No strength in secrecy

Andrew Falloon
Andrew Falloon. Photo: supplied
Rangitata MP Andrew Falloon was a White Ribbon ambassador. He wore a white ribbon on his lapel to show he supported the promotion of respectful relationships to prevent domestic and sexual violence against women.

He also campaigned for mental health: in his maiden speech to Parliament in 2018, he said he lost three friends to suicide and later, he grew a moustache to raise money for men’s mental health and suicide awareness.

 

It is now clear such snapshots, posted here-and-there on social media, are only part of the overall picture. Now, the 37-year-old first-term MP will be remembered as having been caught out in a sex text scandal and for setting his mental health — as fragile as it almost certainly is — ahead of any notion of honesty and accountability.

He had already been forced to resign from Parliament when he was yesterday asked to resign as White Ribbon ambassador, for behaviour the group said fell “completely outside" a framework that helped people understand respectful relationships. By then, the world knew he was accused of sending unsolicited, sexually explicit material to women, including a 19-year-old. At least one media outlet had screen grabs of some of what was sent.

It emerged Mr Falloon’s "one-off" incident was part of what party leader Judith Collins would later call a pattern of behaviour. Women would claim he would blame the drink and even his friends for sending the explicit images. Ms Collins would say she was lied to when she determined his fate.

Even so, some of the anger directed at Mr Falloon — a man whose position ought to demand high standards — found its mark on Ms Collins. By yesterday, it was clear her initial response to the developing crisis was neither decisive nor firm.

Some of the anger has its roots in the way the pair announced his retirement, for mental health reasons rather than for unbecoming, appalling behaviour.

In a short statement on Monday afternoon, Mr Falloon said he informed Ms Collins he would not contest the election. He referred to his maiden speech and said another friend had taken their own life "which has brought back much unresolved grief". There was no sense this was anything other than central to his need to retire.

He said he had "made a number of mistakes and I apologise to those who have been affected". Recent events had "compounded that situation and reminded me of the need to maintain my own health and wellbeing". In effect, he was sorry for something he would not tell us about, and his health and wellbeing was paramount.

Mr Falloon said he was getting counselling and thanked Ms Collins for her support. It appeared he would retire on his own terms, with the support of his leader, to get the help he needs.

Minutes later, Ms Collins confirmed Mr Falloon told her he would not stand. She said "the National Party was advised of an issue relating to Andrew late on Friday afternoon and we have dealt with it this morning. Andrew is suffering from significant mental health issues and his privacy, and that of his family, must be respected.”

With no reference to the detail of the allegation, the statement was clearly weighted toward the maintenance of Mr Falloon’s mental health. Messages of support appeared on website stories about Mr Falloon’s resignation; mental health appeared an effective message management tool.

The extent to which issuing incomplete-truths was successful was moot by Monday night, when the first allegation became public. Similar allegations followed and Ms Collins, believing she was lied to when told the first instance was a one-off, told Mr Falloon to resign from Parliament.

This, and subsequent statements, might seem firm and decisive but they are not. They came after Ms Collins failed, in the first instance, to be open and stand up for what is right.

Neither immediately explained why Mr Falloon was summoned to Ms Collins’ office on Monday, and neither immediately encouraged public accountability. Worse, they did so at the expense of the complainants, and those who live with mental health issues but who are as accountable as everyone else for their mistakes.

Comments

She handled it well. She found out about it on Saturday and he was gone by Tuesday.

As I understand from following the story, Falloon initially claimed somebody else used his phone once at a party to send pornographic images. Judging by his own statement to the press afterwards, it seems reasonable to assume he told Collins his poor mental health was somehow responsible.

As I see it, Collins had two choices: she could either explain Falloon's behaviour to be part of a mental illness he was suffering (and be damned as she is here for using mental illness for her own gain) OR she could ignore the mental illness aspect, and be accused of being a cold-hearted Nat.