Australian lawmaker, Senator David Van from the opposition Liberal Party was suspended, on Thursday (June 15) by his party members after he was accused of sexual assault in the parliament House by a female colleague. This came after an Australian senator Lidia Thorpe alleged that she was aggressively propositioned and inappropriately touched by another senator in parliament House and said it was “not a safe place” for women to work.

<h2>'Not a safe place' for women: Thorpe’s allegations&nbsp;</h2>

In a tearful address to the parliament, an independent senator Thorpe, on Thursday said that she had been subjected to “sexual comments”, followed and cornered in a stairwell, “inappropriately touched” and “propositioned” by “powerful men” and went to call the Australian parliament&nbsp;“not a safe place for women”.&nbsp;

ALSO WATCH |&nbsp;Australian senator Lidia Thorpe alleges sexual assault in Parliament house

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This was a day after the independent senator accused Van of “sexually assaulting” her but was later reportedly forced to withdraw the remark under threat of parliamentary sanction. However, on Thursday, she reiterated the core of her allegations against her colleague and said that she acknowledges “sexual assault” would mean different things to different people and said she would speak about her experience but&nbsp;did not name Van or say when the incidents occurred.&nbsp;

“What I experienced was being followed, aggressively propositioned and inappropriately touched,” Thorpe told the Senate where her remarks are protected by parliamentary privilege, which means that these allegations would not invoke Australia’s severe defamation laws. However, the independent senator has said Van had engaged lawyers in the matter.

In 2021, as per AFP, Van was forced to move his parliamentary office away from Thorpe’s.&nbsp;However, the reason for this was not mentioned, while both senators have previously acknowledged that it did happen. Thorpe also spoke about how she was “afraid” of walking out of her office.&nbsp;

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/jury-discharged-in-australian-parliament-house-rape-trial-over-misconduct-528726">Australia Parliament rape trial jury discharged over 'misconduct'</a>

“I would open the door slightly and check the coast was clear before stepping out,” said the independent senator, adding that it got to a degree where “I had to be accompanied by someone whenever I walked inside this building".

“I know there are others that have experienced similar things and have not come forward in the interest of their careers and in fear that they would be presented to the world by the media in the same way that I have been today,” said Thorpe.&nbsp;

After Thorpe’s speech,&nbsp;former senator Amanda Stoker from Van’s Liberal Party also accused him of “squeezing my bottom twice” at a party in 2020, as per local media reports. In a statement to the local media, Stoker also said that the alleged incident took place at an “informal social gathering in a parliamentary office”.&nbsp;

<h2>‘Scandalous’: Van about the allegations, suspension</h2>

In a statement published after Thorpe’s speech, Van denied the allegations calling them “scandalous” and “outrageous”. He also said that would “fully cooperate with the investigators and answer any questions that they may have of me and Senator Thorpe should do the same”.&nbsp;

He also went on to accuse the independent senator of “bringing the Senate into disrepute” and “cowering under the umbrella of parliamentary privilege”. However, Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton has since suspended Van after “further allegations” had been raised against him.

ALSO READ |<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/australian-court-begins-trial-of-former-staffer-bruce-lehrmann-accused-of-sexual-assault-in-parliament-house-522340">&nbsp;Australian court begins trial of former staffer Bruce Lehrmann accused of sexual assault in Parliament House</a>

Notably, Van’s removal from the Liberal Party’s parliamentary caucus does not amount to his ouster from the parliament but rather he would now be an independent. Since 2021, Australian politics has witnessed several high-profile allegations of sexual assault and harassment inside the Parliament House.&nbsp;

Thorpe’s allegations also follow former political aide Brittany Higgins’ accusations against former Liberal Party staffer Bruce Lehrmann of alleged sexual assault and rape which was said to have happened at the former defence minister’s office.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp; 
 
&nbsp;

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Australian lawmaker, Senator David Van from the opposition Liberal Party was suspended, on Thursday (June 15) by his party members after he was accused of sexual assault in the parliament House by a female colleague.

