New Zealand PM could face court over waitress's ponytail-pulling

A sexual-harassment complaint was laid against New Zealand Prime Minister John Key over the "ponytail-gate" scandal — his repeated pulling of a waitress's ponytail at a Parnell cafe.

Private prosecutor Graham McCready filed the complaint, alleging Key breached section 62(b) of the Human Rights Act. He sought "considerable compensation" for the waitress, Amanda Bailey — adding that if she didn't want the money, it should go to Women's Refuge.

Bailey had written a widely shared post on the Daily Blog describing Key's repeated hair-pulling during his cafe visits, likening it to "schoolyard bullying" and saying she felt powerless and humiliated. Key apologized by sending her two bottles of pinot noir, later conceding the behavior was inappropriate and saying he had thought it was in the "context of practical jokes."

The fallout was swift and mostly unsympathetic to the PM. Political analyst Bryce Edwards said Key would find it hard to recover: "A lot of people will be laughing at John Key — that's harder to recover from."

In a side drama, Bailey also alleged she had been duped by NZ Herald journalist Rachel Glucina, who she said used her comments and photos without permission under a PR guise. Glucina called the claim "utterly not true," and Herald editor Shayne Currie said "none of what is stated is accurate."

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Based on reporting by TVNZ, April 2015.