PM demands culture shift
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the alleged rape of a former Liberal Party staffer is a wakeup call that must drive change within Parliament House.
Morrison has apologised to Brittany Higgins for the way her complaint was initially handled.
‘‘It shatters me that still, in this day and age, a young woman can find herself in the vulnerable situation that she was in, not her doing,’’ he said yesterday.
‘‘We have to do more, whether it’s in this workplace or any other workplace in the country, to ensure people can work safely in their place and be at their best and do what they went into that job to do.’’
Morrison has asked Curtin MP Celia Hammond, a former university vice-chancellor, to work with party whips and MPs to improve workplace standards and protect staff.
Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet deputy secretary Stephanie Foster will also review processes for workplace allegations. An automatic reporting obligation to department officials will be established.
Higgins alleges she was sexually assaulted by a male colleague in the office of federal Liberal minister Linda Reynolds after a night out in 2019. She decided not to pursue a police complaint at the time because she felt pressure that doing so would affect her employment.
Higgins has since resigned and plans to reinstate the police complaint. She also intends to initiate a formal complaint with the Department of Finance, which handles work-related complaints from ministerial staff.
The prime minister’s office was involved in managing the alleged assault from the beginning. But despite the engagement of at least two of his staff, Morrison said he was not made aware until 24 hours ago.
He denied that there was a ‘‘don’t ask, don’t tell’’ policy in his office.
Higgins is the third Liberal staffer to allege she was sexually assaulted by men in the party.