Under-siege senator David Van resigns from Liberals

David Van has resigned from the Liberals after he faced allegations over inappropriate behaviour to three female parliamentarians.

Embattled senator David Van has resigned from the Liberal party, but he is continuing to deny allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards women in parliament.

But he has not resigned from the parliament at this stage.

He sent his resignation letter to Greg Mirabella, the president of the Victorian division of the Liberal party. on Saturday afternoon as the party held its federal conference in Canberra.

“Given the Liberal Party’s wholesale disregard for due process and natural justice in relation to allegations made against me, I write to resign my membership effective immediately.” Senator Van said in a statement late on Saturday.

“I resign also acknowledging the cruel irony of doing so amidst public discourse about the weaponisation of allegations and the role of the rule of law which has at its centre the presumption of innocence.

“I cannot remain a member of a party that tramples upon the very premise on which our justice system is predicated. This is a travesty of justice and I reiterate that I deny the allegations made against me.”

Senator David Van has resigned from the Liberal party, but not the Senate . Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Earlier on Saturday, Liberal leader Peter Dutton declared the party down but not out in a rallying cry to the party faithful as allegations of sexual misconduct in within threatened to overshadow its annual get together.

The Opposition Leader told the federal council meeting to “ignore all the noise” especially from the commentariat and journalists who have “never and will never vote for the Liberal Party.”

“In the cycle of politics, parties will be down, but they are never out. We’ve been here before. We came back. And we will come back again,” he said on Saturday.

“We should ignore all the noise from the commentariat who say this is the end of the Liberal Party. They made similar predictions in 2007.

“They were wrong then. And they are wrong now. It may appear we are in dark times at present. But we have good reason to be optimistic.”

Mr Dutton said he is optimistic about the future of the party. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“It may appear that we’re in dark times. But we have good reasons to be optimistic.”

But the cloud from allegations about Senator Van by Lidia Thorpe and former LNP senator Amanda Stoker overshadowed attempts to bring the focus back to the cost-of-living crisis.

Senator Thorpe and Ms Stoker both alleged the Victorian Liberal had touched them inappropriately in the past.

Senator Van strenuously denied any wrongdoing.

Senator Van has resigned, but said is denying the allegations. NCA/NewsWire Martin Ollman.

Mr Dutton expelled the senator from the federal party room on Thursday and called for him to resign from parliament “sooner than later”.

But when asked on Saturday if he should remain a member of the party, Mr Dutton said it was a matter for the Victorian Liberals.

The Victorian division’s administrative committee had been set to meet over the weekend to further consider the allegations.

Senate leader Simon Birmingham said it was time for the Victorian to be dumped from the party.

“Well, he no longer sits as a member of the parliamentary party and therefore he should not have a place in the party,” he told reporters.

Mr Birmingham said Senator Van should not have a place in the federal party. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

There was no new policy announced by the opposition leader on Saturday. But he signalled there would be more to come on home ownership.

“Many aspiring young Australian homeowners will cast their vote at the next federal election.”

“As the pencil in their hand hovers over a Coalition candidate, we want the sound of jingling house keys to resonate in their minds.”

With just one Liberal government in power across the country the party faces an uphill battle to reverse its electoral fortunes.

But Mr Dutton told the party faithful to chart the course and expressed faith in his “united and formidable team”.

The party faithful met for their annual council in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“Ours is a very different opposition compared with 2007. We haven’t torn ourselves apart through infighting – as we did then,” he said.

The next test for Mr Dutton will be the Fadden by-election next month. The Liberals will be hoping it can hold onto the Gold Coast seat vacated by former minister Stuart Robert.

Queensland LNP leader David Crisafulli said candidate Cameron Caldwell had the full backing of the state and federal team.

“The Gold Coast community will have the opportunity to send a message to (Prime Minister Anthony) Albanese. And I have every confidence they will do it in style,” he said

Originally published as Under-siege senator David Van resigns from Liberals