Outgoing Northern Territory senator Sam McMahon has used her final speech in parliament to call out bullying in politics, saying she quit the Country Liberal Party after allegedly being subjected to abuse by a former staffer.
Senator McMahon resigned from the party in January, citing the CLP's alleged failure to resolve several "serious" complaints, which she did not specify at the time.
In a speech to the Senate on Wednesday, the now-independent senator used parliamentary privilege to provide further details about her departure.
"My reason to resign was driven entirely by my former staff member Jason Riley, who did abuse and terrorise my office, including myself," she said.
Senator McMahon said another factor was his ongoing position on the CLP's Central Council.
"To have to sit in meetings with such a person was stressful, a very stressful experience, and one that has not been without me seeking out professional assistance to overcome the anxiety and PTSD it created," she said.
Mr Riley and the CLP declined to comment when approached by the ABC.
Senator McMahon calls for 'cruel behaviour' in politics to end
Senator McMahon was elected in 2019 after replacing former CLP stalwart Nigel Scullion as one of the Northern Territory's two federal senators.
But last year she lost a pre-selection battle against Jacinta Price, who will contest the upcoming election as the CLP's top candidate in the Senate.
In her valedictory speech, Senator McMahon called for "cruel behaviour" to be eliminated from politics.
She said the recent passing of Senator Kimberley Kitching, who died of a suspected heart attack, was of concern.
"The reported treatment of her by her Labor colleagues greatly saddens me," she said.
"Whether or not it contributed to her death is a matter of speculation and it will likely never be determined."
Senator McMahon told the Senate that following her resignation from the CLP, she had been the subject of a "vicious display of victim blaming" by a former senior staffer, whom she did not name.
"This public attack was female on female, as are the allegations surrounding Senator Kitching," she said.
"It seems it's not a man thing, a faction thing, a party thing, but it certainly can be a political thing."
Senator McMahon said she wanted to raise the issues as a learning experience, rather than a point-scoring exercise.
"We can honour her memory by not making this a political issue, but by fixing it, so politics is a better place, particularly for women."
During her time in politics, Senator McMahon has been at the centre of several controversies.
In December last year, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce's office said an apology had been issued over an "incident" at a Nationals' Christmas party involving Senator McMahon.
In the week before her unsuccessful pre-selection battle with Ms Price, Senator McMahon denied allegations she was drunk on the floor of the Senate, labelling the claims part of a political campaign to undermine her chances in the contest.
On Wednesday, Senator McMahon acknowledged she had made some early mistakes in her political career but said she had always tried to make the NT a better place.
"My road was bumpy," she said.
"But then, living in and coming from the Northern Territory, the roads are always bumpy."
She urged parliament to allow the NT to make its own laws in relation to assisted dying.
She also said Australia could not ignore nuclear energy as a pathway towards net zero emissions.
The former veterinarian said she is yet to decide what to do in the near future once her time in the Senate comes to an end.
