Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe has been sacked as the party’s deputy Senate leader after she confirmed an ABC report she was in an undisclosed relationship with the former president of an outlaw motorcycle gang.
The relationship went on while she was sitting on a law enforcement committee and receiving confidential police briefings about bikie activities, the ABC reported.
Thorpe told the ABC it was correct she used to date the ex-president of the Victorian chapter of the Rebels group.
“We met through Blak activism and briefly dated in early 2021,” she told the ABC.
“We remain friends and have collaborated on our shared interests advocating for the rights of First Nations peoples.”
The ABC reported on Thursday that staffers in Thorpe’s office were alarmed by the relationship because it risked a potential conflict of interest, and that they raised the issue with the chief of staff of Greens Leader Adam Bandt.
Bandt, however, said he didn’t find out until he was recently contacted by the ABC.
Staff also raised the relationship with the Parliament’s workplace watchdog, the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service.
It is not suggested that Thorpe shared any confidential information with unauthorised people, nor that the ex-bikie boss, who has no criminal convictions, has any continuing association with outlaw motorcycle gangs.
Bandt said the failure of Thorpe to disclose the relationship to the party showed a “significant lapse in judgment”.
“Senator Thorpe says she understands this,” Bandt told reporters on Thursday afternoon.
“So I now expect her to demonstrate better judgment going forward and in exercising her continuing portfolio responsibilities.”
While Bandt was speaking, Thorpe issued a statement via her office.
“Greens Leader Adam Bandt has requested my resignation as deputy leader in the Senate and I have given him my resignation,” she said.
“I accept that I have made mistakes and have not exercised good judgment. I will now reflect on this and focus on my important portfolio work, especially advocating for First Nations people.”
