But Senator Hughes said on Thursday morning:“What I took from it,what a number of my colleagues from across the chamber,Liberal,Labor,crossbenchers,was had I kept my legs shut[then] I wouldn’t have a child with autism.
“Honestly,I am dumbfounded that someone would say,would suggest that. I can take it,have a go at me all you want to,I could not care less. But when someone invokes someone’s child,I think they have crossed a line.”
Greens leader Adam Bandt did not publicly discipline his MP on Thursday or address the controversy,despite repeated requests for comment.
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The incident occurred about 7.30pm on Wednesday,hours after senators Hughes and Thorpe had an angry exchange over disability and Aboriginal deaths in custody.
About 3pm,Senator Thorpe interjected in an answer by the Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme,Linda Reynolds,to highlight that,in the past eight hours,two Indigenous women had died in custody.
Senator Hughes saw that as inappropriate,given the debate on the International Day of People with Disability.