One Nation leader Pauline Hanson is appealing a court order to pay former colleague Brian Burston $250,000 in damages by arguing he did sexually abuse a staffer.
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Ms Hanson was found to have defamed the former senator last year through "seriously damaging" comments made on Nine's Today Show in March 2019.
In the interview, Ms Hanson claimed her former One Nation colleague had sexually abused his female staff member and had assaulted the party's chief of staff James Ashby without provocation at Parliament House.
Both claims were found to be defamatory, however, a further claim was thrown out after a federal court judge found Mr Burston sexually harassed a former colleague by sexually propositioning her and sexually harassed a second staffer over "a prolonged period".
Ms Hanson is appealing the Federal Court decision with a truth defence, with her barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC arguing the proven sexual harassment of his former staff member was sexual abuse, even if it did not include molestation.
"We say where it's a sexual act, where there's a power imbalance, ongoing sexual harassment that becomes intolerable because it's persistent, constant and ongoing, where there is unwelcome touching, well the ordinary person would consider that abuse," she said on Tuesday.
"The notion we had to prove some act of molestation is not the standard we needed to meet. We proved sexual touching and intent, we say all of that falls within the notion of sexual abuse."
Mr Burston's former staff member told the court last year that the then-senator was infatuated with her, consistently sexually harassing her, forcefully kissing her multiple times and making inappropriate comments.
In one instance he stuffed money down her shirt and refused to take it back when she pulled it out.
In another, he invited himself into her home "for a wine" and passionately kissed her upon leaving.
Justice Robert Bromwich called Mr Burston's conduct "objectively wrong and inappropriate", including that he told another staffer, "You probably just need a good f***".
"(But) there was no evidence that Ms Hanson had any proper basis for suspecting, let alone believing or knowing, that Mr Burston's conduct went so far as to constitute sexual abuse," Justice Bromwich said at the time.
Mr Burston quit Ms Hanson's One Nation to join United Australia Party in June 2018 after falling out with his colleagues over his stance on then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull's proposed tax cuts.
He failed to retain his seat at the 2019 federal election.
The appeal hearing continues.
Australian Associated Press
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