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One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has formally requested Federal Police investigation of Independent Senator Lydia Thorpe over controversial statements made at a pro-Palestinian protest, escalating tensions over parliamentary conduct and workplace safety in the national legislature.
Hanson posted a letter to Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw on social media platform X, declaring she is “sick to death of no one taking action against Senator Thorpe for her vile behaviour,” according to a television news report.
The One Nation leader’s letter claims she is “sickened by weak politicians and the continual inaction who pretend Senator Thorpe’s comments have no bearing on the Australian public,” the broadcast stated.
“If the Albanese government will not put a stop to Senator Thorpe’s actions, we are depending on authorities like the federal police to take action,” Hanson wrote, according to the report.
Chief Opposition Whip Aaron Violi characterized Thorpe’s latest statements as “classic Lydia thought, not helpful, doesn’t actually address any of the real challenges that we’ve been sent to Canberra to solve.”
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Workplace Safety Concerns
Violi expressed particular concern about the broader implications of Thorpe’s remarks for Parliament House staff and operations.
“It’s not just MPs and senators and our staff,” Violi said in a television interview. “There are a lot of staff that work in the kitchens and the gyms and other areas that wouldn’t want to hear this. It’s their workplace, completely inappropriate.”
The Chief Opposition Whip said Thorpe later claimed her statements were not meant to be taken literally, but warned against dismissing potentially threatening language from elected officials.
“The risk is that someone does take that literally, and we can’t have that,” Violi said. “We have to be very careful as elected officials in understanding that our words have power.”
Thorpe defended her remarks by suggesting they should not be interpreted as literal threats, according to Violi’s account of her response.
Call for Law Enforcement Assessment
When asked whether he supported Federal Police involvement, Violi declined to direct law enforcement operations while acknowledging the seriousness of the allegations.
“On the face of it, it does look that a threat has been made and ultimately that’s a decision for the AFP,” Violi said. “I’m not in the habit of directing or asking whether it’s Victoria Police here in Victoria or the AFP to how they should conduct their operations.”
Violi said he trusts law enforcement agencies “to act in our best interest and keep the community safe” and would defer to the AFP’s judgment on appropriate action.
However, he emphasized that elected officials should face the same standards as ordinary citizens regarding threatening statements.
“That is a serious threat,” Violi said. “If a member of the public had made that, we wouldn’t accept it. So there should be the same rule for everyone in the community, whether you’re an elected official or not.”
Condemnation From Opposition
Violi described Thorpe’s behavior as “completely outrageous and unacceptable, calling for violence, concerning to see.”
“She’s been condemned, and she should be condemned,” Violi said.
The controversy represents the latest in a series of incidents involving Thorpe, who has repeatedly generated controversy since entering the Senate. The independent senator has previously disrupted parliamentary proceedings and made inflammatory statements on various issues.
The specific content of Thorpe’s remarks at the pro-Palestinian protest was not detailed in available reports, though the reaction from political figures and the One Nation leader’s decision to involve federal law enforcement suggests the statements crossed conventional boundaries of political discourse.
Parliamentary Conduct Questions
The incident raises questions about standards of conduct for federal parliamentarians and the mechanisms available to address behavior that colleagues consider threatening or inappropriate.
While senators and members of parliament enjoy certain privileges and immunities related to parliamentary speech, those protections do not extend to all public statements made outside the chamber.
The matter now rests with the Australian Federal Police, which must determine whether Thorpe’s statements warrant investigation under relevant criminal statutes or whether they constitute protected political expression.
Hanson’s letter represents an unusual step of one senator formally requesting police investigation of another, highlighting the fractious nature of current parliamentary relations and disagreements over acceptable bounds of political rhetoric.
Neither the Prime Minister’s office nor the government have issued public statements on the matter, despite Hanson’s criticism of what she characterized as government inaction.
The Australian Federal Police declined to comment on whether they received Hanson’s letter or any plans to investigate, consistent with standard practice of not confirming or denying investigations.
Thorpe did not respond to requests for comment at the time of publication.
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