Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would be “comfortable” if embattled Senator David Van didn’t come back to parliament after allegations of misconduct were made against him.
Senator Van resigned from the Liberal Party following allegations made last week by independent senator Lidia Thorpe and former Liberal senator Amanda Stoker.
He has denied all the allegations raised against him.
Claims of inappropriate conduct have also been made by a third unnamed person.
Asked if he had heard of the bad behaviour ahead of last week’s bombshell allegations, Mr Albanese in response said “no”.
“I’d never heard of him really … and I’d be very comfortable if he never returned to the Senate,” he told KIIS FM Melbourne on Tuesday.
Mr Albanese said he was “very concerned” women wouldn’t want to come forward with their own experiences of sexual assault due to how allegations made by former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins had been handled over the past week.
“Some of the commentary and leaking of personal text messages and other stuff that’s gone on has been really regrettable … as well as not being legal some of it as well,” he said.
“People need to be treated with respect, every woman should feel safe at work.
“It’s as simple as that, and our workplace hasn’t been good enough in the past.”
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has called on Senator Van to resign from parliament. But the Victorian senator quit the party late on Saturday, before a committee could meet to discuss the allegations against him.
Senator Van said in a letter to Victorian Liberal president Greg Mirabella, he could not remain a member of a party that “tramples upon the very premise on which our justice system is predicated”.
– AAP
