Prime Minister Scott Morrison ‘very distressed’ at second rape claims
Scott Morrison says he welcomes the police investigation into an alleged Parliament House rape, as a second woman claims she was assaulted.
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he welcomes the police investigation into an alleged Parliament House rape, as a second woman claims she was assaulted.
At a media conference this morning Mr Morrison said he was “glad the investigation is once again underway” amid claims from former Liberal staffer Britanny Higgins she was allegedly raped by a former adviser to the Government.
Today, another woman has come forward to claim she was sexually assaulted by the same Liberal adviser who is alleged to have raped Ms Higgins.
The Weekend Australian reports the woman, a former Liberal Party staffer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said she would not have suffered her alleged rape if the government had supported Ms Higgins in her rape claims.
“If this had been properly dealt with by the government in 2019 this would not have happened to me,’’ she said.
“I am telling my story because I want to support Brittany (Higgins) and I want to help shine a light on this awful culture.”
Mr Morrison said he was shocked by the new allegations.
“I’m very upset about this, particularly for the young woman [involved],” he said.
“I don’t know who it is and I don’t need to know. But it is very distressing.”
Mr Morrison said his Government had always supported a police investigation into the allegations made by Ms Higgins.
“I will simply say this: at all times the ministers and those in senior positions who knew of this matter at all times sought to have it investigated,” he said.
“Ms Reynolds [Defence Minsister Linda Reynolds] facilitated a meeting with Federal Police for that to happen.”
Federal opposition leader Anthony Albanese on Saturday said the new revelations were “quite shocking”.
“It was a very detailed account given,” Mr Albanese said.
“My heart goes out to the person concerned. Sexual assault is a scourge on our society.”
SECOND WOMAN COMES FORWARD
A family friend of the alleged second victim told The Weekend Australian the woman had made the same allegations to her in the weeks after the alleged incident.
On Friday, Ms Higgins approached the AFP to reopen the investigation into her alleged rape at Parliament House in 2019.
Ms Higgins alleges she was sexually assaulted in then defence industry minister Linda Reynolds’ parliamentary suite on March 23, 2019, after a night out drinking.
She made a complaint to police at the time but did not take the matter further fearing it would jeopardise her job.
The second alleged victim, who requested not to be identified, said she met Senator Reynolds’ ex-adviser during the 2016 federal election campaign. After Ms Higgins’ alleged rape, the man was sacked and gained employment in the private sector. But the duo kept in contact and met up again last year.
“We went out to dinner and he kept buying me drinks, and I’m a lightweight when it comes to that,’’ the second alleged victim told The Weekend Australian.
“We went back to my place and we were kissing … we were going to have sex and I said he had to wear a condom. He refused and we argued and I told him five or six times that we couldn’t have sex unless he wore a condom. I was drunk and he just got on top of me, I said no, and then he was inside of me and I kept saying no.”
The woman said the man left in the early hours of the morning and she later consulted her doctor.
The Weekend Australian could not reach the alleged perpetrator on Friday.
‘WE HAVE A PROBLEM IN PARLIAMENT’: MORRISON
Mr Morrison admitted there was a workplace culture issue at Parliament House and in workplaces around the country.
“There is no doubt these events have triggered many women and men around Australia who have gone through similar experiences. That is deeply distressing and that is why I’m seeking to address this,” he said.
“I agree significant work needs to be done on the workplace culture in parliament. It has been an issue for many years. It’s naive to think it’s not an issue in other workplaces around the country and parliament should be leading the way on this issue.
“We have a problem in parliament, in the workplace culture that exists there and we must improve that. In my time there we have seen improvements.
“These events sicken me and they should. They are very complex issues. We have worked hard to address these issues and we are resolved to continue to do so.
“I feel very strongly about these issues. I always have and we must continue to do better.
FORMAL COMPLAINT OVER PARLIAMENT ‘RAPE’
In a statement on Friday afternoon, Ms Higgins said she has re-engaged with police.
“Today I have re-engaged with Australian Federal Police and will proceed with a formal complaint regarding the crime committed against me in what should be the safest building in Australia,” she said.
“By publicly coming forward with my experience in Parliament House, I’ve sought to achieve two things. Firstly, I want a comprehensive police investigation into what happened to me on 22/23 March 2019 and for my perpetrator to face the full force of the law.
“The Australian Federal Police have made assurances to me that they will handle this matter thoroughly and transparently. I would also ask that they handle it in a timely manner as to date, I have waited a long time for justice.
“Secondly, given my experience, I am determined to drive significant reform in the way the Australian parliament handles issues of this nature and treats ministerial and parliamentary staff more generally.”
