Dossier of lewd sex acts to spark sackings

The whistleblower who exposed Coalition staff performing lewd acts says he passed on information to Simon Birmingham and Kristina Keneally.

Kristina Keneally took to Twitter to reveal that someone in her office had spoken with the whistleblower. Picture: Getty Images

The whistleblower who exposed Coalition staff performing lewd sex acts in female MPs’ offices says he has passed on information to Finance Minister Simon Birmingham and Labor senator Kristina Keneally that could lead to further staff sackings and expose serving MPs.

The revelation came as Scott Morrison, after weathering a month of criticism over his handling of the Brittany Higgins’ rape allegation, conducted two extensive interviews with female journalists — the ABC’s Sabra Lane and Nine’s Tracy Grimshaw — in a bid to reset the political optics for the government and demonstrate he was listening to the ¬nation’s women.

Scott Morrison in Parliament House on Thursday. Picture: Getty Images

The Prime Minister told Nine’s A Current Affair he would be happy to “sit down and have a chat” with Ms Higgins, arguing that her allegation of rape in the office of then defence industry minister Linda Reynolds in March 2019 had sparked a deeper national conversation about women.

“What has become, I think, more crystallised in this last five weeks (is) Brittany standing up has caused a very deep and confronting conversation in Australia,” Mr Morrison said.

“We have gone way deeper, we have gone beyond the sheer shock of violent acts. We are starting to deal with some real home truths.”

As a tumultuous sitting fortnight dominated by further allegations of sexual misconduct came to a close, a government bill aimed at protecting the privacy of those involved in Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins’ review into workplace culture within parliament passed the House of Representatives.

Simon Birmingham. Picture: Getty Images

Senator Birmingham on Thursday labelled as “disgusting and inappropriate” the behaviour revealed by The Australian and Network Ten on Monday, in which staffers swapped graphic videos of their sexual exploits in parliamentary offices. The revelations led to the sacking of one of the male staffers in the group.

Senator Birmingham said further investigations were underway to find out whether other staffers were involved. He said the government was “working to resolve these issues and get to the bottom of these allegations.”

“I assure everyone that we are not going to tolerate the behaviour that has been alleged and are taking all steps possible to ensure appropriate consequences,” the Finance Minister said.

Senator Birmingham’s portfolio also includes responsibility for parliamentary standards.

Senator Keneally took to Twitter to reveal that someone in her office had spoken with the whistleblower — who calls himself Tom the Whistleblower on social media — and had been given a “verbal briefing”.

The whistleblower, whose Twitter handle is @BlowingTom, has also admitted to some of the conduct he was revealing and said MPs often had sex in a Parliament House room reserved for meditation or prayer.

100% correct. Exactly what I have stated. Thank you @KKeneally and your team for their assistance ❤️ https://t.co/voHgoUosQg

— Tom the Whistleblower (@BlowingTom) March 25, 2021

Material provided by the whistleblower and seen by The Australian shows at least four Coalition staffers swapping images and videos on Facebook Messenger over a two-year period ending last year.

In a video shared among the group, one Coalition staffer performs a sex act on another man in a room he claims is the Parliament House office of an MP for whom he works.

Tom the Whistleblower on Thursday disputed claims made by Mr Morrison that the lewd sexual acts had not occurred under his leadership.

“First of all, the PM lied when he said that he was not PM when these matters occurred,” he tweeted. “These events happened from 2015-2020. They happened during his tenure. Today I have met with @birmo chief of staff and given ALL evidence in relation to the matter, including evidence that one of the staffers involved works in @DaveSharma office.”

Senator Birmingham’s office would not confirm whether that meeting had taken place. Mr Sharma’s office declined to comment on the claim one of its staffers was in the group.

Tom the Whistleblower said he had handed over “names, dates, pics, vids” and evidence in relation to alleged use of male sex workers at Parliament House.

Ms Jenkins’ review is being conducted at the request of Mr Morrison and Senator Birmingham. It is due to conclude in November.