New Zealand Labour's shocking mishandling of sexual assault allegations has brought the resignation of party president Nigel Haworth, with further consequences likely to hit prime minister Jacinda Ardern's party.
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Ms Ardern announced the departure of Mr Haworth on Wednesday, two days after a Labour volunteer went public with details of a digital rape, allegedly suffered at the hands of a male staffer, who works for Ms Ardern.
The prime minister is now "seeking advice" on his employment, having already barred him from the parliamentary precinct.
Amid growing pressure, Mr Haworth took the fall for overseeing an internal Labour investigation that reviewed and dismissed complaints made against the staffer from several Labour members, including bullying, harassment and sexual assault.
Mr Haworth has maintained at no stage through the party's drawn-out investigation was it clear that the complaints involved sexual allegations.
That position appears to have become untenable after fresh details, reported by The Spinoff website, made it into the public arena and Ms Ardern's hands.
"In the last 48 hours I have read incredibly distressing reports of an alleged sexual assault involving members of the Labour Party," Ms Ardern said on Wednesday.
"On behalf of the Labour Party I apologise to the complainants for the way this matter has been dealt with.
"The party was never equipped to appropriately deal with the issue."
The positions of three yet-to-be-named Labour officials, who conducted the investigation, also appear untenable.
Labour's investigation began in October last year and concluded in July, when Mr Haworth emailed complainants advising of the decision to exonerate the staffer, offering no lines of appeal.
That enraged the Labour members enough to take their misgivings to opposition deputy leader Paula Bennett.
Ms Bennett promoted an open letter from "MeToo Labour" on behalf of the complainants, which requested Mr Haworth's resignation and for Ms Ardern to enact other reforms.
Ms Bennett upped the stakes in Parliament on Wednesday, naming members of Ms Ardern's senior staff who she said were aware of the allegations and chose to "draw a curtain over sexual misconduct and behaviour".
Ms Ardern says she inquired as to the nature of the allegations through the process, but was not informed they were serious and sexual until August.
At that point, Ms Ardern employed a Queen's Counsel to investigate the Labour investigation and allegations.
The scandal is a particularly thorny one for Ms Ardern, who has placed herself within the 'Me Too' movement that aims to call out and end sexual harassment and assault.
Ms Ardern apologised to the alleged victims, and extended an offer to meet.
"Raising an allegation of sexual assault is an incredibly difficult thing to do; for additional distress to be caused through the way those allegations are handled is incredibly upsetting," she said.
"On behalf of the Labour Party I apologise to the complainants for the way this matter has been dealt with."
Complainants have not detailed their allegations to the police.
Australian Associated Press
