Senator Nick Xenophon has told Neos Kosmos that he has few regrets about using parliamentary privilege to name a priest as the alleged rapist of Archbishop John Hepworth.
“I regret that it had to come that,” said the Independent Senator, “but this is a course of events that started with the inaction of the Catholic church in 2007, when Archbishop Hepworth went to the Catholic Church with serious allegations, which they then didn’t deal with appropriately.”
The Independent Senator was reported recently as saying that he may not have used parliamentary privilege to name Monsignor Dempsey, had he known that the accused priest was about to take a month’s leave. Monsignor Ian Dempsey has said it was, “totally unfair and unjust” of the Senator to make the accusation. There has been media speculation that Senator Xenophon was having second thoughts on his controversial intervention, but he says he remains adamant that his actions were necessary.
“If I and John Hepworth had known that Monsignor Dempsey was about to take a month’s vacation, it might have given an opportunity for the Catholic church to finally instigate an appropriate enquiry, but they didn’t want to go down that path, and they still haven’t set up an enquiry.
“What I regret is that this course of events took place, but it is a course of events that has occurred as a result of the way in which the Catholic church in South Australia has handled this situation.” Senator Xenophon is unlikely to face a Senate privileges committee for his actions.
Monsignor Dempsey’s letter of complaint concerning his naming in parliament was admitted to Hansard recently as a right of reply to the senator’s speech. But Senate clerk, Dr Rosemary Laing said it would be “highly unlikely and unusual” for Senator Xenophon to be called before the committee to defend his use of parliamentary privilege.
“The privileges committee is there to inquire into contempt, and contempt is something that gets in the way of the Senate’s ability to get to its job done,” Dr Laing said. “I don’t see how anything that Senator Xenophon, and indeed any other senator has done in terms of talking about people, is a contempt.” Dr Laing confirmed that no notice had been given in the Senate to refer complaints about the Independent MP’s speech to the privileges committee. “This is about a lack of process of the Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide,” said Senator Xenophon, “in the way the church has dealt with serious allegations put to them. This is about dealing with serious allegations in a just and fair manner. For me this is about doing the right thing.”