern again said she hadn't seen evidence that would substantiate Sharma's bullying claims.
Asked whether the relationship with Sharma can be salvaged, Ardern said she would leave it to caucus.
Ardern said the caucus meeting would include the team coming together, Sharma would be a part of that meeting and they would discuss what the next steps were.
Ardern wouldn't confirm whether the caucus meeting would end on a vote on Sharma's future, as it may not call for that. She accepted resolution efforts could have been made in a quicker fashion.
On any other employment disputes, Ardern said disputes that were ongoing or repetitive may reach her but if they were singular, she may not be informed.
Ardern confirmed she could not provide any numbers on any other employment disputes involving MPs currently.
On her personal feelings on the Sharma saga, Ardern said her view was that she would have hoped not to be in this position in the first place. She said she "genuinely" wanted to hear what the thoughts of Sharma's peers were.
'A number of issues at play'
On RNZ this morning, Ardern said Sharma's allegations did not warrant an independent inquiry as called for by his Hamilton West electorate committee.
Speaking to the Herald this morning, Sharma said that was "unfortunate" and felt everybody involved should "have an opportunity to clear their name".
On Friday, Ardern referenced her apparent displeasure with how Sharma publicly raised his concerns through a Herald column.
"Clearly, there are a number of issues here at play and that would be one of my primary concerns ... because it relates to other staff members, it does really raise a number of concerns," she said on Friday.
Asked whether he suspected he would be disciplined by the party, Sharma did not want to speculate.
"It's really up to them, I can't decide for them.
"As I said, I just hoped for a genuine trial and resolution, but obviously that's not happened."
Sharma wanted to clarify his mental health hadn't been negatively impacted since going public, saying he was sleeping better than he had been in the last 18 months of dealing with the issue and was focused on working for those in his electorate.
It is understood at least three staff who worked for Labour MP Gaurav Sharma had raised concerns about him after quitting during his first year as a Labour MP - which allegedly led to the staffing freeze that sparked Sharma's public outburst against the party last week.
But Sharma has now received support from his Hamilton West electorate committee in a letter to Labour's caucus and hierarchy in which they describe the MP as "incredibly conscientious" and who has their full support.
The letter, obtained by the Herald, urges the party to independently investigate his claims.
The saga has entered the fifth day, following Sharma's explosive column on nzherald.co.nz last Thursday, in which he blindsided the Labour Party with claims that bullying was rampant in Parliament, and that he had been subjected himself to bullying from another MP.
Sharma told the Herald yesterday he had repeatedly said that if staff had complained about him, Parliamentary Service should investigate him but it had not done so, despite his wish to clear his name.
Sharma said Parliamentary Service and Labour's former whip Kieran McAnulty had also refused to investigate his own claims that one staffer was "incompetent" and not up to the job – and his claims that McAnulty had bullied him while dealing with Sharma's staffing issues.
"Why wouldn't they investigate me as I have repeatedly asked? Even their letter in May said they won't investigate me to clear my name. I have repeatedly said that if there are any claims [by] any staff, please investigate it. I have been the only one who has been asking for an investigation [into] both sides, but they have refused it."
He said some of the claims against him were "beyond ridiculous, some are even fabricated" and evidence in his favour from another staffer had been ignored.
Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero has now also responded to an allegation by Sharma that an MP and their staffer misspent Parliamentary funding – but that Parliamentary Service had not looked into it and had instead alerted the Labour whips' office of his complaint.
Gonzalez-Montero told the NZ Herald that was raised last year and he had looked into it and considered the spending was for parliamentary business and within the rules.
"It related to a Wellington-based staff member travelling to a member's electorate office for the purpose of team building and assisting the wider team. This is normal practice for many members when establishing a new team which has staff dispersed in different regions."
However, Sharma told RNZ "they [Parliamentary Service] definitely did not investigate it". He alleged the misspending was "hushed".
He also questioned why the Parliamentary Service informed the Labour Party about his complaint. Sharma claimed he was bullied as a direct result.
