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Senator Lidia Thorpe accuses Liberal senator David Van of sexually assaulting, harassing her
By James Massola
Independent senator Lidia Thorpe has in parliament accused Victorian Liberal senator David Van of “harassing” and “sexually assaulting” her.
The allegation was made by Thorpe soon after question time on Wednesday as Van made a speech accusing the Labor Party of disgraceful behaviour in its handling of the Brittany Higgins sexual assault allegations.
Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe during Senate question time on Wednesday.Credit: Mick Tsikas / AAP
“Even yesterday and today the muck that has been thrown from that side [Labor] to this side [Liberal] at senators Cash and Reynolds is really just not on and makes a mockery of your words,” he said.
“As parliamentarians, we need to be focused on setting the standards.”
As Van speaks, Thorpe can be heard interjecting and calling out the word “perpetrator” and “You can talk! You can talk! You know what you were doing around this time, you know what you were doing around this time don’t you Van? You got away with a lot.”
Senate deputy president Andrew McLachlan repeatedly attempted to stop Thorpe from interjecting. Then the former Greens senator rose on a point of order and said: “I’m feeling really uncomfortable when a perpetrator is speaking about violence.”
Victorian Liberal senator David Van was in the Senate accused of “harassing” and “sexually assaulting” Independent senator Lidia Thorpe on Wednesday.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
McLachlan replied: “That’s inappropriate and I have to ask you to withdraw that.”
Thorpe said: “I can’t because this person harassed me, sexually assaulted me and the prime minister had to remove him from his office [relocate offices within parliament].”
“And to have him talking about this today is an absolute disgrace, on the whole party.”
As Thorpe sat down, McLachlan said he would have to refer her comments to the Senate President Sue Lines.
Van then rose to his feet and said: “I utterly reject that statement, that disgusting statement, outright. It is just a lie and I reject it.”
“I withdraw the word lie. It is just not true.”
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Prime Minister says former government’s inquiry into Higgins’ complaint ‘never meant to shed any light’
By Angus Thompson
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has accused the former government’s inquiry into what senior figures knew about Brittany Higgins’ rape allegation before she went public as being a farce, saying “it was never meant to shine any light”.
Former prime minister Scott Morrison commissioned Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet head Phil Gaetjens to investigate who within Morrison’s own office knew what about Higgins’ claim in February 2021, but the inquiry was suspended in August of the same year due to criminal proceedings.
Escalating a war of words between Labor and the Coalition over both sides’ handling of Higgins’ complaint, Albanese alleged to parliament’s question time this afternoon that Gaetjen’s inquiry was never intended to reveal what people within Morrison’s office had known.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
“The failure to release any findings shows the inquiry was never intended to shine any light, and the government failed to answer 57 questions on notice from Senate estimates dating back to the 22nd of March, 2021,” Albanese said.
His attack came as the federal opposition continued to apply pressure on the government during question time on Wednesday about various Labor frontbenchers’ knowledge of Higgins’ allegation before it was aired in a television interview in February 2021.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton asked Albanese whether Finance Minister Katy Gallagher had misled the Senate on Tuesday when she said she never passed on information about the allegation to Albanese or any member of his office before it went to air. Albanese replied, “no.”
Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley also asked Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, Labor’s former spokesperson for women, when she first became aware of the allegation - before the question was ruled out of order.
In August 2021, ACT Policing detectives charged Bruce Lehrmann, a former Coalition staffer, with sexually assaulting Higgins in the ministerial office of their former boss, Liberal senator Linda Reynolds, in March 2019.
He pleaded not guilty to the charge and the trial was aborted due to juror misconduct in October last year, before the case was completely dropped because of Higgins’ mental health. Lehrmann has maintained his innocence.
‘If you can live with your conscience’: Gallagher blasts Liberals
By James Massola
Returning to Senate question time, where Katy Gallagher has rebuked opposition senators and reminded them about the potential impact the political fight over Brittany Higgins’ alleged assault could have on other victims coming forward.
Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson had asked Gallagher a series of questions about her friendship with David Sharaz, the partner of Higgins.
Henderson’s questions included whether Gallagher was invited to Sharaz’s first wedding in 2019 and whether she attended the wedding.
Gallagher dead batted the questions – the pair had a professional relationship as he was a working journalist in Canberra and she was invited to his wedding, but she received a lot of invitations and didn’t attend the nuptials.
Gallagher then said all MPs need to be mindful of the impact on sexual assault victims.
“I have been inundated with calls from women’s organisations and women themselves that are concerned about how this debate is going to impact women making choices about their own safety,” she said.
“If you can live with your conscience on that… I can’t with mine.”
More than 100 wedding guests killed after boat capsizes in Nigeria
A boat returning from a wedding capsized in Nigeria, killing at least 103 people, including children, officials said.
Residents and police were still searching for dozens of people who were on the overcrowded boat that capsized early Monday on the Niger River in the Pategi district, with 100 people rescued so far, according to a police spokesman.
“The boat was overloaded and close to 300 persons were in it. While they were coming, the boat hit a big log inside the water and split into two,” said Abdul Gana Lukpada, a local chief.
