Former Greens senator Lidia Thorpe has accused her former colleagues of bullying, saying she made formal complaints earlier than sensationally quitting the social gathering.
The Victorian senator mentioned she outlined intensive bullying allegations in a proper written criticism in late 2022 to Greens chief Adam Bandt and the Parliamentary Office Help Service – however had heard nothing again.
Senator Thorpe stop the Greens in February to sit down as an impartial. She mentioned it was her goal to “grow and amplify” the black sovereignty movementin a transfer that got here amid a number of stories about inside social gathering battle over the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
“I did not go away over the referendum. I left over irreconcilable variations,” Senator Thorpe advised the 9 newspapers on Friday.
“There’s a number of senators throughout the Greens who undermined me and damage me and I’ve needed to report that to [PWSS].”
Senator Thorpe advised 9 that a number of Greens senators had “brought about plenty of hurt”.
Due to the continued formal complaints course of, she refused to call the senators or what number of had been concerned within the alleged bullying.
“I raised it with the Greens. I raised it with the chief. I mentioned, ‘I can not cope with this any extra. I am being undermined. I am being bullied. And it is obtained to cease’. It did not cease,” she mentioned.
Mr Bandt’s workplace has confirmed to the ABC that he was conscious of Senator Thorpe’s complaints. However it rejected her claims of bullying.
“Mr Bandt labored with Senator Thorpe on the problems she raised, together with arranging a chance to have her considerations addressed by PWSS mediation, however Senator Thorpe left the Greens earlier than mediation occurred,” the spokesperson mentioned.
After Senator Thorpe stop, Mr Bandt mentioned he was “truly sad” to see her leaveand known as her a “fighter for her folks”.
The PWSS mentioned it was a confidential service and wouldn’t touch upon the allegations.
Senator Thorpe’s public bullying allegations come after her earlier this week demanded a public apology after a probe into an undisclosed “relationship” with an ex-bikie discovered she was not in contempt of parliament.
The Senate privileges committee found that while Senator Thorpe should have disclosed her relationship, she did not receive any relevant sensitive information. Its report was tabled late on Tuesday.
In the Senate shortly afterwards, Senator Thorpe said she had never actually dated motorcycle gang leader Dean Martin, and referred to him as “some black man”.
She lost the Greens deputy leadership in the fallout from the revelations, and claimed this week she had been forced to admit she and Mr Martin had been an item.
“I had no relationship with that person. I was given legal advice by the Greens lawyer to say that I had dated this person,” she told the Senate.
“I got a call from that person who said, ‘Ah, did we date?’.
“We kissed once at a rally on the 26th of January. I had no idea who this person was or his background.”
Senator Thorpe referred herself to the Senate’s privileges committee over allegations she failed to disclose the relationship despite sitting on a parliamentary law enforcement committee.
A teary Senator Thorpe said the committee’s recommendation that she not be held in contempt vindicated her.
“All you people thought that I had been running off with some biker gang,” she said.
“What kind of person do you think I am?” I deserve an apology, from the leader of the Greens for one, because I lost my position.”
On Thursday, Senator Thorpe told the ABC she was still awaiting an apology from Mr Bandt and the media.
“How many times did you see me riding around on a Harley-Davidson? I’ve only ever ridden once and I was quite petrified,” she said.
“I think there needs to be apologies from quite a number of people. No, I haven’t had apologies from anybody.”
Mr Bandt defended his handling of the situation.
“The facts as we understand them are those that are set out in Senator Thorpe’s letter to the privileges committee. The information in the letter is consistent with the information Senator Thorpe and others provided to us,” he said.
Despite Senator Thorpe’s latest allegations, her office and Mr Bandt’s insisted on Friday that the pair maintained a good working relationship.
– with AAP
