Scott Morrison alludes to vile Brittany Higgins posts in women’s day speech

Marking International Women’s Day, Scott Morrison has alluded to vile online comments about ex-Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins.

Scott Morrison has called for a greater “culture of respect” for women arguing the problem is the men that abuse them - not their “vulnerability.”

Marking International Women’s Day, the Prime Minister has directly tackled the “traumatic and difficult” issues Parliament House has been grappling with for the past fortnight.

“This has been a very traumatic few weeks for the people who work in this place,’’ he said.

“But even more traumatic, obviously, for those who are the subject of those issues.

“So I just want to share with you my own personal thoughts about the issue that brings us here today and that is women. The three points I want to make to you today are about respect, protect and reflect.

“My hope is that we will live in a society where we can truly say that women are respected. Because from the disrespect of women all the other challenges flow. It all starts with the failure of respect for women.”

Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, who has alleged she was raped in Defence Minister Linda Reynolds’ office, has now lodged a formal complaint with the AFP triggering an active investigation.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has spoken about a culture of respect for women.

Ms Higgins has told news.com.au she was “heavily intoxicated” at the time of the assault.

That prompted an outpouring of “disgusting” posts on the official Liberal Party Facebook page blaming Ms Higgins for getting drunk that have now been taken down.

Mr Morrison alluded to this when he told the International Women’s Day breakfast that women’s vulnerability was not the issue.

“I said protect. And I know many of the women in this room would rightly say to me protect? What are we protecting against?,’’ he said.

“Well, I can tell you what we are not protecting against. We don’t need to protect against the vulnerability of women. That’s not the issue. We need to protect against those who would disrespect women. That’s where the perpetrators are.

“It is about understanding that vulnerability is not the issue here. Or arguably not even present. The problem is the actions that are perpetrated against women. So protecting must be a key part of our actions if we are to protect them and protect against the consequences of disrespect.”

The Prime Minister also revealed he had also spoken overnight to Defence Minister Linda Reynolds who remains hospitalised on the advice of her cardiologist after a stressful fortnight handling the fallout from the affair which included her misleading the Senate after she became tearful during question time.

Liberal senator Linda Reynolds was questioned about Brittany Higgins during Senate Question Time this week.

“I spoke to her last night and she is very appreciative of the support,’’ Mr Morrison said.

The debate over who knew what and when is expected to continue today in Parliament.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has sensationally revealed that he was tipped off about the alleged rape at Parliament House on February 11 by the AFP commissioner Reece Kershaw – 24 hours before news.com.au lodged questions on the incident.

Mr Dutton, who is himself a former drug squad cop, told Parliament that he had also been given further briefings last week and again this week on how the case was progressing.

News.com.au revealed on Wednesday night that it was Ms Higgins’ attendance at a Canberra police station in early February to discuss her options if she wanted to restart the investigation that triggered the Sensitive Investigations provisions that require the Home Affairs Minister to be notified. A meeting of the AFP’s Sensitive Investigations Oversight Board (SIOB) on February 11 declared the matter a sensitive investigation because it could prove politically explosive.

The Prime Minister has consistently maintained that his office didn’t know about the allegation until news.com.au contacted his media team for comment at 2:30pm on Friday, February 12.

However, Senator Reynolds knew in March 2019 and didn’t tell him and the Employment Minister Michaelia Cash learned on February 5, 2021 in an exit interview and also didn’t tell him.