Jordon Steele-John misses NDIS scrutiny as Greens deadlock

Jordon Steele-John has missed the first day of Senate estimates, a session where ministers and officials answer questions on government policy. The absence comes more than one week after the Nine newspapers reported a three-page letter calling for an independent investigation into the Western Australian senator's conduct.

Steele-John is the Greens spokesperson for disability. He was scheduled to question officials about the National Disability Insurance Scheme, which is undergoing major changes through the end of the decade. In a statement issued late on Friday, he explained that he explored participating digitally but was told that arrangement would also be unacceptable. He said he would instead focus on the independent and timely investigation he hopes is soon commenced by the Greens WA.

The dispute centers on whether Steele-John agreed to take leave from parliament. David Shoebridge, the party leader, announced earlier this month that the senator would step aside while an independent probe examined the claims. The letter cited secondhand allegations of inappropriate behavior towards women between 2017 and 2025. Steele-John rejected the allegations and denied agreeing to leave. He accused an internal faction of the WA Greens of playing nasty political games by releasing the letter to the media.

Shoebridge maintains that the senator agreed to leave but concedes he cannot compel the move alone. Under party rules, only a secret ballot in which two-thirds of the party room, meaning more than seven members, votes to expel him would force compliance. Such a step is considered drastic. If the WA Greens' independent investigation clears Steele-John, his standing in the party room would still be badly damaged.

The situation is a test for Shoebridge, who has been in the leadership role since earlier this month. The Greens pride themselves on consensus decision-making, and Shoebridge would need the party room's backing to pursue expulsion. His handling of the issue will set the tone for the rest of his leadership and could lead to a bitter fight with Steele-John.

For many supporters, allowing a federal member accused of sexual misconduct to continue public duties would have been hard to accept, even though no complainant has directly come forward. The concern is sharpened by a backlash against the #MeToo movement in mainstream society. Whether adversaries raised the allegations for advantage in the state's pre-selection is part of the picture, as rumours have followed the senator throughout his time in office.