Jamie Clements has no plans to resign

NSW Labor General Secretary Jamie Clements has said he is not going to resign regardless of Opposition Leader Bill Shorten ordering a report into his conduct.

Clements, who is accused of having a “disgusting” attitude towards women, was reported to have resigned from his position. The reports emerged after former Labor candidate Stefanie Jones claimed to have been assaulted by Clements in June 2014.

Clements’ spokesperson told Sky News that the reports of NSW Labor general secretary having resigned is not true. Clements “has not resigned and will not be resigning,” the spokesperson said.

Jones accused Clements of trying to kiss her. She said she was disgusted by the lack of support from her own party. Clements allegedly insisted on kissing Jones after she expressed her intentions of revealing her previous affair to his partner, Labor organiser David Latham.

The former Labor candidate’s accusation has been followed by Shorten’s declaration on Thursday that his party has “zero tolerance for workplace harassment.”

“This morning, I have contacted the state president of the NSW Labor Party, Mark Lennon, and asked him to provide a report to my national secretary, George Wright, on matters relating to NSW and I wait to see that report,” Shorten said.

While the Opposition leader did not ask Clements to resign, his comment puts more pressure on the general secretary. “I decry this behaviour full stop – always have when I’ve stood up for workers in workplaces, always have in our policies and the actions which we take,” Shorten added.

Clements has agreed to maintain distance from Jones, under the court sanctioned agreement, and to stay away from the electoral office Jones works in. He is allowed neither to approach her at Labor Party events nor to apply for a parliamentary security pass while Jones works there.