PM: ‘I’VE TOLD YOU EVERYTHING I KNOW’
It comes after Prime Minister Scott Morrison today denied claims that he has mislead Australians about his office’s prior knowledge of the sexual assault allegations.
“I have sought to be as open and honest as I can be about this matter. I have told you everything I know about this matter. I will continue to,” Mr Morrison said during a press conference.
On Friday morning, text messages were leaked showing a conversation between Ms Higgins and a fellow Liberal Party colleague dated April 3, 2019, approximately two weeks after the alleged assault.
“Spoke to PMO [Prime Minister’s Office]. He was mortified to hear about it and how things have been handled,” the text message, obtained by The Australian, says.
During question time earlier this week, Mr Morrison said the first time his office was told of the alleged rape was on April 5, just two days after Ms Higgins’ text message exchange. However, Mr Morrison then said his “misread” the date, and corrected himself saying his office was not made aware of the allegations until 12 February, 2021.
Mr Morrison has since asked the Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to investigate the issue.
“I received advice from my office and I asked my department to look into that advice,” Mr Morrison said.
“I want to know and that is why I have asked the secretary of my department to actually test that advice that I received. That’s how I go about understanding these matters fully.”
TEXT MESSAGES RAISE DOUBT
A new text message has emerged that casts doubt over whether senior members of the Prime Minister’s office found out only last Friday about the alleged rape of former Liberal Party staffer Brittany Higgins at Parliament House.
A colleague of Ms Higgins’ messaged her on the morning of April 3, 2019, within a fortnight of when the alleged rape occurred.
The fellow Liberal staffer said they had spoken directly with a member of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s office.
“Spoke to PMO. He was mortified to hear about it and how things have been handled,” the text message, obtained by The Australian, says.
“He’s going to discuss with COS — no one else. I flagged need for councillor (sic) and desire to be closer to home during election.”
Mr Morrison on Thursday again said that he only found out about the alleged rape last Friday.
However, Ms Higgins claims that three of his staffers had prior knowledge of the incident.
She has also hit out at the federal government amid claims there is an unofficial government briefing against her.
Ms Higgins spoke out after Network Ten political editor Peter van Onselen made the startling claim on Thursday morning.
Mr van Onselen alleged that the prime minister’s office was backgrounding journalists to smear her partner, a former public servant, saying he had a “gripe” against the government.
Ms Higgins told the Guardian Australia that going public with her story would have consequences.
“I knew personally that when I decided to put my name and face to this there would be repercussions for me,” Ms Higgins told Guardian Australia.
“But I think it’s unfair if they are starting to try and take this out on loved ones”.
“I think it speaks to the systematic problems of this place.
“It silences people and I think it’s gross.”
PRESSURE ON DEFENCE MINISTER TO RESIGN
On Thursday, Senator Jacqui Lambie called for Defence Minister Linda Reynolds to resign “this morning” over her handling of former staffer Ms Higgins’ rape allegations.
Senator Lambie has joined the opposition in demanding Senator Reynolds resign after it was revealed she did not inform the Prime Minister about the allegations.
“It stinks of cover-up, it is extremely worrying,” Senator Lambie told Today.
“I think now with the performance of Linda Reynolds, both in her Defence portfolio and now this, it is time for her to step down.
“She should do that this morning.”
Senator Lambie said she did not have “any faith” in the parliament to deal with Ms Higgins’ allegations and was concerned about her wellbeing.
“I think if she wants the investigation done and wants it done properly it needs to be taken out of the hands of parliament,” she said.
“She has a long way to go. This could affect her.”
Senator Reynolds has apologised in the Senate to her former staffer.
Mr Morrison has agreed to an independent review into the workplaces of the parliament and its staff.
“It is my expectation that this review would be conducted at arm’s length of government,” Mr Morrison wrote in a letter to Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese.
He said it would consult widely across parliamentarians and their staff, the departments and agencies that support their work and provide “constructive feedback” on measures that can be implemented.
Crossbench MP Rebekah Sharkie, who was among politicians calling for an external review, said she hoped it would achieve structural change.
“It really should be wide-ranging to everyone who has a pass so that we can ensure that people have a safe pathway should they experience any form of intimidation, assault or, in Brittany’s case, a very serious sexual assault (allegation),” Ms Sharkie told ABC.
“I want to ensure that no person that works in this place ever feels so alone and feels that they have no one to turn to.”
Ms Sharkie said the gender of the person leading the review did not matter.
PM STAFFER ‘REFUSED ACCESS TO CCTV FOOTAGE’
Brittany Higgins on Wednesday issued a scathing response in the wake of the Morrison Government’s response to her sexual assault allegations.
