Grace Tame revelation spurs probe into ‘threat’

Grace Tame says her now-­infamous ‘side-eye’ to Scott Morrison was prompted by a phone call in which she was ‘threatened’ to not say anything negative about the PM.

Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday. Picture: Gary Ramage

Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame says her now-­infamous “side-eye” to Scott Morrison in January was prompted by a phone call in which she was “threatened” to not say anything negative about the Prime Minister considering the proximity of the election.

With the federal poll just months away, Ms Tame also offered some advice to Anthony Albanese, seated among the crowd, on handling sexual abuse and harassment claims: “All that Anthony would have to do is none of the things that Scott’s done.”

In an explosive sold-out address at the National Press Club on Wednesday, Ms Tame called for several changes she would like the Morrison government to implement immediately, including parliament taking the issue of abuse seriously, funding for prevention education programs in schools and nationally consistent structural change.

And she revealed she had been warned by a “senior member” of a government-funded organisation last August “not to say anything negative” about Mr Morrison in the lead-up to an election.

A spokesman for Mr Morrison later said he did not know about the call and “would not authorise such actions” as Social Services Minister Anne Ruston confirmed an investigation into the claims was already under way.

On Twitter, Ms Tame later rebuked the probe, declaring it “the very same embedded structural silencing culture” that prompted the call in the first place as she accused Mr Morrison of deflecting.

Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins received a standing ovation from attendees at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday. Picture: Gary Ramage

She was joined on stage by former Liberal staffer and advocate for sexual abuse victims Brittany Higgins, who called on the nat­on’s leaders to address inequality for women as she criticised Mr Morrison’s handling of her ­alleged rape at Parliament House.

Mr Morrison made headlines last year and was punished by his critics when he said he was moved by Ms Higgins’s disclosure only after his wife, Jenny, had urged him to consider what had happened in the context of their own daughters.

Ms Higgins said his language was “shocking” and “at times, a bit offensive… but his words wouldn’t matter if his actions had measured up. What bothered me most about the whole ‘imagine if it were our daughters’ spiel wasn’t that he necessarily needed his wife’s advice to help contextualise my rape in a way that mattered to him personally – I didn’t want his sympathy as a father. I wanted him to use his power as Prime Minister.

“I wanted him to build the weight of his office and drive change in the party,” she said.

Brittany Higgins called Scott Morrison’s language ‘shocking and offensive’.

Ms Higgins said she believed Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins’s review, sparked by her allegations, and its 28 recommendations would make Parliament House a much safer workplace, as she reflected positively on her former career as a staffer. “It was the most fulfilling job I ever had,” she said, as she encouraged young Australians to consider a career in politics.

“I loved it. I would encourage every woman who is interested in policy or national debate to get involved because I fundamentally believe post-Jenkins review that it will be a safer workplace. Not only that, it is the most incredible job you will ever have,” she said.

“So if you’re interested, I wholeheartedly - I endorse it with every piece of my being. It’s - there’s nothing like it.”