A South Australian MP has made fresh allegations of inappropriate behaviour against ex-Liberal MP Sam Duluk, who was ejected from the party over allegations of bottom-slapping at a Christmas party in 2019.
Speaking under parliamentary privilege, the state Greens MP Tammy Franks has accused Duluk of “bullying, rudeness and indignity”, racist slurs, “homophobic treatment”, and foul language at the same party.
Duluk, who’s now sitting as an independent, was acquitted of assault in relation to the bottom-slapping allegations and a related parliamentary probe was canned this week, easing his expected return to the Liberal party before next year’s state election.
He said the comments by “a long-term political adversary” were “salacious” and designed to cause him maximum political damage.
“I am astonished that Ms Franks considered it appropriate to exploit parliamentary privilege to attempt to destroy my character and I invite her to make these assertions without the protection of parliamentary privilege.”
The case had stemmed from his conduct towards SA-Best upper house MP Connie Bonaros at the party in December 2019.
Duluk, the MP for Waite, pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault at a court hearing earlier this year.
He was later acquitted when a magistrate found that while he may have behaved like a “drunken pest” his conduct was “not illegal”.
Duluk was banished from the Liberal party room over his alleged behaviour and suspended his wider party membership, but continued to sit in the SA parliament’s House of Assembly as an independent.
Premier Steven Marshall has said the MP’s return to government ranks was a matter for the executive of the South Australian Liberal party.
Franks made the fresh allegations in response to the scrapping of the parliamentary probe into Duluk’s alleged behaviour at the Christmas party. She said the parliamentary processes have “failed” the trainees, men and women who experienced the alleged drunken behaviour of Duluk.
“The party processes are all they have left but, to my mind, so far they have also failed,” she said.
