More women pile on against ‘bully’ Scott Morrison

Tasmanian crossbencher Jacqui Lambie has backed Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells’s characterisation of Scott Morrison as a ‘bully’.

Tasmanian Senate crossbencher Jacqui Lambie has backed Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells’s characterisation of Scott Morrison as a “bully”, joining a growing number of women from across the political spectrum.

Senator Lambie on Thursday said she had “no doubt” the Prime Minister was “an absolute bully” and had not treated Senator ­Fierravanti-Wells fairly.

“Scott Morrison is a bully – he is an intimidating bully – there is no doubt about that,” Senator Lambie said. “If you’re not sitting there like he’s a messiah, you’re in the outer. It’s that simple.”

She said Mr Morrison was one of “the most unpleasant men” she had ever met, and it “needed to come out” before the next election.

Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek said it was significant that allegations against Mr Morrison were coming from women from all sides of politics.

“This is something that’s happening within the Liberal Party, with One Nation, with Jacqui Lambie … they are all people who have had to sit in a room and negotiate with the Prime Minister at different times,” she told Sky News. “It’s instructive that they’ve each had the same experience.”

Mr Morrison has rejected accusations he is a bully and tied Senator Fierravanti-Wells’s comments to her “disappointment” at the ­recent pre­selection in which she failed to secure a winnable spot on the NSW ticket.

Senator Fierravanti-Wells had made the allegations in the Senate on Tuesday night, describing Mr Morrison as an “autocrat” with no moral compass who was not fit to be Prime Minister.

Some senior Liberals defended Mr Morrison and questioned Senator Fierravanti-Wells’s motives.

Superannuation Minister Jane Hume told the ABC that “this Prime Minister is not a bully”.

“And he has been extraordinarily supportive of all the women I work with,” Senator Hume said. “Yet these things seem to fall by the wayside when an easy ­accusation is made by somebody who has it in for this government.”

Defence Minister Peter Dutton said while Senator Fierravanti-Wells was “a dear friend”, he would never put himself in the position of “criticising my party”.

“It’s sad to see her in this position,” he told 2GB. “Connie is a person of great capability. She’s been upset for a long time.”

Mr Morrison stood by his behaviour. When asked if he would do some soul-searching about the allegations, he replied: “No.”

Senator Fierravanti-Wells’s ­allegations against Mr Morrison have also been supported by ­former Liberal MP Julia Banks and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.

Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles said all political parties needed to “do better” when it came to the culture of Parliament House, after a number of reviews including one by Sex Discrimin­ation Commissioner Kate Jenkins found bullying, harassment and assault were rampant.

“I think the frame we have to see it through is that as a parliament, as a building, and as a sort of political group, I suppose, we have to do better,” Mr Marles said on the ABC.

“We need to have excellent culture and not for a moment have I suggested that this is a partisan issue. We all need to be aspiring to have excellent culture here. And that means we’ve got to review our processes and make sure that there is zero tolerance ­towards bullying.”

Senator Fierravanti-Wells’s ­attack follows revelations the late Labor senator Kimberley Kitching was bullied and ostracised from within her own party.