Thursday 20 October 2022 11:52 PM Lidia Thorpe communicated with her Rebels bikie boss lover via encrypted text ... trends now
Under-fire senator Lidia Thorpe used an encrypted messaging app to communicate with her bikie boss lover - as she faces formal punishment for her conduct and faces calls to resign from parliament.
On Thursday it was revealed Ms Thorpe had a brief relationship in 2021 with Dean Martin, the ex-president of the Rebels Victoria chapter and uncle of AFL star Dustin Martin.
The revelation caused Greens leader Adam Bandt to ask for Ms Thorpe's resignation as deputy leader of the party in the Senate, which she handed in soon after, after Mr Bandt described her conduct as exhibiting a 'significant lack of judgment'.
Ms Thorpe's relationship with Martin came to light after reports her staff were concerned by the relationship because she was a member of a joint parliamentary law enforcement committee.
That committee heard highly confidential briefings from the Australian Federal Police about its efforts to monitor the activities of outlaw motorcycle gangs.
On Thursday it was revealed Ms Thorpe (right) had a brief relationship in 2021 with Dean Martin (left), the ex-president of the Rebels Victoria chapter and uncle of AFL star Dustin Martin
The revelation of Ms Thorpe's liaison with Martin caused Greens leader Adam Bandt to ask for her resignation as deputy leader of the party in the Senate, which she handed in soon after
Martin (left) is the ex-president of the Rebels Victoria chapter and has a long association with the club. He has recorded no criminal convictions
According to the ABC, Ms Thorpe told one of her staff members about her liaison with Martin in May, 2021, and another in June.
In August, 2021, one of those staff members confronted Ms Thorpe about the dangers inherent in the relationship after confidential committee documents arrived in the senator's Melbourne office the same day she had met Martin in a park nearby.
The staffer then made a work diary entry after warning Ms Thorpe the 'risks are catastrophic' of her relationship with Martin being discovered, the ABC reported.
The diary entry also revealed Ms Thorpe and Martin communicated by messaging app Signal, writing that 'they clear their conversations once a week, that they never meet at their respective homes … and that she was being really careful'.
The staffer noted Ms Thorpe chose not to take advice about the relationship: 'I highlighted the huge, real, risk. She assured me the relationship was no longer underway.'
The same person was further alarmed in February this year when Martin appeared in Ms Thorpe's electorate office and they spoke privately in a room for 15 minutes.
Senator Thorpe explained the meeting was 'to discuss issues related to deportation of First Nations people including his brother [Shane]'.
Despite his bikie affiliations, Martin has no criminal convictions.
Greens leader Mr Bandt (right, with Ms Thorpe at left) is under pressure to explain why his chief of staff appeared to know about Ms Thorpe's relationship with Martin in October last year but the leader remained unaware until
