Peter Dutton calls on David Van to resign after allegations

Following claims from independent senator Lidia Thorpe, Mr Dutton is dealing with at least two internal Liberal party complaints against Senator Van. Mr Dutton has removed the Victorian representative from the Liberal party room and sent him to the crossbench.

The third alleged case, according to Mr Dutton, happened in the same 2020-21 time period as the previous allegations and is similar in nature.

Senator Van has denied the claims made by Senator Thorpe and said he had no recollection of an incident described by former Liberal senator Amanda Stoker as squeezing her on her bottom twice at an informal gathering.

The Liberal leader said he has spoken to the President of the Victorian division of the party as well as some of his Victorian colleagues about the best course of action.

"I don't tolerate the sexual assault of women," Mr Dutton told 2GB host Ray Hadley.

"I think it's in everyone's best interest that he resign from the Parliament and I hope he's able to do that sooner than later and seek the help that he needs.

"I think that would be an appropriate next step. In terms of the decision to expel him from the party, well that's a decision for the party in each of the state divisions. You know there is a separate body in each state and territory as is the case with the Labor party."

The Canberra Times has sought a response from the resignation call from Senator Van.

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Senator Thorpe, who had withdrawn the allegation of sexual assault but has pressed on with allegations of inappropriate behaviour, has continued her assessment that Parliament House is not a safe workplace for women and claimed there has been racism in how she, an Indigenous woman, has been treated.

Senator Van, who has engaged lawyers over the allegations, issued a statement on Friday morning.

"I am utterly shattered by the events of the past days and stunned that my good reputation can be so wantonly savaged without due process or accountability," he said.

"I will fully cooperate with whatever process Mr Dutton proposes to determine these matters as quickly and fairly as possible.

"While I understand the public interest is high, I will not be making any more public statements on the allegations until a proper examination of these claims is concluded."

Mr Dutton regards the situation as "very serious".

"He denies the allegations. It is not for me to prove or disprove someone's guilt or innocence," he said.

"He has a presumption of innocence, and that's fine, but there are serious, credible allegations that have been made and my decision was whether he should stay in the party room or not. And I made a decision he should not."

The allegations have been referred to the independent workplace complaints mechanism, the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service, which was set up in the wake of the landmark Set the Standard review by Kate Jenkins.