Greens leader Shane Rattenbury say he fully supports Mental Health Minister Emma Davidson, who the opposition has accused of breaching ministerial standards.
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Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee accused Ms Davidson of breaching the rules governing ministers' behaviour, after backtracking on a statement about a complaint made about her behaviour.
Mr Rattenbury on Wednesday said Ms Davidson would continue to have his support for her role in the ACT government.
"When Minister Davidson realised her mistake, she apologised and corrected this communication error," Mr Rattenbury said in a statement.
Ms Davidson had earlier acknowledged she was wrong to say publicly that a staff complaint about her behaviour had not been discussed with her.
Ms Davidson had in fact apologised to the complainant for the way she spoke to the staff member in front of other staff in November 2021.
Ms Lee said Chief Minister Andrew Barr and Mr Rattenbury needed to explain Ms Davidson's conduct.
"The fact that Ms Davidson has then had to backtrack on a statement she provided is clearly in breach of the Ministerial Code of Conduct and is unministerial," Ms Lee said.
The code in part says: "Ministers must act honestly at all times and be truthful in their statements."
Mr Barr said Ms Davidson's apology was consistent with the code of conduct. The code says all complaints about breaches are to be referred to the Chief Minister.
Ms Davidson issued an apology to The Canberra Times on Tuesday for a statement she made last week about a staff complaint made about her behaviour.
"My apologies for the error - a complaint was raised with me in November 2021 about how I spoke to a staff member in front of other staff," Ms Davidson said in a statement.
"This was addressed at the time and I offered both a verbal and written apology, which was accepted by the complainant."
The Canberra Times asked Ms Davidson on Friday whether any current or former staff had made complaints about her behaviour.
"One formal complaint was filed, which has not been discussed with me. The complaint is a confidential matter," Ms Davidson said.
A review of Ms Davidson's office found inexperience, a lack of quality leadership and workplace conflict had contributed to a high rate of staff turnover.
The review was released on Friday after it was the subject of a freedom of information request.
Many Greens staffers first found out about the review at noon on Friday, an email seen by The Canberra Times shows, more than half an hour after Ms Davidson's office advised The Canberra Times of the report.
Ms Davidson told Greens party members in a statement on Friday, seen by The Canberra Times, she welcomed the recommendations and her office was now a "supportive and happy workplace".
"As you can imagine, it was quite a stressful time for all of us and I acknowledge that this, combined with a lack of established processes, led to some teething issues," Ms Davidson posted in an internal party message board.
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The review of Ms Davidson's office also heard stakeholders believed not enough was done to respond to "inappropriate behaviours".
Some staffers who had quit the office also told the consultants internal conflict was the reason they had left.
The report, prepared by consulting firm Proximity, made six recommendations and noted changes to processes within Ms Davidson's office had already improved its workplace culture.
The review, which was commissioned by ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury and Chief Minister Andrew Barr in May 2022, made no direct findings about Ms Davidson's behaviour.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
