A 20-year-old man accused of sexual assaults at a Labour Party summer camp has pleaded not guilty and been granted name suppression.
The man was arrested earlier this month and appeared in the Auckland District Court on Thursday facing six charges of indecent assault relating to four complainants.
The arrest came after allegations a man sexually assaulted four teenagers, aged 16 to 18 years old, during the Waihi camp in February.
In court, the defendant's lawyer Emma Priest sought interim name suppression, which was granted.
She also entered a not guilty plea for her client.
Priest told Stuff her client deserved a fair trial. .
"It is important to remember that this is now in the hands of the criminal justice system. My client is innocent unless and until proven guilty and his right to a fair trial is paramount," Priest said.
"The charges are untested allegations at this stage. It would be quite inappropriate for either witnesses or complainants to comment outside of the criminal justice arena.
"The Labour Party internal report, soon to be released, is necessarily premised on the basis that these allegations are true. I reiterate that it is the function of the criminal justice process to determine if that is the case."
The allegations were made public in March, which led to a police investigation, and a review of the party's internal processes and policies.
The Labour Party review was expected to be released by mid-August.