You can read more about the tragedy here.
AP
Reserve Bank underpaid almost 1200 staff
By Poppy Johnston
Nearly 1200 Reserve Bank staff have been underpaid by the major economic institution.
A total of $1.15 million was owed to current and former staff due to a mistake in the way payments were calculated for leave entitlements, the RBA has confirmed.
The central bank brought on consultancy firm PwC to investigate the pay concerns.
The review found the RBA was incorrectly calculating annual leave, long service leave and rostered days payments for some employees.
A review by consulting firm PwC found nearly 1200 Reserve Bank staff have been underpaid.Credit: Kate Geraghty
The bulk of the underpayments stemmed from errors when paying entitlements to people leaving the institution.
All staff who have been underpaid have been notified and the central bank has started paying them back.
The Fair Work Ombudsman and the Finance Sector Union have also been advised about the issue and the bank’s response.
AAP
Opposition targets Gallagher in the Senate, but minister stands her ground
By James Massola
Senate question time has begun with Michaelia Cash questioning Katy Gallagher over whether she, as Finance Minister, received a brief or any advice from her department about the financial settlement the Commonwealth reached with Brittany Higgins.
The settlement for Higgins’ personal injury claim was reached in December 2022 and was signed off by Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus. Higgins had sought $3 million but the final amount has been kept confidential.
Gallagher says that “from my memory, I did not receive a brief or any advice from my department” and adds there was no conflict of interest for her to declare.
“It [a brief or advice] never came to me, so there was never any conflict [of interest] to occur.” Gallagher adds that she had no personal contact with the Attorney-General or his office about the settlement, and she will check whether her office had any communications with the first law officer’s team.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher during Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Marise Payne then takes up the cudgels, quizzing Gallagher whether she received either a transcript of the Project interview before it went to air or the actual recording.
The Coalition pursued this line of questioning yesterday, and once again, Gallagher won’t say exactly what form the information she received from Higgins’ partner David Sharaz was in.
“As I said yesterday, I was provided with that information in the days leading up to stories becoming public,” Gallagher says. “But it wasn’t my story, it was Ms Higgins’ story, and she asked me to keep that confidential. Which I did. I don’t intend to breach that confidence now and I didn’t then.”
Payne then asks if Gallagher received any information or forewarning from journalist Lisa Wilkinson, Network Ten or any other journalists before the Project episode went to air.
The answer to that is a flat no from Gallagher, who then adds forcefully that thus far the opposition has not proved either of the two allegations against her – that she misled the Senate, or that she had a role in Higgins’ compensation payment.
This afternoon’s headlines at a glance
By Caroline Schelle
Thank you for reading our coverage today, I’m handing over the blog to Josefine Ganko who will keep you updated this afternoon.
If you’re just joining us, here’s what you need to know:
- Liberal senator Andrew Bragg has called for an investigation into how private text messages between Brittany Higgins and her partner were put into the public domain.
- Former Labor minister Greg Combet is resigning from his roles as chair of IFM Investors and Industry Super Australia to chair a new government agency.
- The Australian Medical Association president says the country’s healthcare system needs an overhaul and the private health insurance surge is a “mirage”.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) speaks to Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Henry Puna during a meeting at Parliament House in Canberra.Credit: AAP
Watch: Question time
Question time in Parliament House is about to start.
Watch live below:
NDIS provider ordered to pay $400k over bathtub death failures
An NDIS provider has been ordered to pay $400,000 over its negligence and inadequacies that contributed to a 20-year-old epileptic woman drowning in a bathtub.
Australian Foundation for Disability (Afford), a registered charity, was ordered to pay $400,000 for two contraventions of the NDIS act in the Federal Court on Wednesday, as well as costs for the NDIS quality and safeguards commissioner bringing them to court.
Justice Wendy Abraham noted there were “obvious inadequacies” in the care given to Merna Aprem before she drowned at Afford’s group home at Woodbine in Sydney’s south-west on May 23, 2019.
Aprem could not be revived after she was found unconscious with her nose and mouth submerged in a bathtub of water and vomit.
Two workers were on duty to look after her and two other residents on the night she died, neither of whom had worked at the home before or knew she had epilepsy.
Aprem was left in the bath unsupervised with the door ajar for 25 minutes, and was able to lock herself in.
Staff had to dismantle the door knob with a kitchen knife to access the bathroom after she did not respond.
AAP
Disinformation on health ‘major threat’ to policy: AMA head
By Caroline Schelle
AMA president Steve Robson is taking questions at the moment, and has been asked about the deterioration of people’s confidence in experts.
“We are seeing ideas that really have no scientific basis at all but take hold and take root. I think one of the big things that happened is social media allows these ideas to spread rapidly,” Robson told reporters in Canberra.
He said disinformation made the policy environment incredibly difficult, and many people were “victims of algorithms”.
“I think we have to deal with it. I don’t know how to do it, but … it is a major threat not only to health policy but to good public policy generally,” the AMA head said.
That’s where we will leave Robson for now.
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2023-06-14 06:33:28Z
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