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Exiled Labor MP Will Fowles says he won\u2019t attend parliamentary sittings until the conclusion of an investigation into a serious assault allegation levelled against him.<\/p>\n
The member for Ringwood says he will continue to work in his electorate and make \u201crepresentations\u201d on behalf of constituents.<\/p>\n
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Lower house MP Will Fowles, who was booted to the crossbench last month, has denied an assault allegation against him.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>AAP<\/cite><\/p>\n State parliament is due to return from the spring break on Tuesday, marking Jacinta Allan\u2019s first sitting week as premier.<\/p>\n Allan\u2019s predecessor, Daniel Andrews, sought and received Fowles\u2019 resignation from the parliamentary Labor Party in early August after his office was informed of serious assault allegations made by a government employee.<\/p>\n Fowles has strenuously denied any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is now eight weeks since the former premier referred an allegation to Victoria Police,\u201d Fowles said in a statement on Saturday.<\/p>\n \u201cI have not been spoken to by anyone regarding this false allegation. I have written to the Speaker today, advising her that I will not be attending parliamentary sitting days until such time as any investigation concludes.\u201d<\/p>\n However, Fowles insisted that he was not taking a leave of absence.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll continue to work in my electorate and make representations on behalf of my constituents, whose many messages of support I have gratefully received.\u201d<\/p>\n A Victoria Police spokeswoman declined to say whether officers had spoken to Fowles. The spokeswoman would only confirm that an investigation had begun.<\/p>\n \u201cDetectives from the sexual crimes squad are investigating following a report of an incident in the Melbourne CBD,\u201d she said. \u201cGiven the sensitive nature of this incident and now that it is subject to active investigation, we will not be providing any further commentary on the matter.\u201d<\/p>\n If Fowles returns to parliament, he will be forced to sit on the crossbench unless he is brought back into the parliamentary Labor Party.<\/p>\n