Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe has called for “misogynist” and “sleaze” politicians to be excluded from sitting weeks and fined for poor behaviour.
“These politicians love their privilege and their income so they should be hit with a fine of some sort and maybe excluded from participating in the Parliament while they learn not to be a misogynist or a sleaze,” she told Guardian Australia.
Earlier this week, Thorpe accused PM Anthony Albanese of making “condescending, inaccurate comments about his female colleagues, myself included”.
She also accused the prime minister of “laughing off” Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce’s planter box incident last week.
This week, Thorpe told Guardian Australia that she still hadn’t heard an update from the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service (PWSS), where allegations against independent Senator David Van are still outstanding. Van has denied all allegations.
“It’s too long,” Thorpe said, referring to the PWSS, which currently holds interim powers to assess complaints and make recommendations.
“What do you say to the next lot of women coming through? That this hasn’t been sorted yet and just be careful, watch your back?”
In June 2023, Thorpe accused Van of “inappropriately” touching her in a Parliament House stairwell — allegations Van said were ‘false’ and which he vehemently denies.
Days later, Peter Dutton stood Van down from the Liberal party room.
“At the outset I want to make clear I’m not making any judgment on the veracity of allegations or any individual’s guilt or innocence,” Dutton said at the time.
Dutton subsequently referred the claims to the PWSS after “further allegations in relation to Senator Van” had been brought to his attention.
This week, Thorpe described her three-and-a-half years in Canberra as a federal senator as a period mired by inappropriate touching and feeling unsafe.
She described one incident with a male politician as “so gross and wrong”.
“I thought that I’d be safe in an inquiry,” she said. “I even had a woman say to me, ‘Oh, you know, he’s just an old fella, he does that with everybody’ like that’s OK. It’s not OK.”
Thorpe believes that without an independent eforcement body holding politicians accountable, the “old boys’ club” would continue.
“We can’t wait any longer … It’s not acceptable anywhere else and it shouldn’t be acceptable here,” Thorpe said.