Greens senator Lidia Thorpe has resigned from the party's leadership team over revelations she was in an undisclosed relationship with an ex-bikie boss.
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But the firebrand senator will remain as Greens spokesperson on First Nations issues, despite conceding she "made mistakes and ... [did] not exercise good judgement".
And Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has demanded Greens leader Adam Bandt, who says he was not aware of the relationship, reveal what his office knew about the matter.
As revealed by the ABC on Thursday, Senator Thorpe dated former Rebels in Victoria president Dean Martin while she sat on a parliamentary committee receiving confidential information on bikie gangs.
The Greens senator confirmed she had "briefly dated" Mr Martin in early 2021, saying the pair remained friends.
Addressing the revelations on Thursday afternoon, Mr Bandt said he had asked for Senator Thorpe's resignation as Greens deputy Senate leader, which she accepted.
"As leader, I expect my senators and MPs, especially those in leadership positions, to exercise good judgment," he said.
"At a minimum, Senator Thorpe needed to disclose to me her connection to Mr Martin, and her failure to do so showed a significant lack of judgement.
"[Asking for her resignation] on the facts that I'm given at the moment is an appropriate sanction."
'Show better judgement'
Mr Bandt said Senator Thorpe would continue in her "important work" representing the Greens on First Nations issues, but did not answer directly when asked whether she had been given a final warning.
"Senator Thorpe is a fighter for her people and has strong and passionate views about advancing justice for First Nations people," he said.
"She has the potential to be a very good senator, fighting for her people and fighting for justice. But she will need to show better judgement to do that."
Mr Bandt said he did not know about the relationship until approached by media this week, but confirmed members of his staff been.
As her leader spoke, a statement from Senator Thorpe confirmed the news.
"I accept that I have made mistakes and have not exercised good judgement," it said.
"I will now reflect on this and focus on my important portfolio work, especially advocating for First Nations people."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the revelations as "concerning", saying Australians were entitled to expect confidential information was treated with care.
"I note that Senator Thorpe has said that this is an error of judgement. That's the least [strong] description that I would put to it," he said.
"Mr Bandt has to explain what his office knew, what he knew. If he wasn't informed about these issues, given his office was informed, [he needs to explain] why that's the case."
'Perceived as an issue'
At the time of their relationship, Senator Thorpe was sitting on the joint parliamentary law enforcement committee, which was receiving confidential evidence on how police were monitoring motorcycle gangs for an inquiry on the trade of illicit drugs.
The Greens senator insisted she had always treated confidential AFP information in confidence.
Mr Bandt has reached out to the Australian Federal Police to see whether they had concerns, stressing no one had accused her of passing confidential information.
"But the test has to be, especially for politicians sitting on important committees like these, [that] it cannot be the perceived as an issue given the work they are doing," he said.
Mr Martin was connected to the Rebels gang for more than two decades, but has no criminal convictions.
Senator Thorpe's staff were so concerned about the relationship, fearing a conflict of interest and extortion, that they urged her to disclose it to Mr Bandt's office.
Senator Thorpe conceded she had not done so.
Two staffers told the ABC Mr Bandt's chief of staff Damien Lawson rebuffed them when approached about their concerns, asking: "Do you mind if we don't tell Adam?"
Mr Lawson denied the claim, saying he believed the matter had been resolved.
"I have a very good and competent chief of staff, who makes many good decisions. This was not one of them. I expect that I should have been told about this, and I've made that clear," Mr Bandt said.
One Greens staffers told the ABC Senator Thorpe had returned from Question Time one afternoon, saying she had been with Mr Martin at a carpark across the road.
The staffer also claimed Senator Thorpe said she was communicating with Mr Martin via encrypted messaging app Signal, and that the pair cleared their conversations weekly.