Jordon Steele-John says ‘I’m not on leave’ and accuses Greens leader of making ‘bad call’ regarding complaints
First reported Sun, 18 Oct 2026 09:51:48 GMT · Last updated
Analysis updated · By Newsei
WA Greens senator Jordon Steele-John says he is not on leave and accuses the party leader of a bad call regarding complaints about his behaviour towards women.
Why it matters: The incident highlights internal tensions within the Australian Greens and raises questions about how party leaders handle misconduct allegations.
Newsei analysis
Inference, not reporting: this section is Newsei's AI-assisted synthesis of the sources below (nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b:free). Facts come only from the linked original articles.
Jordon Steele-John, a Greens senator for Western Australia, addressed media after complaints were raised about his conduct toward women.
He said he is not on leave and that the allegations are not about accountability but about internal party factionalism.
Steele-John accused Greens leader David Shoebridge of making a bad call in how the complaints were handled.
What we know
Still unclear
- Jordon Steele-John says he is not on leave.The Guardian
- Jordon Steele-John accuses Greens leader David Shoebridge of making a bad call regarding complaints.The Guardian
- Jordon Steele-John says the complaints regarding his behaviour towards women are about factionalism, not accountability.The Guardian
- Jordon Steele-John is a Greens senator for Western Australia.The Guardian
1 source in this cluster
- The GuardianJordon Steele-John says ‘I’m not on leave’ and accuses Greens leader of making ‘bad call’ regarding complaints
<p>Greens senator for WA says complaints regarding his behaviour towards women not about ‘accountability’ but rather ‘factionalism’</p><ul><li><p>Get our <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=cvau_sfl">breaking news email</a>, <a href="https://app.adjust.com/w4u7jx3">free app</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/series/full-story?CMP=cvau_sfl">daily news podcast</a></p></li></ul><p>Jordon Steele-John has accused an internal faction within the Greens of playing “nasty political games” and the leader, David Shoebridge, of pressuring him to take leave after complaints about his conduct were made public last week.</p><p>The 32-year-old Greens senator released a six-page statement on Sunday night after Nine newspapers <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/oct/15/greens-senator-jordan-steele-john-leave-investigation-complaints-ntwnb">reported last week</a> that seven party members had demanded an investigation into allegations he had acted inappropriately towards women between 2017 and 2025.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/oct/18/greens-senator-jordon-steele-john-says-not-on-leave-blames-david-shoe
Sun, 18 Oct 2026 09:51:48 GMT
Timeline
- 2026-10-18 09:51 UTC · The Guardian
He said the Greens leader made a bad call in handling complaints about his behaviour towards women.
- 2026-10-18 09:51 UTC · The Guardian
Jordon Steele-John told The Guardian he is not on leave.
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Explainer, claims and timeline generated automatically from the sources above by nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b:free on Sun, 18 Oct 2026 23:57:48 GMT. Always check the original reporting.