Greens senator Jordon Steele-John denies misconduct allegations and says he is not on leave
Greens senator Jordon Steele-John has denied allegations of inappropriate behaviour, accused a party faction of weaponising rumours and contradicted leader David Shoebridge by saying he is not on leave.
EVENTS & WHAT’S ON
Greens senator Jordon Steele-John has strongly denied allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards women, accused an internal faction of weaponising rumours against him and publicly contradicted party leader David Shoebridge by insisting that he is not on leave. In a near 2,400-word statement posted on social media on Sunday night, the Western Australian senator said he would cooperate with an investigation but rejected the claims as false, non-specific and politically motivated.
The controversy began after a letter reportedly signed by seven Greens members and officials was sent to Senator Shoebridge’s office last week. The letter was said to raise “multiple allegations” about Senator Steele-John’s conduct in the presence of women between 2017 and 2025. Senator Shoebridge said none of the signatories had firsthand knowledge of the matters involved.
Senator Shoebridge subsequently announced that Senator Steele-John had requested leave from the party room, saying, “Senator Steele-John has indicated to me that he sought leave from the party room and I have accepted that request.” He later confirmed that the leave meant the senator would not attend parliament while the allegations were investigated.
But Senator Steele-John said that account was wrong. He claimed he had repeatedly asked Senator Shoebridge not to announce that he had taken leave because doing so would appear to validate the allegations. “I had expected him to understand that without specific allegations, there was no reason for me to take any kind of leave,” he said.
“It was a bad call from David. We’ve all made those in politics,” Senator Steele-John wrote. “So, to be clear, I am not on leave and did not agree to the inclusion of that line within David’s statement.” He also said the Greens leader had “let me and my team down”.
In his statement, Senator Steele-John addressed three matters raised in the letter. The first involved a nickname, “feels on wheels”, which he said had originally been used after he became emotional while speaking about the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability. He said the phrase mocked his disability and emotions, and had later been given a “more sinister” meaning suggesting he had behaved inappropriately towards women.
“Over the years, this nickname would periodically resurface like strategic clockwork, growing in lore each time,” he wrote. “Eventually, I was informed that this phrase, which mocked my disability and my emotions, had taken on a new, more sinister meaning: that I had treated women inappropriately.”
The second allegation concerned a reported Greens event in 2024, which the letter writers claimed had not been reported because of fears an alleged victim would not be believed. Senator Steele-John said no details had been provided, leaving him unable to respond or understand how the matter could be investigated.
The third related to an allegation of serious sexual misconduct made by a woman he had previously dated. Senator Steele-John acknowledged that a complaint had been made but denied wrongdoing, saying the relationship in 2025 had been abusive towards him. He said the complaint was made to the Greens leader’s office, Greens WA and WA Police, and that he cooperated with the police investigation. He said no adverse findings were made against him and no charges were laid.
“This is true. There was a complaint of this nature made about me,” he wrote. “I briefly dated someone in 2025. This person was abusive towards me. With the support of people close to me, I came to recognise that abuse and stopped seeing her.”
Senator Steele-John also said his history as a victim of abuse had become entangled with “political maneuvering”. He claimed that an “unofficial faction” within Greens WA had leaked the letter and misleading information to damage him and other potential candidates ahead of preselections.
“So why has this been pushed to the media now? It is no coincidence that the letter arrived at the Leader’s Office the day after we agreed on the timeline for the next preselection,” he wrote. “It is my opinion that this is an attempt to influence forthcoming party preselections by deliberately leaking out of context or misleading information to smear potential candidates and myself.”
He said his election to the Senate in 2016 from a “highly unwinnable spot” had frustrated some party members whose preferred candidate missed out. He alleged they pressured him to resign the seat and, when he refused, sought to prevent his preselection at the next election.
“This is not accountability; it is factional, and has no place in our party,” Senator Steele-John said. He added that he had expected to share his account when he was ready, but felt silence would now be wrongly interpreted as an admission of guilt.
Despite rejecting the allegations, Senator Steele-John said he would take part in the Greens investigation. Greens WA said the party was developing an independent process to assess the allegations and would not comment further to protect the integrity of that process.abc.net+1
The dispute has deepened pressure on the Greens, with party insiders calling for public findings from the inquiry. Senator Shoebridge’s office was contacted for comment following Senator Steele-John’s statement.
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