Lidia Thorpe is facing calls to be expelled from parliament following her outburst outside a Melbourne strip club, with an employment relations lawyer saying she would have been fired by any other company for similar behaviour.
Senator Thorpe was filmed insulting men the size of a patron’s genitals outside Maxine’s Gentlemen’s Club, in north Melbourne, in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The incident – one of many involving Ms Thorpe – led several Australians to demand that Ms Thorpe be expelled from parliament altogether. However, there are protections that make it virtually impossible to get rid of a Senator.
Politicians can be expelled from a party, but only under special circumstances from parliament. Bad behavior is not one of the reasons.
Employment law firm McArdle Legal officer Kieran McArdle told Daily Mail Australia that Senator Thorpe would have been fired from most other workplaces.
Senator Thorpe’s parliamentary colleagues called on her to ‘take responsibility’ after Sunday’s public outburst
He cited Rule 1.07 under the Fair Work Regulations which defines serious misconduct.
“If it damages a company’s reputation as defined by law, it amounts to serious misconduct,” Mr McArdle said.
Freedom of expression is not absolute. It’s not a crime, but from an employer’s perspective, you can’t just say things that hurt a company you work for.’
McArdle said such misconduct could include behavior outside of work hours.
“Who’s going to hire me or my firm if I’m some guy spouting beer all over a bar or getting arrested or something?” he asked.
In the legal profession, Mr McArdle said his license to practice could also be reviewed if he misbehaved.
“I could have the advocacy group say I’m not fit and decent,” he said.
In the case of federal MPs, the only grounds for removal from office are possession of dual citizenship, bankruptcy, holding “certain government positions” or conviction for crimes punishable by imprisonment for one year or more.
University of Sydney constitutional law expert Professor Anne Twomey explained why a senator could not be removed from parliament in a written piece for The conversation in 2019.
She said there is “no grounds for disqualification for conduct that discredits a House of Parliament.”
Only one elected representative, Labor MP Hugh Mahon, who was voted out by his party for criticizing British actions in Ireland and support for an Australian republic, has ever been removed from the federal parliament.
The power to expel members was revoked in 1987 over fears that the power to expel could be abused.
Houses can suspend members for unruly behavior and, in more serious cases, reprimand a member, as happened to former Prime Minister Scott Morrison in November for holding multiple appointments in the Secret Ministry.
A disapproval remains on a parliamentary record, but does not entail a fine or other penalty.
At one point, the senator approaches one of the men outside the strip club and says, “You’re marked”
Labor Minister Tanya Plibersek and MP Barnaby Joyce united in condemning Lidia Thorpe’s behavior outside a Melbourne strip club
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek on Monday criticized Senator Thorpe’s “unacceptable” behavior in becoming the most powerful politician involved in a growing attack on the senator.
“It doesn’t matter if you are an MP or an average person, I think that such behavior in public is just not acceptable,” she told Sunrise.
National MP Barnaby Joyce told Sunrise that Senator Thorpe’s behavior in Melbourne was “completely out of bounds” and was becoming a “litany” of incidents.
“I’m honestly starting to feel sorry for her,” he said.
“I think she needs to have some serious conversations with some people about how she’s behaving and if it’s appropriate and how she’s going to be in that position to act like that.”
Mr Joyce stopped calling for parliament to remove MPs for such behaviour.
‘Unfortunately, I don’t think you should be able to kick people out of parliament. I think once you’re chosen, you’re chosen,” he said.
Senator Thorpe is already facing a possible Senate censure for her alleged secret relationship with a motorcyclist while serving on a committee investigating organized crime.
Social media users have demanded that Senator Thorpe be removed from parliament.
Lidia Thorpe should be fired – no ifs, buts or maybes. She is a disgrace,” one wrote.
A second added, “How can we, the taxpayers, remove Senator Lidia Thorpe from office?”
Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie said she thought Senator Thorpe needed help.
“I think when you’re out so late and you put yourself in a situation like that, you better take responsibility for your actions,” Ms Lambie said.
‘You are a politician, and sometimes we make a mess, but not taking responsibility for it yourself is not very convenient.
“If you don’t think you’re doing it right, go do what the rest of us are doing — go get some counseling or psychology, because honestly, something needs to be done.”
“But to Lidia I would say, you just can’t keep doing this.
“A good start would be to admit that you are part of the problem and that you need to take responsibility for your own actions.”
Senator Thorpe, who switched from representing the Greens to an independent in February, said she was provoked by the men outside Maxine’s Gentlemen’s Club in Brunswick, a northern suburb of Melbourne.
Labor lawyer Kieran McArdle says discrediting a company could be grounds for summary dismissal
“It’s sad that people use anything to bring me down when we try to discuss important issues in this country,” she said in a statement.
Senator Thorpe has been banned from the strip club for life.
The former Greens politician has been warned not to ’cause further embarrassment’ in the letter – seen by Daily Mail Australia – after she shouted obscenities outside Maxine’s Gentlemen’s Club.
Footage from the incident shows Senator Thorpe pointing her finger at the men in a heated argument.
At one point, Senator Thorpe walks up to one of the men and says in a menacing tone, “you, you’re marked.”
One of them calls her a ‘racist dog’ to which she responds ‘f*** you’ before a friend stops her.’
She tells the men, “All I want to say to the black brothers out there and to everyone we fight…
“Any black man standing by that f***ing white little c*** like that – you (sic) can all get fucked too!”
One of the men asks, “How the hell does someone like you get into parliament?”
She hits back: “We’ve been oppressed all our lives in this country and you let this dog talk…”
It is the latest in a series of public incidents surrounding the outspoken senator.
In March, the senator had tried to interrupt a demonstration by British women’s rights advocate Parker Posey and was pulled to the ground by police, causing her to crawl out on all fours.
In February, she had to be removed after she stopped the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade in Sydney by lying in front of a float on a road to protest NSW Police taking part in the event.