Emma Page Campbell makes passionate defence of husband Robert Doyle
THE wife of former Lord Mayor Robert Doyle has made an impassioned defence of her husband and hit out at the “irreversible damage” the harrassment investigation caused.
VIC News
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THE wife of former Lord Mayor Robert Doyle has made an impassioned defence of her husband and vowed to stand by him “during this dark time”.
Emma Page Campbell said she was enormously proud of his contributions to public life as a state MP, city councillor and hospital chairman.
“I stood beside him when he stood down as leader of the Victorian Liberal Party and I stand beside him now as he relinquishes the roles of Lord Mayor and chair of Melbourne Health,” she said. “He is a good and decent man. I love him.
LORD MAYOR ROBERT DOYLE QUITS TOWN HALL
TIMELINE OF THE TOWN HALL HARASSMENT SCANDAL
“And because I love him, to watch and share what he has been through in the last seven weeks has been agony.”
It is believed that Ms Page Campbell, 43, played a key role in urging Mr Doyle, 64, to fight allegations of sexual harassment made by former councillor and Team Doyle member Tessa Sullivan.
Ms Page Campbell was at a loss to reconcile the claims with her knowledge of her husband of almost seven years.
“I know my husband. I know his intentions, his character, his language, his manner. None of the allegations against him accord with the man I know,” she said.
“I am disappointed that Robert has been given no benefit of the presumption of innocence.
“(There has been) a resort to foregone conclusions, and with none of the protections afforded even to those accused of the most horrible crimes.”
“These allegations have been made in an environment in which guilt is presumed over innocence, and where there is little regard for the irreversible damage that can cause to reputation, character and legacy.”
Ms Page Campbell met Mr Doyle around 2005, after being introduced by mutual friend Jane Perton, ex-wife of former Liberal MP Victor Perton.
“She (Jane) asked me if I would consider dating an older man,” Ms Page Campbell told the Sunday Herald Sun in 2010.
“I said ‘yes’, so she asked how about if he was quite a bit older, and I said, ‘that depends’.”
Ms Page Campbell said she was drawn to Mr Doyle because he made her laugh.
Mr Doyle, who has three children by his former wife, Jenny, said at the time: “When I met Emma, I couldn’t believe my luck.”
Ms Page Campbell and Mr Doyle wed in 2011, “eloping” to New York and tying the knot at a private chapel at the City Hall offices.
Speaking on 3AW afterwards, he said: “We wanted to do it without fuss, we wanted it to be very private, we wanted it to be very personal.”
In April 2014, the couple welcomed a son, Henry.
Ms Page Campbell, an intellectual property lawyer, is on long service leave from her role as governance manager at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image.
In her statement today, she thanked the many “kind people” who had offered support and good wishes “during this dark time”.
“I know Robert was extremely comforted by your thoughts, particularly when he felt so isolated and alone. You helped me to support him,” she said.
Ms Page Campbell made a public request for time and space for the couple to focus on his recovery.
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