A potential change of MPs in Tauranga would spell disaster for the National Party, a political commentator believes.
Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell was stood down from the party's caucus on Tuesday night pending an investigation into allegations of bullying behaviour in his younger years.
A former flatmate of the MP, who lived with him in 2003, detailed alleged aggressive behaviour and excessive drinking by Uffindell at university.
The victim, who wished to remain anonymous, told RNZ's Morning Report that Uffindell was intimidating and, on one occasion, she fled her bedroom through a window as he "smashed" on her door yelling obscenities - telling her to "hit the road fatty".
While Uffindell has denied the latest allegations, there were concerns about the impact the scandal would have on the National Party's future.
"Tauranga is a safe seat [for National] but the voters there will not be happy about going to a by-election again so quickly," said Brigitte Morton, a political commentator and former National Party ministerial advisor. "They didn't obviously have full information when they went to the polls last time so National would have to do a lot of damage control there.
"I think we need to be careful we're not pre-empting the outcome of the investigation. Uffindell is due natural justice and he should be able to have his day, and [be] allowed to put forward his version of events as well," Morton told AM.
She said there weren't many options on the table for National Party leader Christopher Luxon once the investigation's findings are released.
"If it clears him, if there are no other further allegations then he'll need to do his penance in the naughty corner in caucus and really work hard to rebuild trust.
"I think if the investigation finds other concerning incidents or brings in [the] information that collaborates what happened by the flatmate, then he's probably going to have to make a decision about whether or not his future is in the caucus."
Uffindell on Tuesday night released a statement responding to the latest allegations.
"When I was a student at Otago I enjoyed a student lifestyle, which included drinking and, at times, smoking marijuana. While in [my] second year a number of flatmates fell out - and two of the flatmates left midway through the year," Uffindell said.
"I reject any accusation that I engaged in behaviour that was intimidatory or bullying."
Uffindell had already been under fire after revelations earlier this week that, as a 16-year-old, he violently assaulted another boy while attending Auckland's King's College.
Luxon believed there were no further allegations against Uffindell, other than those reported.
"These are new allegations and they are serious and they are concerning, and they need to be taken very seriously and that's why I have to go through an independent process to determine those findings - then we'll make a decision after that," he told AM on Wednesday.
However, Luxon would not say what action he'd take should the investigation substantiate the allegations.
Uffindell only picked up the Tauranga seat in June following Simon Bridges' resignation. That resignation sparked a by-election that Uffindell won convincingly.
The Tauranga seat has been held by the National Party since 1938, apart from the period between 1993 and 2005 after Winston Peters won the electorate as an independent before forming the NZ First party.
