Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek your indulgence to make an explanation. Mr Speaker, I want to address the issues that have been raised publicly last week. Senator Thorpe has advised me that she remains friends with a Mr Martin and that her connection with him began in 2021. This means that she was the Greens' justice spokesperson and also a member of the Joint Committee on Law Enforcement at the time. Senator Thorpe has acknowledged that this should have been disclosed. Following my request, Senator Thorpe has resigned from the position of deputy leader in the senate.

As I said last week, I first became aware of these matters when recently contacted by the media. After I made inquiries and as has been reported, it became clear that Senator Thorpe's then chief of staff raised the connection with Mr Martin with my chief of staff in 2021. My chief of staff tells me that he advised Senator Thorpe's chief of staff that the issue should be raised with Senator Thorpe. He has also told me that after a subsequent conversation between the two chiefs of staff my chief of staff understood that the issue had been addressed. He did not inform me of these matters at the time and I wasn't aware of these matters until the media raised them.

I have a very good and competent chief of staff who makes many good decisions. The failure to inform me of this matter was not one of them. I should have been told, but I wasn't. In failing to inform me my chief of staff did not meet the expectations of staff in my office on such matters. I have counselled my chief of staff. I have also since reinforced with my senior staff the importance of raising any such matters with me directly.

I also consider the principal responsibility for disclosing these issues to me sat with Senator Thorpe, and she has agreed that she should have disclosed this to me. Senator Thorpe has assured me that committee information was treated in confidence. She completely rejects any suggestion she would do anything other than treat all such information confidentially. I also note that no-one has suggested otherwise. I note also that Senator Thorpe has not held the justice portfolio since the election.

Senator Thorpe is an incredible fighter for her people. Senator Thorpe has important work to do on First Nations justice including on progressing truth, treaty and voice. I want her to be able to do that work.

In making inquiries about this matter I have also caused a search of the emails sent to my private and public parliamentary email accounts to be made. It appears that in 2016, prior to me becoming Greens leader and prior to the matters the subject of media reporting, a Mr Dean Martin sent an email to our public inbox about the deportation of Mr Shane Martin as part of an email chain that referenced both the former minister for home affairs and other members of parliament. As Mr Dean Martin was not a constituent of mine at this time, it does not appear that my office took any further steps on his behalf, but I am making further inquiries on this front. It appears that a number of people were advocating for Mr Shane Martin at the time and that the emails were sent to a number of politicians.

Matters have also been raised publicly about the handling of a complaint made to my office by a former staff member and about the Greens parliamentary complaint process. In the initial ABC report last week there was a suggestion that we had not followed our own rules in dealing with a complaint made by staff to our office about Senator Thorpe. In respect of that complaint, I am advised that an independent review of Senator Thorpe's office, auspiced by the Department of Finance, was commenced as requested by the complainant. We are awaiting the outcomes of that review, which will then be dealt with in accordance with our processes.

I've also asked the PWSS to independently review the Greens' internal complaints processes and recommend any changes. It's absolutely vital that current and former staff feel supported in coming forward and raising any issues they wish. We are currently reviewing our processes, including in light of recent events, to ensure that this is the case.

I want to assure anyone who wants to raise any issue with us and wants it to be dealt with either by us or by an independent body: we will support you. The actions I have taken, including this statement, are based on inquiries I've made, searches of my private and public emails I've caused to be made, advice I have received and the facts as I understand them to date. However, as I have made clear publicly, if any further information is provided to me or becomes apparent, I will of course consider it and act on it, including updating the House if necessary.