Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has disputed allegations of bullying at Parliament made by Labour MP Gaurav Sharma, but says she was aware of issues she described as "employment-related".
In an opinion piece published in the NZHerald on Thursday, Sharma wrote that constituents who elected MPs "would be appalled if they saw even half of what their elected representatives have to bear in terms of harassment from inside the Parliament”.
Hamilton West MP Gaurav Sharma made the accusations in an opinion piece. (Source: 1News)
Sharma claimed if any of his recent colleagues could speak freely, the “list of similar stories with no support for MPs being bullied and no consequences for MPs bullying their colleagues would easily fill a book or two”.
On Friday, Ardern said that Parliament, "like any other workplace must be free from bullying, and that expectation extends to everyone, including MPs".
"While we dispute the allegations he has made, I want to ensure he knows he is a valued member of our team and I want to ensure he is getting the support he needs."
When asked the nature of the issues, Ardern said, "all I've seen is constructive attempts to try and resolve these issues, even when you engage in what you believe is a constructive way, others may interpret that differently".
"It is an employment relationship, there are other individuals involved, not just MPs, and so I need to make sure that I maintain the confidentiality for those individuals.
"I was aware that we were working through some issues, some employment-related issues. I was aware that all parties were working very hard to be constructive around that."
READ MORE: Labour 'aware of issues' after MP's scathing bullying opinion piece
Ardern said she was aware that those interventions "weren't necessarily welcomed, so I was aware of that situation".
"It wouldn't be common for me to be involved beyond that."
Ardern said there had been an exchange of messages with Sharma, but she had not yet spoken to him in person.
She also said that managing staff can be hard, "so our focus with Gaurav from the start has been to take a constructive approach that we hope would set him for the long term as an MP and place coaching and mentoring and other supports around".
"While we were providing further assistance to Gaurav, the Parliamentary Service did put a hiring pause in his office."
She believed temporary staff had been added in the meantime.
1News has approached Sharma for a response.
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