Party ‘did not care’ about sex assault

A LIBERAL staffer allegedly raped in the office of Defence Minister Linda Reynolds claims she felt the incident was taken seriously only because it happened in Parliament House.

Former media adviser Brittany Higgins has revealed she felt some people in the Morrison government “didn’t care” about her horrific experience, and only “cared about the (Liberal) party”.

Ms Higgins was 24 and only four weeks into her job when she was allegedly raped by a male staffer on a couch in Ms Reynolds’ office after an event in Canberra on March 23, 2019.

She said after an evening drinking with colleagues, the pair shared a taxi as they lived in the same direction, but instead the colleague took her to Parliament House.

After arriving in Ms Reynolds’ office, Ms Higgins said she began to feel unwell and lay on the couch. She alleges she woke up to find the Liberal staffer having sex with her. “I told him to stop,” she said. ACT Policing has confirmed an investigation into the matter remains open following an initial report in April 2019, but was not being actively pursued as the victim decided not to lodge a formal complaint.

In the days following, parliamentary staff initially addressed it as a security breach. Ms Higgins was called to a formal employment meeting in the same room the alleged rape occurred where she was told the man had immediately resigned due to the security issue.

After disclosing the alleged assault, Ms Higgins said she felt it was impressed upon her by staff the matter was a “political issue” and not “something to be shared”.

“The only thing that I know that made everyone else care about it was (where it happened) and who it was connected to,” she said.

A government spokesman confirmed that on March 26, 2019, Ms Reynolds’ senior staff became aware the office was accessed after hours and that an “incident” had occurred.

“Ms Higgins was notified that should she choose to, she should pursue a complaint, including a complaint made to the police, and that to do so was within her rights,” he said.

Ms Reynolds on Monday said she had repeatedly told Ms Higgins any decision would not affect her career.