A new political party promising to restore honesty and integrity to the Victorian parliament was established by a former school teacher deregistered after findings that he had oral sex with a student and propositioned another.
The Victorians Party, a political movement created by small business owners frustrated by the state’s protracted COVID-19 lockdowns, confirmed on Monday that party secretary Martin John Livingston had abruptly resigned.
It came shortly after The Age drew the party’s attention to a 2010 finding by the state’s regulatory authority for teachers that Livingston had engaged in serious misconduct with two female students.
A party spokesman said the organisation was previously unaware of the finding against Livingston, who was also investigated by police over the allegations and not charged.
“The Victorians Party has become aware of a historical allegation against party volunteer Martin Livingston,” the spokesman said.
“Mr Livingston, who faced no charges following a police investigation and fiercely denies the allegation, has made the decision to resign all positions held and cease his volunteer activity with the Victorians Party effective immediately.”
Livingston did not return calls from The Age. He has worked for the Victorians Party in a voluntary capacity since December.
The director of the party is Bill Lang, the executive director of Small Business Australia. The party last month announced its first candidates and has flagged its intention to field candidates in every upper and lower house seat in November’s state election.
The party’s lead candidates are businesswoman Ingrid Maynard and Moreland councillor Oscar Yildiz. It is not suggested that either Lang, Maynard or Moreland were aware of the finding against Livingston.
The failure to properly scrutinise the background of one of the party’s most important office holders raises questions over the vetting process for aspiring MPs.
The party was expected to announce a further 50 candidates in coming days. It is in the middle of a fundraising drive for its campaign.
The finding against Livingston, although it relates to alleged conduct from 14 years ago, is readily accessible online through a Google search.
A formal hearing of the Victorian Institute of Teaching upheld complaints involving two students. The first was that Livingston allegedly invited a student to his home, had oral sex with her and told her to keep quiet about it.
The alleged episode was the subject of a police investigation and interview.
The second was an earlier alleged episode in which Livingston gave a student his phone number, encouraged her to come to his house and rubbed her thigh.
The panel found that on the balance of probabilities, and despite Livingston’s denials, the girls were truthful and credible witnesses and Livingston was not fit to teach. The panel found that Livingston had exploited the trust and privilege given to teachers in a “most disgraceful way”.
The Victorians Party describes itself as “a credible third-party alternative to a bad Andrews Labor government” and has a stated ambition of holding the balance of power in the Legislative Council, the state’s upper house.
It promises to field diverse local candidates with “real-world experience” and has adopted the Democrats’ old rallying call to keep the bastards honest.
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