Independent Lidia Thorpe allegation sees Liberal Senator booted from party

The first tangible sign Lidia Thorpe was uncomfortable with David Van was two years ago, when he was ordered to vacate the office next to hers.

Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe on Thursday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The first tangible sign former Greens senator Lidia Thorpe was uncomfortable with Liberal senator David Van was two years ago, when he was ordered to vacate the office next to hers.

Following concerns raised by Greens leader Adam Bandt that went to “the extent of time Senator Van had spent around Senator Thorpe” and the proximity of their offices, the then-government Senate leader, Simon Birmingham, immediately moved Senator Van to a new suite.

While the move was common knowledge for many within the Liberal Party, it did not reach the public domain until Senator Thorpe on Tuesday claimed to the Senate that Senator Van had harassed and sexually assaulted her.

Senator Thorpe withdrew her allegation within hours of delivering a fiery speech on Wednesday night, which followed Senator Van speaking in the upper house about the need to better protect women.

Revisiting the issue in a statement to parliament on Thursday, she acknowledged Senate rules that “don’t allow you to speak about someone’s character”.

But Senator Thorpe said she had not been able to “stay silent” when Senator Van delivered his address on women’s safety.

“Someone who has knowingly made me feel unsafe had the gall to stand up in front of parliament and preach about protecting women. There are others I could name who have inappropriately touched me, invaded my space and knowingly made me feel ­unsafe,” she said.

“I am disappointed by the reaction of the senator. Instead of stepping up, taking accountability for the fact that he made me feel unsafe, he denied it. He asked his lawyers to send a letter, the same lawyers who represented Christian Porter. This type of behaviour makes it harder for other women to come forward.”

The letter, seen by The Australian, told Senator Thorpe her statement on Wednesday night was “knowingly false” and that her use of parliamentary privilege to make it was “a disgraceful abuse of your position as an Australian senator”.

“We demand that you immediately and publicly retract your malicious lie and apologise to our client,” the letter, signed by Company Giles principal Rebekah Giles read.

On Thursday, Senator Thorpe was careful not to single out Senator Van as she detailed her experiences in parliament, which included being harassed, assaulted and propositioned.

“I experienced sexual comments and I was inappropriately propositioned by powerful men. One man followed me and cornered me in the stairwell,” the ­senator said.

“There are different understandings of what amounts to sexual assault and what I experienced was being followed aggressively, propositioned and inappropriately touched.

“I was afraid to walk out of the office, I would open the doors slightly and checked the coast was clear before stepping out. It was to the degree that I had to be accompanied by someone whenever I walked inside this building.”

It took less than two hours after Senator Thorpe’s Thursday statement for Peter Dutton to kick Senator Van out of the Liberal partyroom, saying there had been other complaints against him.

After Senator Van was booted from the Liberal partyroom, former Liberal National senator Amanda Stoker said she had also been harassed by him in a parliamentary office in November 2020.

“He did so by squeezing my bottom twice. By its nature and by its repetition, it was not accidental,” she said. “That action was not appropriate. It was unprofessional and uninvited.”