Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says Senator David Van has been advised he will not sit in the Liberal party room after receiving further allegations against him following a statement made by Senator Lidia Thorpe in the Senate.
Senator Thorpe yesterday used parliamentary privilege to accuse Senator Van of sexually harassing and assaulting her, which he immediately denied, and she later withdrew.
Senator Thorpe said she would not take her concerns raised in the Senate to police.
Mr Dutton said his decision was not a reflection on Senator Van’s guilt or innocence.
He’s had a former Liberal senator Amanda Stokes make an accusation against him as well, which makes the initial accusation less partisan than it originally seemed.
“He apologised and said he would never do it again. I accepted his apology and his undertaking. Contemporaneous notes of the meeting were taken and it never happened again.
Guilty because of the accusation.
It’s possible everyone there knows he’s a bit touchy feely, but know one wears body cams on their arses to catch him having a grope.
Just speculation, but it is entirely possible for something to be true without having enough evidence for a senate or police investigation.
Looks like this is probably the case. We are up to 3 allegations now.
We’re not going to throw him under the bus, but when he does go under the bus, we don’t want to be standing next to him.
He’s had a former Liberal senator Amanda Stokes make an accusation against him as well, which makes the initial accusation less partisan than it originally seemed.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/15/david-van-former-liberal-senator-amanda-stoker-accuses-colleague-of-inappropriate-touching
He’s definately now toxic toast now.