How Scott Morrison can save himself after six weeks of scandals

As the Prime Minister enters his sixth week of horrific allegations about sexual misconduct in parliament its clear the leader needs some advice.

Over the past six weeks, Scott Morrison’s government has been pummelled with scandal after scandal.

In mid-February, news.com.au revealed allegations from former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, who claimed she was raped by a fellow colleague in the office of Defence Minister Linda Reynolds.

Since that time, a litany of shocking stories about alleged misconduct have hit the government. The Attorney-General Christian Porter outed himself as the unnamed Minister at the centre of a historic rape allegation, and vehemently denied the claim.

After a heated and emotional press conference, Mr Porter took almost a month of mental health leave, during which time he commenced defamation proceedings against the ABC.

It was also leaked that Ms Reynolds referred to Ms Higgins as a “lying cow”. Ms Reynolds was admitted to hospital shortly after the revelations for a pre-existing heart condition.

Further scandals include footage of a Liberal staffer masturbating on the desk of a female MP.

Over the weekend, Queensland Liberal Andrew Laming announced he’d quit politics at the next election, after it emerged he’d taken photos up a woman’s skirt as she bent over to fill a fridge with drinks.

For now, Mr Laming will take medical leave to enter residential rehab – similarly to Mr Porter and Ms Reynolds.

A new Newspoll published today by The Australian revealed after of six weeks of scandals, voter satisfaction with the PM had plunged seven points – falling from 62 per cent to 55 in the last two weeks.

RELATED: Radio star sacked over Brittany slur

Scott Morrison has suffered a horror result in the latest Newspoll, after six weeks of scandals. Picture: Andrew Henshaw/NCA NewsWire

Today Mr Porter and Senator Reynolds were stripped of their portfolios as the Prime Minister rearranged his front bench as a way to put an end to the chaos and crisis engulfing government.

Louise Chappell, Scientia Professor from UNSW said it’s possible for Mr Morrison to turn this disastrous period around.

“I suggest Australia’s political class need to recognise three problems,” Professor Chappell, an expert in women’s rights, gender, politics and institutions wrote in The Conversation.

It’s not just about men in parliament being bad

She said politicians need understand it’s not about “men behaving badly or about women being victims”. Organisations can have embedded cultures of what’s appropriate for men and women.

“By this I mean there are deeply embedded norms of behaviour – in this case masculine norms – that become the accepted ways of acting within an organisation,” Professor Chappell wrote.

“We see a gendered logic of appropriateness in the Australian parliament, reflected in its bullying culture, its adversarial debates and name calling.

“This is disguised as ‘politics as usual’ and, unlike in other workplaces, it is protected by parliamentary privilege.”

But recent revelations make it now “undeniable” that those norms are supporting the mistreatment of women, from catcalls to abuse, she said.

Eels sports scientist Tahleya Eggers glares at Prime Minister Scott Morrison at the footy on Saturday night. Picture: Supplied

Acknowledge the power imbalance in parliament

“They must acknowledge the steep, deeply entrenched and gendered asymmetric power relations that structure the parliamentary arena,” Professor Chappell wrote.

“It is a deeply hierarchical place, and men dominate the upper echelons.

“These asymmetries exist at every level – within Cabinet, and between it and backbenches, between government members and Opposition, among ministerial offices and between them and bureaucratic agencies, between ministerial and parliamentary operational staff, and parliamentarians and the media.”

Male MPs all come from a specific part of society

The majority of men in parliament are “white, university-educated and from private schools, middle-class men,” Professor Chappell notes.

“Aside from their political differences, they share most other things in common (too).”

This includes their similar political careers – involving them working through small political structures with “immature, winner-takes-all, university politics”.

“It is in these political parties that women and other marginalised groups first struggle to fit to the gendered status quo that dominates our political party system.”

Mr Morrison visits victims of the recent flood with his wife Jenny Morrison. Picture: Bianca De Marchi/NCA NewsWire

So how to fix the problems in parliament?

1. Implement new laws

1. Professor Chappell recommended implementing rules making derogatory speech, verbal and physical acts of bullying and sexual harassment and abuse illegal.

Along with this, standard HR mechanisms need to be available to all workers at Parliament House, and compensation and reparation measures should be available for people who experience sexual abuse.

It’s ultimately up to political leaders to ensure these measures are made available.

2. Introduce a new reporting system

While power is an unmovable feature of politics, it’s not impossible to be able to report abuse of power within the system.

Professor Chappell suggests developing new systems to allow individuals to report abuse which empower victims and give them privacy.

“The ALP has started this process with its recent policy on sexual harassment but it needs to go much further to address more serious forms of abuse,” she writes.

“The Liberal Party has developed a national code of conduct, but with vague enforcement mechanisms and sanctions left up to state branches.”

3. Increase diversity

Professor Chappell said increasing diversity within parliament will better represent the wider Australian community and “disrupt the status quo”.

“Given recent events, Liberal and National members’ application of a ‘merit’ argument to defend against quotas has been well and truly debunked,” she said.