Scott Morrison’s government in chaos over Alan Tudge, religious freedom bill

PM fights to regain control as Alan Tudge stands aside over abuse allegations and key parts of legislative agenda deferred.

Rachelle Miller alleges she was kicked while in bed with Alan Tudge and their relationship was ‘defined by a significant power imbalance’. Picture: Martin Ollman

Scott Morrison is fighting to regain political control after Education Minister Alan Tudge stood aside over abuse allegations and the deferral of key parts of the government’s legislative agenda including promised religious freedom protections.

At the end of a fortnight dominated by Coalition MPs crossing the floor, the Prime Minister on Thursday ordered an investigation into allegations Mr Tudge was at times abusive during a 2017 affair with former staffer Rachelle Miller.

In an astutely timed political intervention, Ms Miller, who revealed her consensual affair with Mr Tudge in an ABC Four Corners episode last November, held a news conference at Parliament House on the last day of sittings to make new allegations.

Ms Miller alleged she had been kicked while in bed with Mr Tudge and her relationship with the Education Minister had been “defined by a significant power imbalance”.

The investigation into Ms Miller’s claims — to be led by former senior public servant Vivienne Thom and welcomed by Mr Tudge, who denies all allegations — came two days after Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins outlined bullying and sexual harassment in her scathing report into Parliament House workplace behaviour.

Alan Tudge and Rachelle Miller at the 2017 Mid-Winter Ball in Parliament House. Picture: ABC/Four Corners

Mr Morrison’s swift action in response to Ms Miller’s claims followed a year dominated by revelations of inappropriate behaviour in parliament, the alleged rape of former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins in a ministerial office and historic sexual assault allegations being levelled against former attorney-general Christian Porter.

Mr Morrison was forced to postpone a vote on his religious discrimination bill in the lower house amid concerns moderate Liberal MPs would join Labor, the Greens and crossbenchers to stall its passage.

Christian groups and conservative Liberal MPs attacked commitments Mr Morrison made to amend the Sex Discrimination Act after pressure from moderate Liberals to ensure gay students would not be expelled or suspended over sexual orientation or gender identity. The Australian Christian Lobby and Christian school groups threatened to withdraw support for the bill if an amended SDA removed exemptions for religious institutions protecting the “teaching and daily operation of faith-based schools”.

Crossbench senators Jacqui Lambie and Rex Patrick also indicated they would not back the -religious discrimination bill.

Scott Morrison and Defence Minister Peter Dutton in the House Of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra on Thursday. Picture: AAP

As Mr Tudge was sidelined, Mr Morrison lost another senior MP ahead of the election, with Health Minister Greg Hunt announcing his retirement from politics despite intense lobbying for him to contest an eighth election in the Victorian seat of Flinders.

As the major parties work to finalise preselections by the end of January, the Coalition will head to the election without former ministers and assistant ministers, Mr Hunt, Mr Porter, Kevin Andrews, Steve Irons, Tony Smith and Scott Ryan, as well as backbenchers John Alexander, Nicolle Flint, George Christensen, Ken O’Dowd and Andrew Laming. Mr Morrison and Anthony Albanese will launch blitzes of marginal seats in the lead-up to Christmas in battleground states, including NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania.

With the Labor leader expected to unveil his climate change policy on Friday, Mr Morrison is preparing to shift the focus away from the Coalition and the turmoil of the parliamentary fortnight.

In a dramatic end to a chaotic year, Mr Morrison began the final question time by revealing Mr Tudge would stand aside until Christmas after an investigation was set up to “properly assess” the allegations made by Ms Miller.

Employment Minister Stuart Robert will step into Mr Tudge’s education portfolio while the investigation is underway.

Ms Miller claimed the relationship was “an emotionally, and on one occasion, physically abusive relationship”.

The former Turnbull government media adviser aired allegations of a drunken encounter between the pair on a work trip. She alleged Mr Tudge had kicked her after she took a 4am call from a breakfast television producer about an interview.

“Then I felt someone kicking me on the side of my hip and leg as I tried to sit up in bed,” Ms Miller said. “It was the minister. He was furious, telling me to ‘get the f..k out of his bed’.

“I quickly told the producer I would call her back. I then realised I was completely naked.”

Referencing Ms Jenkins’ report, Ms Miller said sexual harassment and abuse were “entirely a men’s issue” and called on the government to adopt all recommendations from the report.

“Specifically, the men in this building,” Ms Miller said. “The Liberal Party doesn’t have a women problem; it has a men problem. Labor have stayed quiet because they have just as many skeletons. The two major parties will work together when it comes to protecting each other.

“Unfortunately, it’s a sad reality that the perpetrators are the ones who must change the laws to make themselves accountable.”

Dr Thom, a former inspector-general of intelligence and security who led the probe into former High Court judge Dyson Heydon, will head the investigation with support from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Mr Tudge said he would use the independent review to defend himself from the allegations by Ms Miller, whom he had not seen in the past four years. Mr Tudge said Ms Miller’s “own written words” to him during their affair contradicted her claims that he was abusive. He said this evidence would be referred to the review process.

“I completely and utterly reject Ms Miller’s accusations,” Mr Tudge said.

He said he had accepted responsibility for “a consensual affair that should not have happened many years ago”. “But Ms Miller’s allegations are wrong, did not happen and are contradicted by her own written words to me,” he said. “I regret having to say these things. I do not wish Ms Miller ill but I have to defend myself in light of these allegations, which I reject. The contradictory written evidence will be referred to a full, independent review.”