Scott Morrison has almost broken down as he condemned the sickening sex acts performed by Coalition staffers in Parliament House – and admits he must show more leadership for women who feel let down by his handling of Canberra’s sex crisis.
Disturbing images last night emerged showing images of the acts allegedly performed by at least four staffers in Parliament House.
Senior staffers allegedly swapped photos and video of themselves performing the solo sex acts in a Facebook Messenger group.
The Australian prime minister was visibly emotional on Tuesday morning as he called on Canberra to ‘get this house in order’.
He also choked back tears as he spoke about his daughters, wife and mother – adding ‘I say to you girls – I will not let you down’.
‘They motivate me every day on this issue,’ he said. ‘And to them, I say to you girls, I will not let you down.’
His speech came amid the fallout from rape allegations levelled by ex-ministerial media adviser Brittany Higgins against a male colleague and historic sexual assault claims against the Attorney-General Christian Porter.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison broke down as he condemned the sickening sex acts performed by Coalition staffers that emerged on Monday night
‘I am shocked and disgusted – it is shameful. We must get this house in order,’ he said.
‘We must put the politics aside of these things, and we must recognise this problem, acknowledge it and we must fix it.’
Mr Morrison added there were also new bombshell revelations being investigated in parliament involving the harassment of a woman in a woman’s toilet.
He said he was aware many Australian women were not happy with his government’s response to allegations of sexual misconduct in Canberra.
‘I acknowledge that many have not liked or unappreciated some of my own personal responses to this over the course of the last month, I accept that,’ he said.
‘Whether that was seeking to openly share how I try and deal with such dramatic events, people might like the fact that I discuss these with my family, they are the closest people in my will to me.’
Mr Morrison was criticised when Brittany Higgins came forward with her allegations for saying his wife Jenny had given him new perspective by asking him ‘what would you want to happen if it were our girls?’
The sexual acts – some of which took place on the desks of federal female MPs – were carried out more than two years ago but only came to light after one of the staffers dobbed the rest of them in.
This image shared by a whistleblower shows a man sitting at a desk in Parliament House exposing himself
A government source told ABC News on Monday evening one of the staffers was sacked as the bombshell allegations came to light.
A whistleblower shared footage of a staffer performing a sex act on himself inside a female Liberal MPs office.
The anonymous source also told Ten News MPs and government staffers used a small prayer room on the upper level of Parliament House to have sex.
‘I could probably say there’s very little meditation or prayer going on in that room,’ he said.
He also claimed prostitutes and ‘rent boys’ were brought into Parliament House for the pleasure of Coalition MPs.
‘Having sex, procuring rent boys… in Parliament House, procured by staffers for MPs,’ he told Ten News.
A man is pictured pointing at a female Liberal MP’s Parliamentary desk in a still from a video. He goes on to commit a lewd sexual act on the desk
Mr Morrison was visibly emotional on Tuesday morning as he called on Canberra to ‘get this house in order’
Finance Minister Simon Birmingham condemned the behaviour on Monday and said those involved would be sacked.
‘I am disgusted and appalled,’ he said. ‘It shows a complete disregard for all that our parliamentary democracy stands for.’
‘It also demonstrates an enormous disrespect for the employing member or senator in relation to those staff and those officers.
Some staffers have used a small prayer room on the upper level of Parliament House to have sex, a whistleblower said in bombshell revelations
The staffer who was fired (left, pictured with Julie Bishop) allegedly filmed himself performing a sexual act inside a female Liberal MP’s office
‘It equally shows a complete contempt for the Australian taxpayers who have paid the wages for such staff and, in my opinion, any individuals who engaged in such activity ought to prepare to pack their bags and leave the building for good.’
The whistleblower told The Australian there was a culture of men who thought they could do ‘whatever they want’.
‘I don’t think they’ve broken any laws — but morally, they’re bankrupt,’ he said.
Ten News and The Australian obtained some of the lewd videos and images filmed inside Parliament House.
Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins (pictured in 2018) will hand down her final report on inappropriate workplace culture in Parliament House in November
Prime Minister Scott Morrison condemned the behaviour in the strongest possible terms and urged anyone who knew of more to come forward.
‘Everyone has a right to feel safe at work. The reports aired tonight are disgusting and sickening,’ he said.
‘It’s not good enough, and is totally unacceptable. The people who come to work in this building are better than this.
‘The actions of these individuals show a staggering disrespect for the people who work in parliament, and for the ideals the parliament is supposed to represent.’
Mr Morrison said he had identified the staff member at the centre of the allegations and terminated his employment immediately.
One staffer was confirmed to have been sacked on Monday. Finance Minister Simon Birmingham (pictured) said the others would also lose their jobs
‘I urge anybody with further information to come forward. There is also the serious incident support line that we have established that staff and former staff are encouraged to use,’ he said.
‘I will have more to say on this and the cultural issues we confront as a Parliament in coming days.’
Senator Birmingham said it further demonstrated the need for the inquiry by Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins into parliament’s workplace culture.
Parliament House, Canberra, has been rocked by fresh allegations of sexual depravity as senior Coalition staffers allegedly filmed themselves in sexual acts on female MP’s desks and in the Parliamentary prayer room – and shared them on Facebook Messenger
Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins is leading a review of workplace culture in Parliament House in the wake of the Brittany Higgins rape allegations.
Ms Higgins says she was raped by a former colleague inside Parliament House in March 2019.
Ms Jenkins’ review is expected to issue a final report in November.
Source link