Lidia Thorpe resigns as Greens deputy leader of Senate after undisclosed relationship with ex-bikie

Lidia Thorpe has today resigned as the Greens' deputy leader in the Senate after she failed to disclose a relationship with former Rebels bikie gang president Dean Martin last year.

During that relationship she was the member of a joint parliamentary law enforcement committee.

Greens leader said Thorpe had accepted his request to resign from the post, following reports by the ABC about her undisclosed relationship with Martin.

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Bandt said she had shown an error in judgement and he had asked her to resign.

"As a leader I expect my senators and MPs, especially those in leadership positions, to exercise good judgement.

"At a minimum, Senator Thorpe needed to disclose to meet her connection to Mr Martin and her failure to do so showed a significant lack of judgement."

There is no suggestion Thorpe has shared any confidential information with anybody who is not authorised to receive it.

Martin was associated with the Rebels for 25 years.

There is no suggestion Martin has an association with the Rebels any longer after stepping down as president in 2018.

He has no criminal convictions.

In a statement, Thorpe said she accepted she had not shown good judgment.

"I accept that I have made mistakes and have not exercised good judgement.

"I will now reflect on this and focus on my important portfolio work, especially advocating for First Nations people."

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, speaking from Perth, described the revelations over Thorpe as "concerning".

"I think that these concerning revelations. Australians are entitled to believe that the oversight processes that are there within the parliament over our legal systems will be maintained in a way that ensures integrity and ensures that any information which is given there is kept in a confidential basis," Albanese said.

"I note that Senator Thorpe has said that this is an error of judgment.

"That's the least description that I would put to it and Mr Bandt has to explain what his office knew and what he knew and if he wasn't informed about these issues, given his office was informed, why that's the case."

Bandt said Thorpe had assured him there was no breach of rules while she sat on parliamentary committees during the undisclosed relationship with Martin.

"She has told me that at no stage was there any breach of the rules regarding those committees or her work, no sharing of confidential information, and to date no one has suggested otherwise," he said.

"But that is not enough. It was clear that - it was clear that this could be perceived as affecting her work and her failure to disclose that, at the very least, to me was an error of judgement."

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Bandt said he expected Thorpe to reflect on her actions and show better judgement in the future.

Earlier today, the ABC reported that two former staff members of Thorpe's office said they raised concerns with the office of Bandt about her relationship with Martin.

But Bandt insisted none of his staff, including his chief of staff, told him about the relationship.

"I have a very good and competent chief of staff who makes many good decisions. This was not of them. I expect that I should have been told about this," he said.

"Ultimately, it was (Lidia Thorpe's) issue that she needed to tell about."

Bandt also said Thorpe's conduct may have technically broken the Greens' code of conduct.

He said the Department of Finance – through an independent agency – is launching a review into her relationship.