Lidia Thorpe made her accusation against David Van in the Senate on Wednesday.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
“And to have him talking about this today is an absolute disgrace,on the whole party.”
As Thorpe sat down,McLachlan said he would have to refer her comments to Senate President Sue Lines.
Van denied the allegation to the chamber:“I utterly reject that statement,that disgusting statement outright. It is just a lie and I reject it. I withdraw the word ‘lie’. It is just not true.”
In a statement issued later on Wednesday afternoon,Van said Thorpe had made “unfounded and completely untrue allegations against me that I immediately and unequivocally denied and continue to deny”.
Victorian Liberal senator David Van.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
“These outrageous and reprehensible comments were made by Senator Thorpe using parliamentary privilege in the most malicious and despicable way. My lawyers have written to her already making my position clear in the strongest possible terms.”
Later on Wednesday evening,Thorpe said in the Senate that she withdrew her earlier remarks in order to comply with Senate rules. She said she would address the matter on Thursday.
Thorpe told the ABC in March she had been sexually harassed and assaulted in parliament but did not name the alleged perpetrator.
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Thorpe did not tell the Senate when she was claiming the alleged assault and harassment took place.
Thorpe’s office declined requests for comment,including on whether she had referred the matter to police or planned to do so.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton declined to comment. A spokesman said Dutton was not aware of the allegations made by Thorpe until she spoke in the Senate.
A spokesman for Scott Morrison,who was prime minister at the time,said he had “no recollection of Lidia Thorpe ever making such an allegation to him personally or of any involvement in Senator Van’s office arrangements”.
Van is a little known Victorian senator who was elected in 2019 and is likely to face a preselection challenge.
In 2021 he issued an apology to independent senator Jacqui Lambie after he was accused of making a growling dog noise at her. He denied making a dog noise but conceded he had interjected while Lambie was speaking.
Parliament has again this week been consumed by questions about the Higgins allegation. The Coalition hastargeted Labor frontbenchers over their knowledge of Higgins’ claim before she went public in a televised interview in February 2021,with the government hitting back that the allegation occurred under the Coalition’s watch.
When asked for comment about why the Gaetjens review was suspended,former prime minister Scott Morrison said it had been done at the request of the Australian Federal Police “as they were conducting their own investigation into the Higgins matter”.
“I was advised the secretary of[Prime Minister and Cabinet] complied with this request and suspended his investigation,” he said.
“The report was not concluded as by the time we had left office the matter was still being dealt with by the AFP. Mr Albanese is either not aware of these facts or willfully ignoring them to misrepresent the situation regarding Mr Gaetjens review.”
Gaetjens declined to comment.
If you or anyone you know needs support,you can contact the National Sexual Assault,Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on1800RESPECT (1800 737 732),Lifeline 131 114,orBeyond Blue 1300 224 636.
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