Justice minister says groping scandal at the Human Rights Commission 'disturbing'

Thursday, 15 February 2018

Minister of Justice Andrew Little oversees the Human Rights Commission.

The minister in charge of the Human Rights Commission says a sexual harassment scandal there is 'disturbing', and he's considering advice on what to do about it.

Stuff revealed on Sunday a young American woman cut short her internship at the commission after she was groped by the organisation's chief financial officer Kyle Stutter at a work party.

OSACO Group co-owner Sean Buckley said the incident had 'without a doubt' affected the commission's reputation.

The commission investigated a sexual harassment complaint against Stutter, which resulted in disciplinary action. He sent the intern a written apology, undertook anti-harassment training and received a formal warning.

Three months on, he remains employed there as chief financial officer. He threatened to sue Stuff if he was identified.

* Human Rights Commission slammed over sexual harassment

* Human Rights Commission finance boss sexually harasses young intern, keeps job**

The commission is the country's watchdog for unlawful discrimination and racial or sexual harassment. But the former intern said it seemed ill-equipped to deal with Stutter targeting her, and it didn't acknowledge the seriousness of the incident.

Justice Minister Andrew Little said on Thursday he'd had a briefing from Chief Commissioner David Rutherford as soon as he was back in the country from the Middle East on Wednesday afternoon.

'[It's] obviously disturbing that an issue like that should arise at an organisation like the Human Rights Commission, and obviously I'm concerned with the publicity given over the issue and questions about the handling of it,' he said.

Following his meeting with Rutherford, Little sought advice from the State Services Commission, which he was now considering.

He expected to make decisions about further action by Tuesday next week.

'What's important for me is that public confidence is maintained in the Human Rights Commission; that's absolutely vital. And I need to think about the appropriate way to ensure that that happens.'

Little said there were 'ongoing concerns' about the Commission's processes following the incident.

'I need to be sure that the processes used within the Human Rights Commission actually do justice to all parties concerned, and that they operate in a way that maintains public confidence.'

Little's advice from the State Services Commission entailed what options were available to him in responding to the scandal at the commission, which is an independent Crown entity. He would not be drawn on what those options were.

The commission has received widespread criticism for its handling of the incident, including from an employment lawyer who said it had failed to follow best practice.

National's spokeswoman for justice and workplace relations, Amy Adams, also raised concerns, calling for a full report.

On Thursday, the four commissioners – the organisation's top bosses – still had not responded to repeated requests for comment.

Meanwhile, a company that does independent inquiries into sexual harassment allegations in workplaces said it would be happy to look into the scandal for the commission.

OSACO Group co-owner Sean Buckley is a former police detective who has also worked in West Africa investigating allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse against United Nations peacekeepers and staffers. He recently relocated to New Zealand.

Buckley said the incident at the commission had 'without a doubt' caused harm to its reputation.

'None of it comes as a surprise, because unfortunately it seems to be that organisations often say that they take these matters seriously, but they don't really look into the methodology that needs to be used, and used correctly, to investigate such things,' he said.

'I think with an organisation like the commission, it may have been wise for an external entity to come in who's completely impartial, to look at the matter and conduct a proper and thorough investigation.'

Buckley said organisations can fail to handle an incident appropriately without external oversight.