Victoria's first Indigenous senator has expressed shock at receiving an abusive letter purporting to be from the CEO of Australian gardening company Jim's Group.
Key points:
- Lidia Thorpe says racism, sexism and misogyny has come in "thick and fast" since she became a senator
- Jim's Mowing boss Jim Penman denies sending the letter and believes it is a fake because the signature on the letter did not match his own
- Mr Penman said the statements made in the letter are vile, sexist, racist and deeply offensive
Green's Senator Lidia Thorpe told Parliament she recently received a letter which appeared to have been sent from Jim's Mowing founder Jim Penman telling her to "get off her fat black ass".
"I have only been in this job, in public office, for a matter of weeks and the misogyny, sexism and racism is coming in thick and fast," Ms Thorpe told the Senate on Tuesday night.
The ABC has seen a copy of the letter, which takes aim at Senator Thorpe's activism, but cannot independently verify its origins.
In a statement to the ABC Mr Penman categorically denied sending the letter and said he believed a "fraudster" had copied an electronic signature and attached it to the letter.
"Why don't you get off your fat black ass and instead of wasting time marching around private property on 'Djab Wurrung country' to stop tree felling, actually do some work with your taxpayer funded job?" the letter states.
"Taxpayers money was not meant for fat-assed women to go giving food to tree hugging hippies!"
"Devote your time to going to the gym to exhaust your hormonal frustration and lose some weight."
In a his statement to the ABC, Mr Penman said the signature on the letter did not match his own and is an electronic version.
"Until tonight I had no idea who Lidia Thorpe was and have never communicated with her," he said.
"Please convey my sympathies and best wishes to the Senator, but tell her this was almost certainly a fraud committed by someone offended by my stand against Daniel Andrews over the recent lockdown.
"I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate her on her achievement in becoming a Senator. This is a major step forward for the Australian people and long overdue."
In August, Mr Penman sent a letter to Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews criticising his handling of COVID-19 and stage four lockdowns in the state.
The letter, which has been published online is still available in google searches.
Mr Penman says it is "obviously, where the fraudster got it [his signature] from".
Senator Thorpe is a vocal activist from Djab Wurrung Country and has been outspoken in her criticism of the Victorian Government's decision to remove a culturally significant tree two weeks ago to make way for a regional highway project in western Victoria.
She previously served in Victorian Parliament and was elected to the Senate earlier this year to replace former Greens leader Richard Di Natale.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiaWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTExLTExL2xpZGlhLXRob3JwZS1hYnVzaXZlLWxldHRlci1wYXJsaWFtZW50LWppbXMtbW93aW5nLWRlbmlhbC8xMjg2OTUyNNIBJ2h0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMjg2OTUyNA?oc=5
2020-11-10 14:10:00Z
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