Chat with PM ‘difficult’

ALLEGED rape victim Brittany Higgins says she had a “difficult” conversation with the Prime Minister on Friday where she called for reforms to the way assault complaints in parliament are handled.

The former ministerial staffer has alleged she was raped at Parliament House, setting off a cultural reckoning in Canberra that has put pressure on the government to work harder on women’s safety.

Her 3pm meeting with Scott Morrison in Sydney lasted until shortly before 5pm, and when she addressed the media afterwards she described the talk as difficult, but honest.

“We had a very robust discussion,” Ms Higgins said outside the Commonwealth Parliament Offices.

“The Prime Minister acknowledged that the system had let me down. And we were in agreement that there needs to be reforms.”

She said Mr Morrison appeared to understand what had happened to her.

“And that was encouraging,” she said.

But asked if she thinks Mr Morrison “gets it” on a broader level, she answered: “I’m hopeful that he’s going to do the right thing by women.”

Though the meeting was weeks in the making, she said there wasn’t an immediate sense of relief afterwards.

“No, it was hard. It was difficult, it wasn’t easy,” she said.

“But it was a conversation that needs to be had. And it was an honest and frank discussion, and it’s important that we had it.

Earlier on Friday, Ms Higgins met with Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, who said while their conversation was private, Ms Higgins had a set of requests she would put to the Prime Minister.

A key request would be to set up an independent authority to handle harassment and bullying complaints in the parliamentary workplace.

“At the centre of her asks is a modest and a reasonable one,” Mr Albanese said.

“There’s a need for an independent body so that any woman or any staff member faced with the issues which Brittany was faced with, with the reported sexual assault, or people with other issues related to staffing, relating to culture in Parliament House or in parliamentary offices, are able to go forward and get independent advice.”