Whistleblower an agent of change, not revenge

So the staffer who masturbated on the desk of a female MP – which led to Scott Morrison calling a teary media conference promising to tackle bad behaviour towards women – has made a report to police, alleging he’s the victim of revenge porn.

The whistleblower who came to me with images and video of the said staffer – who was the most senior adviser to the Liberal Whip in charge of party discipline ironically – always made it clear he was revealing what had gone on because enough was enough when it came to poor conduct in the nation’s capital.

He first approached me after the Brittany Higgins allegations became public. I have never revealed his name nor identity. Nor did I name the staffer in question, pixelating the images. As part of the actions that have followed various revelations in recent months, today Ms Higgins is meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss how to improve things in parliament.

That can only be a good thing.

But get this: Liberal MP Warren Entsch has now come out swinging, defending the staffer (who used to work for him once upon a time), attacking the whistleblower (who Senate leader Simon Birmingham amongst others has praised for his courage in coming forward). Entsch has even claimed that the sacked staffer shouldn’t have lost his job for what he did.

A reminder, the staffer masturbated on the desk of his then female boss. He sent lewd pictures, even pointing at the desk describing things he wanted to do on it. And he did a whole lot more on it that was way too graphic and frankly disgusting to even show, as noted in the story.

But Mr Entsch thinks he never should have been sacked. Fortunately the PM and the staffer’s most recent boss at the time the story aired disagreed. As, I suspect, does most of the country.

Mr Entsch, armed with his lack of legal training of course, has publicly declared what happened: “revenge porn”. Without even talking to the whistleblower or his colleagues who have.

Either way, Entsch has described the desk masturbater as “a victim”. Yes, you read that correctly. The victim isn’t the woman whose desk was defiled, it’s the man who did it without her knowledge and certainly without her permission.

Talk about not reading the room.

Mr Entsch went on. He said that what the staffer did he did “in private”. In private being in his boss’s office without consent. The Liberal MP is “absolutely thrilled” that the staffer is now complaining to police. Adding “he deserves his job”. Extraordinary. The Liberal MP doesn’t think a senior Liberal staffer should lose his job for lewd acts without permission on his female bosses desk. Remembering that’s one of many untoward acts.

I wonder how many female MPs agree with Mr Entsch?

Even though the initial story made no reference to the man being gay, Mr Entsch has sought to make this saga anti-gay in nature. That’s called a red herring. Raising something unrelated to the issue to try and draw support from other quarters. It’s also called desperate. The whistleblower is gay, how is he anti-homosexual? I have been championing gay rights for nearly 20 years, and the story made no mention of anyone’s sexual preference.

Mr Entsch doesn’t seem to understand that this story was the important moment in these last few months. It was the moment that caused the Prime Minister to take action and begin fixing cultural problems in parliament. Why? Because the story provided concrete evidence of wrong doing. Photos, texts, video evidence. Hard irrefutable facts. Not allegations that often are and can be contested.

Critics of Scott Morrison have sought to attack him for only finally acting when a man masturbated on a desk, rather than when an alleged rape occurred 50 metres from his office. That attempted parallel is as unintellectual as it gets. It is a matter of proof verses assertion. Actions are unavoidable when proof requires action. Failure to act becomes impossible.

When allegations are denied, decision makers necessarily must tread more cautiously. But with the revelations the whistleblower made to me, Morrison was forced into action. The whistleblower therefore is single-handedly responsible for what has followed, making Mr Entsch’s response one that might prevent future whistleblowers coming forward.

“Tom’s” (as we called him in the story) willingness to speak out has made him a change agent for good. Ensuring cultural change in parliament. Not that Liberal MP Warren Entsch sees it that way. Thankfully, many of his colleagues do. Including the Prime Minister.

Peter van Onselen is a professor of politics and public policy and the University of Western Australia and Griffith University. He is Network 10s Political Editor.