Greens senator Steele-John will not attend parliament next week
Greens senator Jordon Steele-John has confirmed he will not attend parliament next week, after historical complaints about alleged misconduct against him were aired in the media. The Guardian reported that he announced the decision in a statement posted to his Facebook account late on Friday night.
Steele-John is a 32-year-old senator for Western Australia. He said he had considered taking part in Senate estimates hearings, the committee sessions where government spending is questioned, by video link. He was told that would be "unacceptable". Instead, he said he would focus on seeing an independent investigation through to its conclusion.
That investigation concerns allegations that Steele-John acted inappropriately towards women between 2017 and 2025. The WA Greens commissioned the independent investigation, and the complaints have been referred to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission.
The complaints first surfaced in a three-page letter sent on 13 October to Greens leader David Shoebridge, which the Nine newspapers were first to publish. The letter's authors said they had been made aware of multiple allegations of serious misconduct about Steele-John's behaviour in the presence of women. It referred to a sexual harassment allegation from a Greens campaign event in 2024, which the alleged victim had not reported out of fear of backlash, and to an allegation of serious sexual misconduct in 2025. It also cited the nickname "feels on wheels", which the authors said implied he had a reputation for acting inappropriately.
When he announced he would stay away from parliament, Steele-John released a copy of the letter. ABC News reported that he did so at the same time.
Shoebridge has said Steele-John asked for leave and that he accepted it last week, after seven party members wrote the letter urging an investigation. Steele-John disputes that account. In a lengthy statement last Sunday, he rejected the allegations against him and denied he had agreed to take leave from parliament. He accused an internal Greens faction of playing nasty political games by releasing the letter to the media.
His statement also said the Greens Leader's Office received a safeguarding complaint from the alleged victim of the 2025 incident.
