Labour MP Gaurav Sharma: Letter reveals internal party support amid ex-staff concerns & More Latest News Here – Up Jobs

At least three staff who worked for Labour MP Gaurav Sharma claim they raised concerns about him after quitting during his first year as a Labour MP – which allegedly led to a staffing freeze that sparked Sharma’s public outburst against the party last week.

Sharma, who yesterday got support from his Hamilton West electorate committee in a letter to Labour’s caucus and hierarchy, told the NZ Herald he had repeatedly said that if staff had complained about him, Parliamentary Service should investigate him but they 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.”

In another new development, Sharma’s Hamilton West electorate committee has written to the Labour Party and Labour’s caucus in support of Sharma and calling for an independent investigation into the claims he had made.

“Given the serious concerns he has been raising for a long time, we hope [there is] an independent and in-depth inquiry into his claims and give him the fair trial he deserves,” says the letter.

The letter, with more than 20 signatures, said Sharma would continue to have their “unconditional support” until any such inquiry reported back.

Labour Party general secretary Rob Salmond said they had received the letter but would not comment on whether the party intended to investigate the claims Sharma had made – or whether it was considering invoking disciplinary proceedings against Sharma himself. Labour’s rules include disciplinary procedures against those who “bring the party into disrepute”.

One of Sharma’s former staffers told the NZ Herald last week they had to go for counselling after working in Sharma’s Hamilton West office, describing him as “controlling” and the job as “like walking on eggshells”.

Sharma had responded by saying his own complaints about a staffer’s competence was not taken seriously or investigated.

Sharma said the hiring freeze on him was only lifted on Thursday, following a meeting to which he had taken his lawyer. That afternoon, he had sent an opinion piece on the issue to the NZ Herald, alleging bullying against him by MPs and Parliamentary Service.

On Friday night, he also wrote a lengthy Facebook post in which he hit out at Labour and Parliamentary Service for “bullying”, expressing particularly strong opinions about former whip Kieran McAnulty for his handling of Sharma in relation to his office staffing.

McAnulty has not responded to requests for comment. However, last week, Labour leader Jacinda Ardern rejected Sharma’s allegations about bullying but confirmed the party whips had been dealing with him over employment issues. She said that had included the freeze on hiring while they put in place coaching and mentoring.

“I was aware that … those interventions weren’t necessarily welcome.”

Last week, Ardern indicated she was not comfortable with the way Sharma had gone public with his issue.

“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.”

Parliament is in recess this week so Labour’s caucus will not meet again until next Tuesday.

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