Australian lawmaker, Senator David Van from the opposition Liberal Party was suspended, on Thursday (June 15) by his party members after he was accused of sexual assault in the parliament House by a female colleague. This came after an Australian senator Lidia Thorpe alleged that she was aggressively propositioned and inappropriately touched by another senator in parliament House and said it was “not a safe place” for women to work. 'Not a safe place' for women: Thorpe’s allegations In a tearful address to the parliament, an independent senator Thorpe, on Thursday said that she had been subjected to “sexual comments”, followed and cornered in a stairwell, “inappropriately touched” and “propositioned” by “powerful men” and went to call the Australian parliament “not a safe place for women”. ALSO WATCH | Australian senator Lidia Thorpe alleges sexual assault in Parliament house This was a day after the independent senator accused Van of “sexually assaulting” her but was later reportedly forced to withdraw the remark under threat of parliamentary sanction. However, on Thursday, she reiterated the core of her allegations against her colleague and said that she acknowledges “sexual assault” would mean different things to different people and said she would speak about her experience but did not name Van or say when the incidents occurred. “What I experienced was being followed, aggressively propositioned and inappropriately touched,” Thorpe told the Senate where her remarks are protected by parliamentary privilege, which means that these allegations would not invoke Australia’s severe defamation laws. However, the independent senator has said Van had engaged lawyers in the matter. In 2021, as per AFP, Van was forced to move his parliamentary office away from Thorpe’s. However, the reason for this was not mentioned, while both senators have previously acknowledged that it did happen. Thorpe also spoke about how she was “afraid” of walking out of her office. ALSO READ | Australia Parliament rape trial jury discharged over 'misconduct' “I would open the door slightly and check the coast was clear before stepping out,” said the independent senator, adding that it got to a degree where “I had to be accompanied by someone whenever I walked inside this building". “I know there are others that have experienced similar things and have not come forward in the interest of their careers and in fear that they would be presented to the world by the media in the same way that I have been today,” said Thorpe. After Thorpe’s speech, former senator Amanda Stoker from Van’s Liberal Party also accused him of “squeezing my bottom twice” at a party in 2020, as per local media reports. In a statement to the local media, Stoker also said that the alleged incident took place at an “informal social gathering in a parliamentary office”. ‘Scandalous’: Van about the allegations, suspension In a statement published after Thorpe’s speech, Van denied the allegations calling them “scandalous” and “outrageous”. He also said that would “fully cooperate with the investigators and answer any questions that they may have of me and Senator Thorpe should do the same”. He also went on to accuse the independent senator of “bringing the Senate into disrepute” and “cowering under the umbrella of parliamentary privilege”. However, Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton has since suspended Van after “further allegations” had been raised against him. ALSO READ | Australian court begins trial of former staffer Bruce Lehrmann accused of sexual assault in Parliament House Notably, Van’s removal from the Liberal Party’s parliamentary caucus does not amount to his ouster from the parliament but rather he would now be an independent. Since 2021, Australian politics has witnessed several high-profile allegations of sexual assault and harassment inside the Parliament House. Thorpe’s allegations also follow former political aide Brittany Higgins’ accusations against former Liberal Party staffer Bruce Lehrmann of alleged sexual assault and rape which was said to have happened at the former defence minister’s office. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Australian lawmaker David Van suspended amid accusations of sexual assault by female senator

'Egg Boy' speaks out why he smashed egg on Australian senator

A cyber attack on Australian lawmakers that breached the networks of major political parties was probably carried out by a foreign government, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday, but did not name any suspects.

As Australia heads for an election due by May, lawmakers were told this month told to urgently change their passwords after the cyber intelligence agency detected an attack on the national parliament's computer network.

The hackers breached the networks of major political parties, Morrison said, as he issued an initial assessment by investigators.

"Our cyber experts believe that a sophisticated state actor is responsible for this malicious activity," he told parliament.

"We also became aware that the networks of some political parties, Liberal, Labor and Nationals have also been affected."

Morrison did not reveal what information was accessed, but he said there was no evidence of election interference.

Investors are still securing local networks, said Alastair MacGibbon, head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre, the government department responsible for online security.

"Our political institutions represent high-value targets," MacGibbon told reporters in the capital, Canberra.

"We will continue to work with our friends and colleagues, both here and overseas, to work out who is behind it and hopefully their intent."

Analysts have said China, Russia and Iran were the most likely culprits.

"When you consider motivation, you would have to say that China is the leading suspect, while you wouldn't rule out Russia either," said Fergus Hanson, head of the International Cyber Policy Centre at think-tank the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

"It is the honey pot of juicy political gossip that has been hoovered up. Emails showing everything from the dirty laundry of internal fights through to who supported a policy could be on display."

Ties with China have deteriorated since 2017, after Canberra accused Beijing of meddling in its domestic affairs. Both countries have since sought to mend relations, but Australia remains wary of China.

Tension rose this month after Australia rescinded the visa of a prominent Chinese businessman, just months after barring Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies from supplying equipment to its 5G broadband network.

Officers of Russia's GRU military intelligence agency covertly monitored computers of US Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and campaign committees, and stole large amounts of data, US investigators have concluded.

A cyber attack on Australian lawmakers that breached the networks of major political parties was probably carried out by a foreign government, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday, but did not name any suspects.

A cyber attack on Australian lawmakers that breached the networks of major political parties was probably carried out by a foreign government, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday, but did not name any suspects. As Australia heads for an election due by May, lawmakers were told this month told to urgently change their passwords after the cyber intelligence agency detected an attack on the national parliament's computer network. The hackers breached the networks of major political parties, Morrison said, as he issued an initial assessment by investigators. "Our cyber experts believe that a sophisticated state actor is responsible for this malicious activity," he told parliament. "We also became aware that the networks of some political parties, Liberal, Labor and Nationals have also been affected." Morrison did not reveal what information was accessed, but he said there was no evidence of election interference. Investors are still securing local networks, said Alastair MacGibbon, head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre, the government department responsible for online security. "Our political institutions represent high-value targets," MacGibbon told reporters in the capital, Canberra. "We will continue to work with our friends and colleagues, both here and overseas, to work out who is behind it and hopefully their intent." Analysts have said China, Russia and Iran were the most likely culprits. "When you consider motivation, you would have to say that China is the leading suspect, while you wouldn't rule out Russia either," said Fergus Hanson, head of the International Cyber Policy Centre at think-tank the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. "It is the honey pot of juicy political gossip that has been hoovered up. Emails showing everything from the dirty laundry of internal fights through to who supported a policy could be on display." Ties with China have deteriorated since 2017, after Canberra accused Beijing of meddling in its domestic affairs. Both countries have since sought to mend relations, but Australia remains wary of China. Tension rose this month after Australia rescinded the visa of a prominent Chinese businessman, just months after barring Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies from supplying equipment to its 5G broadband network. Officers of Russia's GRU military intelligence agency covertly monitored computers of US Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and campaign committees, and stole large amounts of data, US investigators have concluded.

Australia accuses foreign government of cyber attack on lawmakers