Three young women have gone public with their allegations of inappropriate behaviour against Craig Kelly’s trusted political advisor, Frank Zumbo.
The young women who interned, or were mentored at Craig Kelly’s electorate office spoke to the ABC’s 7.30 program about Zumbo’s alleged behaviour that included inappropriate hugging, kissing and touching.
Anna Hobson was 16 years old and in Year 11 at school when Zumbo offered her an internship at Kelly’s office in 2018. In an interview with 7.30, she said the whole electorate office “was basically run by the girls… often there were as many girls in school uniforms [as] there were people in office clothing”.
“Other than that, it was just Frank and Craig.”
Hobson alleged that it was expected she would have to “hug him and give him a kiss on the cheek” when entering and leaving the office, and that Zumbo took her on private day trips. She alleged that on one occasion, Zumbo touched her leg inappropriately while out on a day trip.
“Things like having one-on-one personal conversations in the conference room with the door shut,” she said.
“It was my first office job and my first male boss.”
Another young woman who spoke to 7.30, Phillipa Clark, was 18 in 2014 when Zumbo offered to mentor her. She alleged that Zumbo insisted she kiss him on the cheek at each meeting they had and made her feel “uncomfortable”.
“He’d want to hug me and on one occasion when we were driving home, he reached over and put his hand on my thigh and gave it a shake, and I said to him, ‘Why did you just put your hand on my leg? That feels kind of weird and creepy’.”
High school student Amarah Bucknall and her mother also spoke to 7.30, alleging Zumbo’s behaviour towards her, when she was 16 years old, displayed a “pattern of grooming”.
They said Zumbo offered Bucknall an office internship, which her mother declined for her. They said Zumbo then followed her on social media, and started commenting and replying to her posts, often with the love heart eyes emoji.
“Anything I would post on my social media, he would reply with the emoji with love heart eyes which I thought was weird, but I just brushed it off,” she said.
“A couple of weeks after that he called me and he said, ‘I saw a photo of you at your formal — you looked absolutely beautiful.’”
According to 7.30, at least six women have made formal police complaints about Zumbo.
To date, Zumbo has denied the allegations against him.
Last October, New South Wales police successfully applied for a provisional AVO to stop Zumbo contacting a young woman who had worked as intern in Kelly’s office. Police have also previously launched an investigation into his alleged inappropriate behaviour.
Zumbo is currently still employed by Craig Kelly, who has left the Liberal party to sit on the crossbench, despite Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s requests for him to be removed.
These allegations of inappropriate behaviour against Zumbo come as questions about a sexist culture in parliament house continue to put pressure on the federal government.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been steadfast in his support of Attorney-General Christian Porter, as he faces an historic allegation of rape. The Attorney-General denies the allegation and is currently on mental health leave. Morrison has said he will not commission an independent inquiry.