David Leyonhjelm revives fight with Sarah Hanson-Young

David Leyonhjelm has attacked the Greens Senator after finding out how often she’s had to withdraw contentious remarks.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.

Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm has unleashed another attack against Sarah Hanson-Young after using parliamentary resources to determine how often the Greens senator has been asked to withdraw contentious remarks in the Senate.

The parliamentary library research, commissioned by Senator Leyonhjelm and obtained by The Australian, found Senator Hanson-Young was asked to withdraw comments at least 26 times since 2012.

The South Australian Greens senator is taking advice from lawyers on whether to launch legal action against Senator Leyonhjelm over allegedly defamatory remarks.

Examples of unparliamentary language spoken by Senator Hanson-Young that she was asked to withdraw included calling then Immigration Minister Peter Dutton a “racist bigot”, telling Nationals senator Barry O’Sullivan he was “corrupt” and accusing Liberal senator Jim Molan of “supporting white supremacists”.

 

By comparison Senator Leyonhjelm was asked to withdraw one comment — from Senator Hanson-Young — after he told her to “stop shagging men” during a debate about arming women with weapons for their safety.

The remark, made late last month, triggered a bitter feud between the two senators.

“Senator Hanson-Young … is a serial offender,” Senator Leyonhjelm said.

“The chair has requested she withdraw insulting, offensive or inappropriate remarks on numerous occasions and on at least five occasions she has had to be cautioned by the chair for using unparliamentary language. Her favourite tactics are using parliamentary privilege to suggest other senators are dishonest, corrupt or mentally unstable.

“Senator Hanson-Young is fond of dishing out undergraduate insults but cries foul when she gets a return serve, responding with faux indignant outrage, tears and tantrums. It’s a double standard in the chamber and quite frankly there’s a fair few of us that have had enough.”

Senator Leyonhjelm claimed he made the “shagging” comment because Senator Hanson-Young had implied during the parliamentary debate that “all men are rapists” — an assertion which she has rejected.

Senator David Leyonhjelm. Picture: AAP

But it was further comments he made on Sky News in the days following that prompted Senator Hanson-Young to consider legal action.

Senator Hanson-Young said parliamentary debate was “often robust” and called on Senator Leyonhjelm to “stop his vendetta and apologise”.

“That is what the public, parliamentarians, the Prime Minister (Malcolm Turnbull), the Opposition Leader (Bill Shorten) and Tony Abbott have all called for and it would be the decent thing for the senator to do,” she said.

Senator Leyonhjelm said he would not apologise to Senator Hanson-Young, “just as she has refused to apologise to the many other senators she has verbally abused in the chamber over the years”.

A gofundme page set up on July 7 to “help Sarah insulate herself from what can be considerable legal expenses” has raised $58,820. A page created one day earlier by the Liberal Democrats to “fight the Greens and their toxic unhinged ideology” has nearly $24,000 in donations.

Both senators will contest the next federal election after serving three-year Senate terms. Senator Hanson-Young entered parliament in 2008 while Senator Leyonhjelm began his first term in 2014.