Lidia Thorpe resigns from Greens leadership team over relationship with former bikie boss
Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe was forced to resign for dating a former bikie boss but now another former partner has hit out.
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There’s more trouble for embattled Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe after her former partner claimed she had an affair.
Gavan Mcfadzean said he found out his former partner was also seeing Rebel’s bikie boss Dean Martin when the story broke in the media on Thursday.
Mr Mcfadzean took to social media on Thursday night following the shock revelations Martin and Senator Thorpe briefly dated in 2021.
“When you find out via national media your partner was having an affair,” Mr Mcfadzean wrote on Facebook.
Senator Thorpe resigned her Greens leadership position on Thursday after it was revealed she and Martin dated while she was on a parliamentary law enforcement committee.
She did not disclose the relationship, which prompted concerns from her staff about a perceived conflict of interest.
Mr Mcfadzean is the Australian Conservation Foundation’s climate and energy project manager.
In her first speech to the parliament, Senator Thorpe thanked her “partner Gavan” along with other members of her family.
Indi MP Helen Haines, who has been calling for greater transparency in the parliament, said Senator Thorpe made a “grave error of judgment” in failing to declare her relationship.
“Avoiding conflicts of interest and the appearance of conflicts of interest is vital for a member of parliament,” Dr Haines said.
“This is why it is well overdue to introduce a code of conduct for all MPs, not just for ministers, so that such expectations are codified and followed by all.”
Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley said it was a serious test for Adam Bandt and the Greens.
“He (Mr Bandt) said yesterday Senator Thorpe has a contribution to make on Indigenous issues but today Aboriginal leader Marcia Langton has called on the Greens to dump her as the party’s Indigenous affairs spokeswoman,” Ms Ley said.
“Any censure motion against Senator Thorpe in the Senate should be supported.”
Asked if the Coalition would refer Senator Thorpe to the privileges committee, Ms Ley said that was a matter for the parliament next week.
Senator Helen Polley, chair of parliament’s joint committee on law enforcement, said there should be an examination of Senator Thorpe’s potential conflicts of interest to protect the integrity of the committee process.
“This is an appropriate course of action and I won’t pre-empt what that investigation finds,” Senator Polley said.
“This committee deals with highly classified and sensitive material in relation to security information.
“Therefore the integrity of the committee must be upheld at all times.”
Senator Polley reiterated the Prime Minister’s point that not disclosing the relationship was not “simply poor judgement”.
“These are serious matters of disclosure and potential conflicts of interest that deserve to be looked into,” she said.
Thorpe attended ‘major briefing’ on AFP operation
Greens senator Lidia Thorpe attended a “major briefing” on a significant Australian Federal Police operation around the time she was dating a former bikie boss.
The Victorian senator has been forced to resign as the party’s deputy leader in the Senate and faces calls for expulsion from parliament after it emerged she failed to disclose a fling with ex-Victorian Rebels president Dean Martin, the uncle of AFL star Dustin Martin. The Herald Sun can reveal Senator Thorpe was present for a confidential briefing at the AFP headquarters in Canberra in May 2021, without revealing her connection to the ex-bikie leader.
Liberal National Party MP Garth Hamilton, who was on the joint parliamentary law enforcement committee with Senator Thorpe at the time, said the revelations of her relationship raised “significant concerns”.
“We were briefed on a matter of national security regarding a significant AFP operation,” Mr Hamilton said. “At no stage did the senator raise her conflict of interest or remove herself from that briefing.”
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said Senator Thorpe was “not fit to be in the parliament”, saying “you cannot receive confidential briefings on bikies during the daytime and then sleep with bikies at night time”.
He said he had never seen anything like it during his 20 years in politics and called for Greens leader Adam Bandt to “kick her out” of the party and parliament.
“Adam Bandt needs to step up to show leadership … because she has no place in the parliament with this sort of conduct,” Mr Dutton said.
Under the act governing committees, MPs and senators are required to disclose conflicts of interest and could be held in contempt of parliament for failing to do so.
It can be revealed that the committee was confidentially briefed on the AN0M sting operation into organised crime gangs.
One source told the Herald Sun the law enforcement committee had broad scope to question AFP and Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission operations, including work regarding outlaw gangs.
This included confidential briefings about the FBI’s AN0M investigation, how it influenced organised crime and what it broke up. One former member of the committee said Senator Thorpe never showed a great interest in bikies or the committee generally.
A staffer for Senator Thorpe reportedly raised concerns about her relationship with Mr Martin with the office of Mr Bandt in October last year.
But the Greens leader, who on Thursday revealed he had asked for and received Senator Thorpe’s resignation as Deputy Leader in the Senate, insisted he only became aware of the issue following media inquiries.
“At a minimum, Senator Thorpe needed to disclose to me her connection to Mr Martin and her failure to do so showed a significant lack of judgment,” Mr Bandt said.
“She has told me that at no stage was there any breach of the rules regarding those committees or her work, no sharing of confidential information, and to date no one has suggested otherwise.”
In a statement, Senator Thorpe confirmed she had “made mistakes”.
“I will now reflect on this and focus on my important portfolio work, especially advocating for First Nations people,” she said. She briefly dated Mr Martin last year and remains friends with him.
The Herald Sun does not suggest Senator Thorpe shared confidential information or that Mr Martin has any continuing association with outlaw gangs.
Mr Bandt said he’d sought a meeting with the AFP regarding concerns about the disclosure of information, adding “no one is suggesting that happened”.
But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the revelations were “concerning” and Mr Bandt should explain what his office knew.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said she would move a censure motion against Senator Thorpe next week.
Mr Bandt said he remained confident in Senator Thorpe’s work on First Nations justice, including on truth, treaty and voice.
A Department of Finance review into Senator Thorpe’s office culture is ongoing.
Mr Martin stepped down as Victorian president of the Rebels in 2018 after an association with the club stretching more than two decades.
His brother Shane Martin, also a top-ranking Rebels member, was deported to New Zealand on grounds of bad character.
Dean Martin has no recorded criminal convictions.
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