‘I was harassed by Jamie-Lee Ross’
Woman says she had to seek medical help and party intervention
ANational Party candidate has spoken about an alleged campaign of harassment by rogue MP Jami-Lee Ross which became so severe she sought medical help and intervention by the party hierarchy.
Manurewa candidate Katrina Bungard told the Herald Ross had harassed her in 2016 and 2017.
She said Ross began the campaign to get wife Lucy Schwaner appointed as chair of the Howick Community Board in east Auckland.
Ross, east Auckland’s Botany MP, has denied harassing women — an accusation levelled against him by an aggrieved National Party leadership reeling from accusations of corruption and revelations of secret recordings.
Ross refused to comment on allegations about his personal life. “I am considering my legal options,” he said.
Bungard — a teacher — said her experience of harassment by Ross had led her to complain to National Party hierarchy.
“He gets away with just behaving a certain way around people without anything being really solid.
“They did what they could, which is talk to him. There wasn’t enough evidence of anything extreme.”
However, Bungard said her personal experience led her to a definite perspective.
“I thought it was extreme.” Bungard said he appeared “cool, calm, collected” and “says everything is everyone else’s fault and not his”.
“He’s a very manipulative man. Bungard said the fight for the chair’s role on the local board did not stop even after Ross’ wife was defeated. Having failed to become chair, she quit in late 2016.
“It was like House of Cards,” she said.
Ross had wanted Bungard and others to support Schwaner and he had enlisted so-called political strategist Simon Lusk to assist.
”(Lusk) rang me and told me I could have a great career in politics, that he would get me this job and that job.
“Then he said he can only do these things if you’re in a good place with Jami-Lee. If you fall out, I can’t do anything.”
The emergence of the operative — who advertises himself as someone who can remove politicians — added to the pressure on Bungard.
“You know it’s not a good day when you’re getting calls from Simon Lusk.”
Lusk did not respond to a request for comment.
Bungard said:
“It’s been a pretty hard time for me. I had to get medical help. I was off work, working on my Master’s thesis. I had to get an extension on the thesis and medical note saying I had been under a lot of intense pressure.
“I was concerned for my own family. I had phone calls where he was ‘ going to war’ with me and my family.”
Bungard said the campaign shifted after she voted for David Collings, as did the majority of others on the board.
Collings had complained to National Party general manager Greg Hamilton about Ross’ behaviour over the vote for the chair’s role.
Collings said: “He was being a dickhead and a bit of a prat and I wanted him to stop. Greg said he would have a word to him. But it carried on.”
Bungard said the campaign then became one which was a result of her refusal to do as Ross had wanted.
It included being served a trespass order when she tried to attend a National Party morning tea for senior citizens.
She had arrived at the meeting in the electorate — for which she was electorate secretary at the time — to be presented with the trespass by the electorate chair.
“I didn’t even get in the door.” She said she asked for the grounds and was told it was “because I had fallen out with Jami-Lee and he had been ordered to trespass me and I wasn’t welcome at any event Jami-Lee was hosting”.
Bungard complained to the National Party organisation which resulted in president Peter Goodfellow stepping in. The Herald understands National Party board member, and northern regional chairman, Andrew Hunt was also involved.
“They’ve called him in and he’s got a serious talking to.
“He did back off after that.” Bungard said she believed the party had done what it could but it was difficult when the harassment included constant low-level incidents over which there was no physical evidence.