Staffer says she was warned not to be alone with federal senator amid allegations of inappropriate comments towards women

A Greens staffer has revealed she was warned not to be alone with federal Senator Jordon Steele-John, who faces an investigation for alleged serial inappropriate comments towards women both inside and outside the party.

Steele-John has taken leave from the party room and parliament after allegations were outlined by seven members, including five current and former staffers, in a letter sent to Greens Leader David Shoebridge on Tuesday.

They relate to multiple allegations of inappropriate behaviour around women between 2017 and 2025.

The letter alleges women have been warned not to be alone with Steele-John.

Steele-John has strenuously denied the allegations and said he was the victim of family violence in one of the complaints, with the matter under an investigation by WA Police.

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Nine.com.au is not suggesting the allegations are true, only that they have been raised.

A staffer and a signatory on the letter, who 9News has chosen not to name, said she was one of the women who was warned about Steele-John.

The staffer said she actively avoided being around the senator for more than a few minutes at a time.

The signatories sat with the letter for five months before finally coming forward.

The staffer said it has been difficult to hold on to the information but she felt relief that it has been sent and an investigation is under way.

Since the allegations were first aired by The Sydney Morning Herald on Thursday, she said several more people have reached out with more accusations.

She said she hoped to see accountability and reporting processes improved.

“I would like to see accountability, not only from Jordon Steele-John, but accountability from anyone that has enabled this, anyone that has known about this and participated either actively or passively in covering it up,” she said.

Minutes from a NSW Young Greens meeting in Port Kembla in 2018 showed complaints against Steele-John had been raised at the time.

Shoebridge has denied claims that he or the party had turned a blind eye to the allegations in what has turned into his first major test as leader of the Greens.

“I’ve been leader now for two weeks and when I received these complaints, I took the most timely action that I believe you could take,” he told reporters on Friday.

“And I’d ask people to judge me and on the response that’s been taken, the timely response that’s been taken.”

The Greens leader said he was unaware of the NSW Young Greens motion as he was sitting in a different parliament at the time. 

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“I don’t think people would expect an upper house MP in a state parliament to have any role in that,” he told reporters on Thursday.

Shoebridge received the letter on Tuesday night and consulted the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service and the WA Greens.

Steele-John then self-referred the matter to the WA Greens for investigation and requested a leave of absence following a discussion with Shoebridge, which the Greens leader granted on Thursday. 

The senator will not sit in parliament or the party room until the matter is resolved.

In a statement released on Thursday, the senator said: “I utterly reject this characterisation of me, which tries to assert I am someone I am not.

“These claims are made without specifics, any allegation of this nature is extremely serious and must be treated accordingly. If someone has made an allegation, I am prepared to address it.”

Steele-John alleged he was the person who experienced family violence in one of the complaints levelled against him.

“I believe an allegation arises from a former relationship in which I was the victim of extensive, prolonged and deeply distressing domestic abuse,” he said.

“I have been working with WA Police to address the abuse I have experienced. As this process is ongoing, I do not feel able to go into more detail at this time.”