I don't understand why people are avoiding the obvious in this matter: we no longer have assumption of innocence until proven guilty in this country.

We have not had that since Morrison and the SAS; Morrison and Higgins; the media and Cpl. Ben Roberts-Smith and now, Dutton and Van.

Like everyone else, I don't know what Van did or didn't do. I don't know if the two women, plus one not wanting to be identified, are telling the truth or not. And, like everyone else, I will not know until, and unless, Van is charged and given the chance to have the matter decided in a court.

I don't know what everyone else thinks on why the alleged acts were not reported when they were supposed to have happened, nor why the allegations are being made - initially under privilege when the man made a particular speech, followed by two me-tooers. That is suspicious in itself.

Any man who takes advantage of women in the way alleged should get what is coming to him; but we need proof that he did it, first.

So. Back to the obvious misdeed - Dutton, like Morrison, two leaders who should know better - throwing people under the bus on heresay. They are either bad, lawless men, or they are stupid, and have no business being in our parliament.

Hi ttbn,

"I don't understand why people are avoiding the obvious in this matter: we no longer have assumption of innocence until proven guilty in this country."
- That was exactly my point in my previous comment.

I think these grovelling weak men like Dutton and Albo are half the problem, I mean I don't want to be rude, but Lidia Thorpe is not at all very attractive, I find it almost incomprehensible that any man would go out of their way to sexually assault her, let alone risk their career and reputation.

Unless of course the man is a some kind of depraved serial sex pest that cannot control his urges for the life of him.
I'm sure even he could easily do better than Thorpe without much trouble.
- He's a Senator after all, just that fact alone would be enough to get some women wet in the pants.

If it were American politics, presidents like Clinton or Trump would get away with bottom pinching as soft harassment. Or Australian politics like Hawke it would be lauded as playful fun, but things have changed to stop all flirting or sexual aggression in the workplace. With the current workplace laws Van should have known the limits. I do not know how it works if a woman was the aggressor?

Politics is a dirty game, and Mr Van learned a hard lesson. Poor old Dud Dutton must be tearing his hair out, ha,ha, over this one. At the start of the week he had a bucket full of political crap to throw at Gallagher and Labor, good for him! He must have thought; "Wow! things are lookn' up, I've got dynamite!", by the end of the week Dud's on life support as he has to axe Van 'Grub'. I have no sympathy for anyone who cops it in the neck in politics, that's the nature of the beast.

"Greens federal election candidate Jonathan Doig has been jailed for multiple child abuse offences, including paying to watch and direct the live stream of a girl being sexually abused in the Philippines.

Jonathan Doig, who stood against Prime Minister Scott Morrison in the seat of Cook in 2019, was sentenced to nine years jail on Friday in the NSW District Court.

He was arrested in 2020 and accused of storing hundreds of child abuse images on his computer."

Unlike you shadowminister, I don't have a preoccupation with paedophilia. Doug was not an MP, having said that I have no truck with paedophiles at all, be they green, blue, red or any other colour. Other than deflection from the topic what is your point about that dog Doug, only 9 years not enough. Now what do you have to say about Van?