On the same day, Sharma shared screenshots on social media of messages he claimed were from fellow MPs also alleging bullying by former whip Kieran McAnulty. She said his allegations did not warrant an independent investigation as called for by his Hamilton West electorate committee. Webb told RNZ the allegations were "unfounded and not accepted" and a spokesperson for the Labour Party said it disputed the allegations made by Sharma.ġ5 August - Sharma shares screenshots of complaintsĪrdern told Morning Report bullying was not a widespread issue in party, as accusations of bullying were levelled at another MP. Sharma claimed he was bullied by then junior whip Duncan Webb because Parliamentary Service had informed the Labour Party about his complaint. However, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said the complaint was looked into in 2021 and it was determined the expenditure was for parliamentary business and, therefore, not in breach of the rules. He also revealed he had complained to the Parliamentary Service in August 2021 about alleged misuse of taxpayers' money, which he claimed was never looked into. Sharma hit back with a lengthy statement on his Facebook page, claiming he had been gaslit, shouted at, degraded in front of caucus members, told he was a terrible MP, and that none of his concerns, nor claims against him, had been investigated. Then what has essentially been performance management has been turned into accusations of bullying, I've seen nothing to substantiate that."ġ2 August - Claims of misuse of taxpayer money And an intervention was rightly made to try and correct that situation. "Staff had claimed that they were being treated poorly. He had never approached her directly over his concerns, nor to the caucus which met every sitting week, she said. Later on, Ardern would say it was her understanding a resolution had been reached with Sharma the day before he aired his frustrations to the media over his staffing. The issues at Sharma's office prompted the whip and Parliamentary Service to impose interventions including management training and a hiring freeze. Labour chief whip Duncan Webb said his office became aware of issues between Sharma and his staff a year ago and had been trying to work with him to address these issues as recently as the day before his column was publicised. Parliamentary Service's boss dismissed the allegations.īut the next day, a former staffer to Sharma told the Herald there was an alleged culture of bullying that existed in Sharma's office, which they claimed was so bad they needed counselling. In a column for the New Zealand Herald, the then Labour backbencher claimed MP-on-MP bullying was rampant within Parliament and facilitated by those supposed to prevent it.Īmong his accusations were that the Parliamentary Service stonewalled serious concerns about colleagues' behaviour and instead redirected them to the party's whip, whom - he claimed - would gaslight and victimise the complainant with the intention of threatening them about their long-term career prospects. Sharma has claimed that since then there have been issues not dealt with by the Parliamentary Service in his office and eventually, as more concerns were raised, the situation escalated to bullying by party whips - whose job includes managing conflict and discipline in the party ranks.īut Labour Party leader Jacinda Ardern has repeatedly said Sharma's claims are unsubstantiated.ġ1 August, 2022 - Sharma's first allegations in media In Labour's 2020 election list, Gaurav Sharma was at number 65 and won the Hamilton West seat. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver, Samuel Rillstone Getty Images/ Hagen Hopkins My oil market commentary has a partial supply-side bias based on a belief that the risk premium is often given gratuitous, somewhat convenient, prominence by cheeky souls who handle quite a few paper barrels but have probably never been to a tanker terminal or the receiving end of a pipeline.Former Labour Party whip Kieran McAnulty (now Minister for Racing and Emergency Management), current Labour Party whip Duncan Webb, independent MP Gaurav Sharma, and Labour leader Jacinda Ardern. I am a lively commentator on 'crude' matters for publications and broadcasting outlets including CNBC Europe, BBC Radio, Asian and Middle Eastern networks, via my own website, Forbes and various other publications. Over the years, I have provided wide-ranging energy and oil & gas sector commentary, including pricing, supply scenarios, OPEC, E&P infrastructure, corporations' financials and exploration data. I have worked on all major media platforms – print, newswire, web and broadcast. I am a UK-based energy analyst and business news editor/writer with over 20 years of experience in the financial and trade press.
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