24 Oct 2018

National Party culture review - political analysis

From Morning Report, 8:10 am on 24 October 2018

Harassment and bullying will come under scrutiny in a review of National Party culture. Leader Simon Bridges is pledging to seek advice, particularly on how to ensure female MPs feel safe at work. The promise comes after allegations of sexual harassment against former National MP Jami-Lee Ross. On Tuesday night Checkpoint obtained a text believed to have been sent to Jami-Lee Ross by a female MP that Mr Ross has admitted having a relationship with. The text is 61-words long and was sent in August. The message - along with other texts - was provided to us by a supporter of the Botany MP with his permission. It includes a slew of abuse and personal insults about Mr Ross' appearance and personality and concludes by saying: "You deserve to die." Jennifer Curtin is Professor of Politics at Auckland University and Tau Henare is a former National Party MP. They talk to Guyon Espiner.