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United Australia Party Senator Brian Burston with a bandaged hand in the Senate chamber in Canberra AAP/PA Images
Brian Burston
Australian police probe parliament brawl involving 70 year-old senator who left blood on rival's door
Senator Brian Burston admitted to smearing blood on Senator Pauline Hanson’s door following a brawl with one of her aides.
AUSTRALIAN POLICE ARE investigating a brawl between a senator and a top aide that left blood on the walls of the country’s parliament.
Police and parliamentary authorities are looking into an altercation between 70-year-old Senator Brian Burston and a staffer for populist Senator Pauline Hanson on Tuesday.
Burston showed off a cut on his thumb following the altercation and, following an initial denial, admitted to smearing his blood on Hanson’s parliamentary office door.
In a statement, Burston said he “reported the full matter to the Australian Federal Police” and was asking for a restraining order against the aide.
“This matter is now in the hands of the police,” he added.
Aide James Ashby – who had been instrumental in Hanson gaining outsized influence in Australian politics – has been banned from parliament.
The confrontation, which was caught on camera, took place as Burston accused Hanson of years of unwanted sexual advances and Hanson accused an unnamed senator – believed to be Burston – of sexual misconduct.
Hanson, leader of the One Nation party, made light of the harassment allegations by saying she was 64 years-old but “not that desperate”.
The pair split politically last year and have feuded since.
Amid the most recent spat, The Guardian reported that a female aide once accused Burston of offering sex to cheer her up. He denied the allegations.
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