Ms Higgins released a statement that read: “I have only been made aware of key elements of my own sexual assault as a result of coming forward publicly with my story.
“I didn’t know that security guards let me into Minister Reynolds suite. I didn’t know that a security guards [sic] came into the office multiple times seeing me in a state of undress. I didn’t know they were undertaking an internal review into how the matter was handled at the time. I didn’t know that they debated calling an ambulance at the time of the incident.
“The continued victim-blaming rhetoric by the Prime Minister is personally very distressing to me and countless other survivors.
“A current senior staffer to the Prime Minister and my former Chief-of-Staff refused to provide me with access to the CCTV footage from that evening and continually made me feel as if my ongoing employment would be jeopardised if I proceeded any further with the matter.
“The Government has questions to answer for their own conduct.”
AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR REACTS
Australian of the Year and sexual assault survivor Grace Tame has weighed in on Brittany Higgins’ federal parliament rape allegations.
Ms Tame said her thoughts were with Ms Higgins, a former Liberal staffer who this week broke her silence and claimed she was raped by a colleague at Parliament House and later brought to a formal employment meeting about the incident in the same room the alleged sexual 2019 assault occurred.
“Speaking out takes incredible courage, and I hope justice is reached,” Ms Tame wrote on social media.
She said the case of Ms Higgins’ alleged rape was “another reminder for us all of the need for survivor voices to raise awareness and improve our collective understanding of sexual abuse”.
“To have been referenced as inspiration for Brittany is a positive reinforcement of the power of solidarity,” she said.
Ms Higgins previously said she was moved to speak out after being inspired by Ms Tame.
“I stand with survivors. I am an advocate for normalising the conversation and breaking the cycle of shame,” Ms Tame wrote.
“As such, I’m here to empower people and encourage the platform to be shared. I don’t believe it’s appropriate for me to take the microphone when others are bravely coming forward.”
As a sexual assault survivor, Ms Tame, 26, from Hobart, was named 2021 Australian of the Year for her bravery in speaking about child sexual abuse, trauma, and grooming.
Ms Tame made her mark through News Corp’s #LetHerSpeak campaign which in 2019, took her legal case to be able to publicly self-identify as a rape survivor to the Supreme Court of Tasmania, and won.
When she accepted the award on Australia Day, she said the win was “for all survivors of child sexual abuse”.
She said she would use the year ahead to focus on “education as a means of prevention”.
“Discussion of child sexual abuse is uncomfortable. But nothing is as uncomfortable as abuse itself,” she said.
“I lost my virginity to a paedophile. I was 15, anorexic. He was 58, my teacher. For months he groomed me, then abused me every day: Before school, after school, in my uniform, on the floor. I didn’t know who I was.
“Publicly, he described his crimes as ‘awesome’. Publicly, I was silenced by law. Let Her Speak helped give me a voice.”
INVESTIGATION INTO PARLIAMENT HOUSE CULTURE ‘OVERDUE’
Ms Higgins released a statement on Tuesday welcoming a “long overdue” investigation into the culture at Parliament House which was announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
She also called for a review into the laws that govern ministerial workplaces.
“A clear path forward is now required — and that includes a comprehensive review to the Members of parliament (Staff) Act to ensure adequate protections for staff,” Ms Higgins wrote.
“There needs to be an independent reporting mechanism for staff where they can confidently and safely make complaints — similar to processes in many other workplaces in Australia and abroad.”
Ms Higgins said days after the alleged rape, she was called to a meeting with Senator Reynolds in the same office where the assault allegedly happened.
Ms Reynolds apologised “unreservedly” to Ms Higgins in the Senate on Tuesday and said more could have been done to help her.
“No woman should ever have to go through what she has clearly been through,” she said.
“That trauma that comes not just in the immediate aftermath of an assault, but in the many months and the many years that follow it, is what those of us in this building failed to acknowledge.”
The Prime Minister also apologised to Ms Higgins, saying: “This should not be an environment where a young woman can find herself in such a vulnerable situation.
“That is not OK.”
Mr Morrison announced West Australian MP Celia Hammond, former vice-chancellor of the University of Notre Dame, would now work with Coalition MPs on setting new standards.
He asked Stephanie Foster, a senior bureaucrat in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, to advise him on setting up an external complaints handling process that will allow women to make complaints without fear.
In addressing how the meeting between Senator Reynolds and Ms Higgins was held in the same room of the alleged rape, Mr Morrison said: “That should not have happened and I do apologise. That shouldn’t have happened.
“That’s one of I suspect many process issues that Stephanie Foster will I hope identify to ensure those improvements are made.”
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