Brittany Higgins has met with Prime Minister Scott Morrison for the first time since she made claims she was raped by a colleague inside Parliament House in 2019.
Speaking after the after the meeting at the Commonwealth Parliamentary offices in Sydney on Friday afternoon Ms Higgins said the discussion between the pair was ‘robust’.
The former Liberal staffer was to meet Mr Morrison to discuss her plans to make workplaces safer for employees.
‘The Prime Minister acknowledged that the system has let me down and we were in agreement that there needs to be reform,’ Ms Higgins told reporters.
‘It was a difficult conversation to have on a personal level. It was very hard to come here. We had discussed that there needs to be better safeguards for staffers. ‘
Brittany Higgins has met with Scott Morrison on Friday afternoon in their first conversation since she made her allegations (pictured after the meeting)
Former political staffer Brittany Higgins (centre) alongside boyfriend David Sharaz (right)
The former Liberal staffer, who claims she was raped by a colleague in Parliament House in 2019, is due to meet Mr Morrison at the Commonwealth Parliamentary offices in Sydney on Friday afternoon
Ms Higgins had already met with Labor leader Anthony Albanese and was pictured leaving his offices alongside her boyfriend, former journalist David Sharaz.
After their meeting, Mr Albanese described Ms Higgins as ‘impressive and courageous.’
‘It was a very constructive discussion. Brittany Higgins is a very impressive woman. She has shown extraordinary courage in coming forward to be a voice, to be a voice standing up for women, standing up for issues that need real solutions,’ he told reporters.
‘Brittany Higgins will be putting forward to the prime minister a range of reforms that are necessary… we need to listen to women and to listen to their concerns, to listen to the experience that they’ve gone through, and to listen to their views about solutions.’
Ms Higgins’ ideas to improve workplace safety include updating rules for parliamentary security to encourage them to block drunk staff from entering the building and call an ambulance if anyone is found unconscious.
She claims she was sexually assaulted after security let her and a colleague into the building after a boozy night out.
Her attacker allegedly raped her on a couch in then-defence minister Linda Reynold’s office before she was found half-naked and unconscious by security hours later.
Ms Higgins’ other proposals include setting up an independent complaints body to replace the current system where victims make complaints through the Department of Finance.
Brittany Higgins will meet with Prime Minister Scott Morrison to discuss her plans to make workplaces safer for employees
Ms Higgins appeared in high spirits as she left Mr Albanese’s office in the Sydney CBD
She also wants legal changes to give parliamentary staff, who can be sacked without a reason, greater employment rights.
Ms Higgins revealed her proposals in a letter to the prime minister which she shared with news.com.au.
‘As I made clear in my public statements, I consider this an incredibly important opportunity to fix a broken system and ensure no other staff has to experience something similar in Parliament House again,’ she wrote in the letter.
‘Too often, a workplace culture can emerge that enables inappropriate conduct which is exacerbated by the disparity in the power dynamics inside offices, among colleagues, inside political structures more broadly, even among lobbyists and the media who share the same workplace.’
Ms Higgins triggered national debate about the treatment of women and the handling of sexual assault complaints.
She has been highly critical of senior ministers’ response to her initial complaint, which has been reinstated with police.
The prime minister has instigated an inquiry into whether his office was briefing journalists against Ms Higgins’ partner in an attempt to discredit and undermine her.
Senator Reynolds, the minister whose parliamentary office was the site of the alleged attack, told 6PR radio she was assisting police with their inquiries.
‘The AFP are investigating her allegations and I am assisting the AFP with their investigation,’ she said.
Ms Reynolds said cultural change and improved behaviour was needed in Parliament House.
‘Across all parties we have got a lot of work to do to really make some significant change in how our parliament operates.
Earlier this month, Ms Higgins signed a $250,000 book deal to publish a memoir detailing her experience.
Ms Higgins (pictured with Scott Morrison) alleges she was sexually assaulted after security let her and a colleague into the building after a boozy night out
Penguin Random House Australia called Ms Higgins ‘a young, brave voice and a pioneer for a new generation’ and said it would publish her book in 2022.
‘Brittany’s story, in her own words, will be a call for desperately needed reform, and a watershed moment for Australian women in public life,’ the publisher said.
Ms Higgins said in a statement: ‘This book will shine a light on the toxic workplace culture inside the corridors of power and provide a first-hand account of what it was like surviving a media storm that turned into a movement.’
She said half of the royalties of each book will be donated to the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre which helped her during her time of need.
Police are investigating Ms Higgins’ allegations.
The prime minister’s chief of staff wrote to Ms Higgins to organise the meeting and outline which topics will be discussed
