Malcolm Turnbull’s ban on ministers having sex with staffers was no snap decision
THE shock move to ban ministers from sexual relations with their staff was something Malcolm Turnbull had been canvassing with colleagues all week, writes SHARRI MARKSON
NSW
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THE shock move to ban ministers from sexual relations with their staff was something Malcolm Turnbull had been canvassing with colleagues all week.
As revelations hit the front page of this newspaper, day after day, about potential misuse of funds and breach of standards arising from Barnaby Joyce’s affair with his ex-staffer, Turnbull, a proud and loving grandfather, was increasingly furious and uncomfortable with how his Deputy Prime Minister was conducting himself.
This wasn’t simply an issue that was suffocating the government’s message, it went to the very core of ideals Turnbull finds important. Turnbull isn’t a right-wing moralising puritan but he has a strong commitment to traditional family values.
He has been concerned about inappropriate behaviour in ministers’ offices, not just Joyce’s, and the culture that has developed in Parliament House. He was also worried about the inevitable power imbalance of senior ministers forming sexual relationships with junior female staff.
His attitude was obvious from the strength of the language he used. He was “appalled”. Joyce had shown a “shocking error of judgment”. It had caused his family “terrible hurt and humiliation”.
Corporate Australia has a far higher standard than parliament, and yet we pay our politicians high salaries.
This was not an 11th-hour “snap” decision to alleviate the intense political pressure building on him.
We know Foreign Minster Julie Bishop disagreed with the plan, publicly saying the government had no place interfering in politicians’ private lives.
Turnbull had discussed it with senior colleagues during the week and his decision to set new standards of conduct was appropriate and will be welcomed by future generations of women.