AUSTRALIA
Sunday Telegraph
Miranda Devine
The Sunday Telegraph
April 22, 2012
ALLEGATIONS in court documents that its handpicked Speaker, Peter Slipper, sexually harassed a young male adviser are another scandal our terminally ill government can do without.
And this time, the scandal threatens the reputation and dignity of the institution of Parliament itself, not just the minority Labor government and its Independent backers.
In documents filed in the Federal Court, James Ashby, 33, claims Slipper subjected him to sexual harassment after hiring him as a media adviser in December, weeks after being installed as Speaker.
Ashby alleges that Slipper, 62, recruited him to his personal staff “for the purpose of pursuing a sexual relationship”.
Slipper, who is married and is an ordained priest of the Traditional Anglican Communion church, allegedly made unwanted sexual advances and sent suggestive text messages to Ashby, who is openly homosexual.
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