Scott Morrison apologised for his government’s failings in supporting women in an extraordinary speech to hundreds of Coalition staff.
A recording of the speech to 400 ministers and staffers last Tuesday was leaked to Nine Newspapers as the Prime Minister suffers backlash over his government’s treatment of sexism, sexual assault and harassment of women in politics.
Highlighting that he is the son of a police officer, Mr Morrison made it clear that workplace management issues needed to be dealt with – and that serious misconduct should be handled by the police.
The speech is an indicator of how low Coalition morale has sunk in the aftermath of a volley of shocking revelations over the past six weeks.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison (right) with Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack (left) pictured last Tuesday, ahead of a meeting to 400 staffers where they tried to rally the Coalition
This shocking image shared by a whistleblower shows a Coalition staffer masturbating over a female MP’s desk in Parliament House. The Coalition has been rocked by shocking claims
Mr Morrison called the extraordinary meeting to assure staffers that workplace culture would be changing and to outline how it would begin – however eyebrows were raised when Minister for Women Marise Payne did not attend.
Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Nationals Michael McCormack spoke briefly, apologising three times to staff as he told them they were valued ‘whether you have been here for 15 minutes or 25 years’.
The Prime Minister took special care to thank the office staff who ‘copped an earful’ over the past six months as angry voters turned on the Coalition.
‘It would have hurt, and it would have stung, and it would have cut very deep – the abuse that would have come across those phone lines in the course of this last month would have been absolutely extraordinary and I’m deeply thankful to those who helped,’ he said.
The Prime Minister then stressed that nobody should be subject to inappropriate treatment, bullying, abuse or criminal behaviour such as sexual assault.
‘It’s not OK,’ he said.
Minister for Women Marise Payne was not at the meeting last Tuesday, raising eyebrows
Mr Morrison urged the staffers to show respect for each other and their workplace, saying it was the thoughtlessness, the ‘not understanding or thinking it through’, and the lack of awareness that had to change.
‘I am the son of a police officer, I know that’s where those issues need to be dealt with and where justice needs to be done,’ he said.
An overhaul of human resources was promised for the weeks and months ahead, with a register of ministerial staff induction and professional conduct plus mandatory annual health and safety training.
‘This needs to be done face-to-face,’ Mr Morrison said in the tape.
He also vowed to install a centralised Human Resources department plus a staff reference group to continuously improve the new systems.
Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins (pictured in 2018) will hand down her final report on inappropriate workplace culture in Parliament House in November
A Cabinet reshuffle is expected within days while a national summit on preventing violence against women will be organised in coming months.
Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins is leading a review of workplace culture in Parliament House which is expected to issue a final report in November.
Mr Morrison told the 400 staffers that the independent counselling line was already up and running and that people were already using it.
He announced a ‘proper complaints process’ that would be safe and confidential, but stressed that serious misconduct such as that contained in Ms Higgins’ allegations should be referred to the police.
Former Coalition staffer Brittany Higgins (pictured) says she was raped in Parliament House. The AFP is now investigating
Mr Morrison’s speech follows a nightmare stretch for the Coalition, which began when former staffer Brittany Higgins’ rape allegation became public.
Ms Higgins says she was raped by a former colleague inside Parliament House in March 2019, prompting an AFP investigation.
This was followed by a historic rape claim against Attorney General Christian Porter, a claim Mr Porter denies.
Last week a video of a senior Coalition staffer masturbating over an MP’s desk in Parliament House was leaked to media by a former staffer who admitted they often shared such depraved images over a Facebook Messenger group.
One coalition staff member has already been sacked, while three other staffers were involved in sharing lewd photographs and videos.
Some of the shocking claims included that staffers and MPs used the Parliament House prayer room for sex, and that staffers procured male prostitutes for Coalition MPs to use inside Parliament House.
