Luxon not enthusiastic about Affindel report seeing the light of day
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After refusing to release details of an investigation into MP Sam Affindel, Rep. Christopher Luxon appears to want to address the negative news cycle rather than let the report’s findings shine. .
It is almost impossible to form a view on whether National Party leader Christopher Luxon made the right call to return Tauranga MP Sam Affindel to the caucuses.
An independent report by KC Maria Dew over the past five weeks concluded that Uffindell “was not involved in any serious behavior alleged in the media,” but did not report any other behavior during the investigation. may or may not have been raised.
The inquiry comes after Affindel’s former flatmate made serious allegations of bullying and intimidation against the Tauranga MP dating back to her University of Otago days.
Affindel had already admitted to being a “school bully” after revealing he physically punched a junior at King’s College and was asked to leave when choosing his seat at Tauranga. rice field.
The National Party’s selection committee and some board members decided there was no need to reveal their actions to Tauranga voters ahead of the by-election, when it surfaced in the media last month. Lacson immediately told him and the public should have been told.
Luxon nailed it when he told the media, “We really trust Maria Du and her independent investigation.”
After accepting Affindel’s remorse for the incident at school, Luxon decides to suspend Affindel from the caucuses and launch an independent investigation after new allegations surfaced during his college days.
The National Party received Dew’s report on Thursday night, more than two weeks after it was scheduled to settle, and the board and senior leadership team digested it over the weekend.
A full caucus was called on Monday and it was decided to welcome Affindel’s return.
According to Luxon, 14 people were interviewed by Dew and provided other written statements.
However, Luxon and Uffindell did not respond to questions about who consented to the interview, although Uffindell did admit to giving Dew the name of his former University of Otago housemate.
Two weeks ago, Luxon told Newsroom: The scope of the report covered all allegations From Affindel’s past, from school days to college.
It is not known how many of the 14 interviewed were witnesses or victims during Affindel’s school and college days or life after leaving Dunedin.
If the only people she spoke to were friendly allies supporting MP’s version of events, it would be a huge call to Dew to conclude that Uffindell did nothing wrong in college. prize.
It is also unclear whether other allegations surfaced about his time at King’s College or St. Paul’s College-Eight in Hamilton (the school he transferred to after being asked to quit King’s College).
Affindel told the media that he was “really shocked by the allegations made by his former housemate.”
“I can’t speak to the details, but I would like to admit that there has been a real breakdown in our flat relationship.
Affindel said the allegations made by a former housemate — causing him to slam her door and jump out of her bedroom window while yelling obscenities and insults — were in fact false to her. It seems to be saying that it was a comment to someone else who did.
Without the report’s findings and not even an edited executive summary, it’s difficult to conclude who said what.
Luxon nailed it when he told the media, “We really trust Maria Du and her independent investigation.”
There is some precedent for this kind of report to be compiled and then published: both bullying allegations against Labor Minister Meka Whaitiri and scandals at workers’ youth summer camps have led to timelines and at least some of the findings. Published.
Mr Luxon seems to think the National Party is beyond such transparency, and given that the world’s attention is now focused on London, he sees himself fleeing and making much bigger headlines. I would be very happy to be able to do that.
If the National Party truly believes Tauranga voters should have known about Affindel’s past before voting in June, then they deserve to know why his name has now been cleared by the party. there is no doubt.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/luxon-not-keen-on-uffindell-report-seeing-light-of-day Luxon not enthusiastic about Affindel report seeing the light of day