Print friendly
The Australian Senate chamber was almost empty yet the independent senator from South Australia knew his words would echo across the country, transforming the lives of two men and perhaps his own.
As Xenophon rose to speak in Canberra, two nervous priests were watching him via the internet in Adelaide.
Monsignor Ian Dempsey, a Catholic priest for more than 40 years, had spent his day at a holiday home in a seaside suburb trying to pretend his world was unchanged.
And across town, John Hepworth’s gut was churning with a mixture of relief and fear as he listened to Xenophon’s speech alone in his lounge room. Although the Archbishop and global leader of the 400,000-strong Traditional Anglican Communion had calmly rationalised his decision to go public with his 40-year-old rape claim he was now struggling to cope with its ramifications.
Weeks later, Xenophon is still coming to terms with the tempest he created that day.
Liberal senator Simon Birmingham accused Xenophon of acting as “police, prosecutor, judge and jury”. The then South Australian premier Mike Rann derided Xenophon’s decision as “the politics of smear and self-aggrandisement over social justice”.
Yet Xenophon’s decision was also applauded by many.
So what were the circumstances and moral deliberations that drove Xenophon to act?
Continue reading Senator Xenophon, alleged rape and the use of parliamentary privilege.
Image: Daily Telegraph
Related Posts:
News category: Features.
