Anthony Albanese said he’d be comfortable if David Van “never returned” to parliament, conceding he’d “never really heard” of him.
Senator Van has taken leave from parliament this week after he quit the Liberal Party when at least three allegations of sexual harassment were levelled against him.
Senator Van denies the allegations and has described the past week – since fellow Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe came forward with claims against him – as “utterly shattering”.
Liberal leader Peter Dutton has been leading the call for Senator Van to resign from parliament – a call backed by Mr Albanese on Tuesday.
Asked if he was aware of any rumours against Senator Van before Senator Thorpe – and former Liberal senator Amanda Stoker, and at least one other woman – came forward with allegations, Mr Albanese said he hadn’t.
“I’d never heard of him really,” Mr Albanese told KIIS FM on Tuesday morning.
Without commenting on the veracity of the allegations, Mr Albanese said: “And I’d be very comfortable if he never returned to the Senate.”
Senator Van in a statement on Saturday said he would co-operate with any investigation into the allegations.
“I am utterly shattered by the events of the past days and stunned that my good reputation can be so wantonly savaged without due process or accountability,” he said.
Last Wednesday, Senator Thorpe used parliamentary privilege to accuse Senator Van of sexually assaulting her before withdrawing the claims in line with senate procedures. The next day, without naming names, she described the harassment and intimidation she had experienced inside the building.
Shortly afterwards, Ms Stoker went public with allegations Senator Van had touched her bottom twice at a function years earlier.
In expelling Senator Van from the party room, Mr Dutton last week said he had been made aware of at least one other allegation against him – all of which Senator Van denies.
The allegations against Senator Van came as parliament wrapped up a heavy week where the Coalition accused Labor of politicising Brittany Higgins’ rape allegation and questioned Finance Minister Katy Gallagher for “misleading” the parliament over her knowledge of Ms Higgins’ claims.
The man accused of raping her in Parliament House in 2019, Bruce Lehrmann, maintains his innocence and has never been found guilty. A single charge of sexual assault was dropped by the ACT DPP in 2022.
Mr Albanese said the debate in the last few weeks had “deeply concerned” him.
“I think with some of the coverage as well that’s occurred, I’m very concerned that if you’re a woman wanting to come forward because of a sexual violence issue, then you might be more reluctant,” he said.
“If you look at the coverage that’s occurred, there’s been something like 13 per cent of sexual assaults in Australia are reported to police, and that is a terrible figure.”
Mr Albanese also expressed concern at Ms Higgins’ private text messages winding up in the hands of journalists.
“I think some of the commentary and looking at personal text messages and other stuff that’s going on has been really regrettable … as well as not being legal, some of it as well,” he said.
“I think that people need to be treated with respect, every woman should feel safe at work.”
Mr Albanese said the last week had made it clear that Parliament House still had a way to go.
“Our workplace hasn’t been good enough in the past,” he said.
“We know because of the accusation that was made in 2019, about an alleged sexual assault in a minister’s office, but also the revelations that ended up coming out of last week about allegations about the behaviour of (Senator Van). I’ve got to say, I wasn’t really aware.”