Independent MLA Robyn Lambley was forced to withdraw a comment in Parliament about convicted child rapist and former Labor secretary Kent Rowe, after Labor Speaker Mark Monaghan ruled the comment “offensive” despite Ms Lambley sharing proven facts.

Rowe was convicted in September of six counts of sexual intercourse without consent for historical sex offences against a woman when she was a child.

Nobody in Labor, including Chief Minister Natasha Fyles, has condemned Rowe publicly for the sexual offences against a child.

Besides running Territory Labor as secretary for the better part of a decade, Mr Rowe also ran the 2016 and 2020 successful election campaigns before being promoted to former chief minister Michael Gunner’s inner sanctum of top advisers. He resigned early last year for his involvement in the so-called Labor cocaine sex scandal.

In Parliament on Thursday, Environment Minister Lauren Moss was ridiculing former CLP environment minister Dave Tollner for his environmental performance while in office, when Ms Lambley yelled across the floor: “At least we do not have paedophiles in the CLP ranks”.

The comment “offended” Labor backbencher Joel Bowden, a staunch union member, who demanded Ms Lambley “refrain from speaking like that about any member in this place, let alone the people on this side”.

“I ask her to withdraw,” he said.

Ms Lambley refused to withdraw the comment and left the Chamber.

“My ruling is that it was out of order and offensive, and I will request that the Member for Araluen withdraws the comment when we next have that opportunity,” Speaker Mark Monaghan said.

Ms Lambley was later told to withdraw the comment before she could participate in debate, which she complied with.

She said on her Facebook page on Friday that Mr Bowden was defending Rowe.

“Joel Bowden complained to the Speaker about my comment, defending Rowe and the Labor team,” she wrote.

“The fact is that Labor had a sex predator in their midst for many years, holding the most senior positions within the Labor party and Labor Government. Nothing the CLP has ever done comes close to this abhorrent Labor shame.

“Kent Rowe was convicted of sexual assault and gaoled just a few weeks ago. The Chief Minister has never said boo about her former Labor colleague, but happy to throw dirt at the CLP.”

Mr Bowden was contacted for comment.

Rowe will be sentenced for his crimes next month in the Supreme Court.

Rowe’s victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court in a victim impact statement read last week that she had been made to feel like “an accomplice to my own sexual assaults” after confronting Rowe about the abuse in recent years and that the ongoing sexual abuse over many years left her “scared to fall asleep at night”.

“There isn’t any sentence that will give back what was taken from me or rewrite my past,” she told the court.