Labor MP Marion Scrymgour has announced she is seeking legal advice over “outrageous” corruption claims levelled against her by independent Senator Lidia Thorpe.
On June 7, Senator Thorpe used a Senate Estimates hearing to grill members of the Northern Land Council, of which Ms Scrymgour was formerly CEO, over allegations COVID stimulus grants were misused to benefit the member for Lingiari.
Amongst several claims put forward by the Senator under Parliamentary privilege were that the NLC provided advice to Ms Scrymgour about using the grants to “garner support for her political aspirations”, and that the body allegedly approved a $400,000 payment to the Daiyi Aboriginal Corporation to build a holiday home for the Labor MP.
Senator Thorpe also appeared to suggest the NLC could not be relied upon to properly investigate the claims given there were “multiple issues and conflicts of interest” within the body, as she demanded an undertaking the COVID grants would be “properly” examined.
On Monday, Ms Scrymgour told SkyNews.com.au Senator Thorpe’s allegations were “outrageous” before she released a six page statement responding to the claims and revealing she was taking legal advice.
“In a Senate Estimate hearing on the 7th of June, Senator Thorpe embarked on a course of questioning in which she insinuated the I had engaged in corrupt conduct,” she wrote.
“It is not the first time Senator Thorpe has been able to use Parliamentary privilege to launch personal attacks on me and my fellow Northern Territory Aboriginal parliamentarian, Senator McCarthy.
“Mud sticks. Once it is thrown, stories and rumours often get a new lease of life because of the further publicity that will usually be given to any response.
“More than two years into my term, I wasn’t expecting that slurs on my character relating to my previous job would be deliberately weaponised by way of a clever combination of Parliamentary privilege and social media.
“I have referred the additional damage Senator Thorpe has sought to cause me through her social media forays to lawyers. I won’t comment about it any further here.”
In her statement, Ms Scrymgour alleges the independent Senator packaged footage of the June 7 hearing, including some “nasty commentary”, before publishing the clips to various social media platforms.
Asked on Monday whether she was considering lodging a defamation complaint, the Labor MP told SkyNews.com.au she was still awaiting legal advice, but that was “one option” which may arise from engaging lawyers.
Responding to Ms Scrymgour’s announcement, Senator Thorpe told SkyNews.com.au her questions had been “guided by community concerns” and were aimed at ensuring transparency.
“Budget estimates is a time to scrutinise the administration of public money and adherence to good governance,” she said.
“My questions in Estimates this month were guided by community concerns. Pushing for better accountability and transparency around government spending is a key part of my role as an independent Senator.”
Ms Scrymgour served as the CEO of the NLC from 2019 until she was elected as the Labor Member for Lingiari in 2022.