Liberal MP accused of slapping fellow politician on bottom stands trial

A politician allegedly slapped on the bottom by a fellow MP has revealed in court her fierce reaction to the ‘humiliating’ approach.

A South Australian politician who was allegedly slapped on the bottom by another parliamentarian at a Christmas party told him to “sit the f—k down”, a court has been told.

Former Liberal and now independent MP Sam Duluk, 37, pleaded not guilty to one count of basic assault after the incident allegedly occurred on December 13, 2019, when he drunkenly gatecrashed a crossbench Christmas party at Parliament House.

Mr Duluk appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Tuesday for the first day of his trial.

The court was told Mr Duluk allegedly loudly slapped SA Best MLC Connie Bonaros with his right hand in the corridor of Parliament House as she walked towards her office.

There was also a Liberal Party function on at the same time in a different section of Parliament House.

The alleged victim took to the witness box first, saying she felt uncomfortable by Mr Duluk’s conduct and it was unwanted.

“I’m unsure which direction he approached me from because it wasn’t front on … but he proceeded to put his arm around me and whacked me on the bottom,” Ms Bonaros told the court.

Sam Duluk (right) allegedly slapped SA Best upper house member Connie Bonaros on the backside at a Christmas party in 2019. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

“I told Mr Duluk to ‘sit the f —k down’.

“It happened very suddenly … it felt like I was being swept up by one arm then whacked with the other hand … it was all in a matter of seconds.

“Both arms were involved … It felt like he grabbed me by the waist then proceeded to slap me.”

The court was told Ms Bonaros then sat next to him and asked what he was doing.

The court was told she asked Mr Duluk: “Do you think because you’re some Liberal powerbroker you can do whatever you want?”

“I was extraordinarily humiliated by what happened,” Ms Bonaros said in court.

“I knew there were other people there. I was shocked and extremely embarrassed and was trying to process what had just happened.

“I went to the bathroom immediately after I said those things to him.”

Ms Bonaros said she was so shocked by the incident she wasn’t aware who had or hadn’t seen the alleged assault.

Ms Bonaros said she first remembered seeing Mr Duluk at the party at about 5.30pm when he made a “very loud entrance”.

SA Best MLC Connie Bonaros (left) said she felt ‘extraordinarily humiliated’. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

The event was scheduled to start at 3pm but she said the peak number of attendees – about 50 to 60 people – arrived about 4pm.

“We had food and drinks set up at different stations. When guests arrived we greeted them and offered them drinks. I was making them,” Ms Bonaros said.

“Generally, people mingled, grabbed a bite to eat and chatted.

“I asked him what he was doing there … because I hadn’t invited him and the way he entered the event … and he made comments to the effect that we were all sharing the same floor space and were all neighbours.”

During questioning by prosecutor Anika Francis, Ms Bonaros said she had a number of interactions with the accused, including one where she was hoisted up by Mr Duluk and Labor MLC Justin Hanson to have a photo taken because she was shorter than them both.

Ms Bonaros told the court she “made it clear” she wanted to be put down.

On another occasion, Mr Duluk stood in front of a chair she was sitting on and lifted it from the two side handles.

“I was concerned because I was wearing a dress that night,” Ms Bonaros said.

“I said words to the effect ‘people can see up my dress, put me down’ and he put me down … but I thought it was best to move away.”

She told the court she saw the accused pick up a bottle of straight alcohol, believed to be gin, and drink from the bottle on more than one occasion.

Ms Bonaros said on one occasion he held up the bottle to her mouth to drink from it, to which she replied: “I don’t drink from the bottle.”

“He made comments that he had alcohol in his office, if I’d like to accompany him to his office – which I refused to do,” she said.

“On another occasion he poured ice down the front of my dress.

“I shook the dress and made sure the ice fell out … and was trying really hard to not bring attention to what was going on.

“Just before (that) incident, he proceeded to put his arm around my shoulder and I discreetly moved away.

“I was concerned about some of the things Mr Duluk was doing and what I had observed, so I did notice when he was present and when he wasn’t.”

Ms Bonaros told the court she told Mr Duluk to “sit the f —k down” after he allegedly slapped her. Picture: Mark Brake

Ms Bonaros told the court that food and drinks were stored in her office, and at one point, she poked her head into her office because she thought Mr Duluk entered.

She saw him sitting at her desk and said she was “surprised” to see him there.

“I said words to the effect of ‘what the f —k are you doing there?’ … he made himself quite at home and I proceeded to leave and go back to the party.

“At one point Mr Duluk approached me and took my hands and said ‘dance with me’. I was uneasy and I was effectively standing there for a few seconds before I pulled myself away from that situation.”

Defence council Marie Shaw QC told the court her client asked for consent before dancing with Ms Bonaros, who said she momentarily agreed to avoid embarrassment.

Ms Shaw also asked the witness how many alcoholic beverages she had consumed, how high she believed her chair was lifted by Mr Duluk and clarified other people went in and out of her office to get supplies for the event.

Ms Shaw further questioned the woman about the photo that was taken and said Ms Bonaros instigated it and posed in it, saying she “engaged happily” in the picture that was on her phone.

The alleged victim said she smiled “uncomfortably” in the photo and was concerned about her dress.

“You didn’t provide the photograph to police because you didn’t want it to see the light of day,” the defence counsel said.

Ms Bonaros denied that was the intention and said she showed it to the police.

Sam Duluk has pleaded not guilty to assaulting a fellow MP. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dean Martin

The lawyer went on to question Ms Bonaros about the instances when her client allegedly put his arm on her shoulder – saying Ms Bonaros never told Mr Duluk to stop or voiced that she did not consent.

Ms Bonaros replied and said she didn’t think she said words to that effect but added she tried to move away “from these situations with Mr Duluk”.

Ms Shaw also suggested the ice had been thrown at Ms Bonaros instead of being poured down her dress and asked her if she recalled other ante fees laughing.

Ms Bonaros said didn’t remember people laughing.

“I was too busy dealing with someone putting ice down my dress,” she said.

Witness Emily Bird, who was office manager for Greens MLC Mark Parnell in 2019, later took the stand and said she “couldn’t tell if it was a touch or a pat”.

“It was not something I expected to see,” Ms Bird said.

She motioned to the court that it was not a “whack” like Ms Bonaros claimed but looked like a hand was placed on her backside and there was no swing.

Ms Bird said she saw Mr Duluk drink from the bottle and try lift Ms Bonaros in the chair.

The witness also claimed she saw Mr Duluk throw ice and Ms Bonaros “moving away” so it didn’t fall down her dress.

Four other witnesses will take the stand over the two-day trial, including Greens MLC Tammy Franks.