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The Victorian Greens leader has defended her party's response in 2018 when it learnt a formal complaint had been made by a former intern about an MP's alleged behaviour.
Prahran MP Sam Hibbins resigned from the Greens earlier this month after admitting to having an affair with a staffer.
He resigned from parliament altogether on Saturday, a day after the ABC sent him questions regarding a complaint made by a former intern.
The ABC revealed Mr Hibbins was cut from a state parliament internship program following an allegation he tried to kiss a university student during his first term as an MP.
Sam Hibbins has refuted the allegations made by a former parliamentary intern. (Facebook: Sam Hibbins)
Mr Hibbins said he "absolutely disputes the sequence and detail of the events" and that it differed from the version of events put to him by the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) when the former intern made a formal complaint in 2018.
"I believed the issue was a misinterpretation, so I immediately offered to provide an apology to the person involved in the parliamentary internship program," he said.
"As a further act of remedy, I said I would not participate further in that particular program."
He said his resignation was unrelated to the questions the ABC put to him and was instead down to a "concerted campaign" against him, pointing to vandalism of his parliamentary office at least a fortnight ago.
The former intern who made the complaint, Harriet, said seeing the video statement Mr Hibbins released regarding his extramarital affair prompted her to speak out publicly about her own experience.
Harriet alleges Mr Hibbins attempted to kiss her after a community event she attended as an intern. (ABC News: Nicole Asher)
"I felt angry and frustrated because he said that it was a 'human mistake' and that it was a lapse of judgement," she said.
"I just don't accept that that is what it is.
"I don't think that his behaviour is what we expect of elected MPs."
Greens leader says party had 'limited information' about complaint
On Tuesday, Victorian Greens leader Ellen Sandell said the party had been told by Mr Hibbins in 2018 that he had voluntarily removed himself from the internship program after "a matter involving an intern".
"The information that we had came from Sam Hibbins himself," Ms Sandell said.
"And he clearly misrepresented information to us."
Ms Sandell said when her party had asked the DPS about the complaint, they were told it had been resolved to the satisfaction of the person involved, who had requested strict confidentiality.
Victorian Greens Leader Ellen Sandell says her party did not receive details about the 2018 complaint. (AAP: James Ross)
"We didn't receive any complaint or report or details from DPS or the person involved," she said.
When asked whether her party should have sought out further details of the alleged incident, Ms Sandell said they had been mindful of the need to respect the complainant's wishes for confidentiality at the time.
"We had limited information and potentially there is some room for improvement there," she said.
Ms Sandell said she was not aware of any Greens interns being placed at Mr Hibbins's office since the resolution of the complaint in 2018. But she said the DPS was in charge of such placements.
She said the Greens were supportive of the Parliamentary Integrity Commissioner due to be established early next year, which she said would "hopefully" improve responses to similar matters in the future.
When contacted for comment on Ms Sandell's words, Mr Hibbins referred the ABC to his previous statement.
Broader calls for mandatory behaviour training at parliament
The alleged incident has prompted a wider reflection on standards of behaviour among MPs at Victorian parliament.
Victorian Trades Hall Council secretary Luke Hilakari said it was concerning when any power imbalance in a workplace allegedly turned into inappropriate behaviour.
"It breaks down trust in a workplace, and when it comes to someone, especially like an intern, these people that manage others ought to and should know better," he said.
There are calls for parliamentarians to undergo mandatory training on appropriate workplace behaviour. (ABC News: Danielle Bonica)
Mr Hilakari called on the DPS to make training on appropriate workplace behaviour mandatory for politicians, particularly those who may not have managed staff previously.
He also said reports of inappropriate behaviour should be made public, if the person making the complaint was comfortable with this approach, so that the public knew what type of person was representing them.
"I think the culture in parliament fundamentally needs to change. It's sad that there is no ability to be able to un-elect a Member of Parliament," he said.
Pamela Anderson, the CEO of Emily's List, a support network for progressive Labor women in politics, strongly supported Mr Hilakari's call for mandatory training.
She said she was frustrated that allegations of inappropriate workplace behaviour continued, which would lead to some women asking themselves if a career in politics was safe.
"And I think that that's where it's not fair, because a lot of really good young women are going to be turned off," she said.
Ms Anderson said when it came to Australian workplaces overall, she believed things were gradually improving.
"They're slow, but I think they are improving because women are now standing up and saying something," she said.
But she said politics still had a fair way to go to catch up with the corporate world.
The Centre for Public Integrity's Catherine Williams said the introduction of Victoria's Parliamentary Integrity Commission in the new year would be "a game changer" in improving the safety of parliamentary workplaces and setting out standards for MP behaviour.
"There is a clear framework set out now for dealing with complaints," Ms Williams said.
"And there is, set up under the legislation, a mechanism by which there might be either sanctions applied by the commission itself, in certain cases, or referrals made for the parliament to impose sanctions."