OECD Secretary-General-elect and former leader of the Senate Mathias Cormann insists he had no knowledge of the alleged sexual assault of ex-Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins.
Ms Higgins says she was raped by a colleague in the ministerial office of Senator Linda Reynolds in 2019. The allegation is now being investigated by police after Ms Higgins lodged a formal complaint.
Mr Cormann said on Tuesday he was not made aware of the alleged rape at Parliament House, and was only told by the Senate president of an "incident" in the period immediately before his 2020 departure from federal politics.
The former finance minister did not ask for further details, despite being leader of the Senate.
"The finance department has made very clear I was not briefed in relation to matters that were the purview of the special minister of state at the time, which was not me," Mr Cormann told ABC TV.
"I'm not even sure the finance department knew at the time there was such an allegation."
Senator Reynolds, now the defence minister, remains on medical leave.
It comes as the Morrison government remains torn on the path forward after more than 100,000 people protested across Australia demanding equality and an end to violence against women.
The protesters also called for an independent inquiry into historical rape allegations against Attorney-General Christian Porter, which he denies.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is not budging on the issue and maintains his government is doing the work protesters want.
Liberal and Nationals MPs also met on Tuesday for their joint partyroom meeting, where the women's marches were raised.
SA-based MP Nicolle Flint, who recently announced she would leave politics at the next election, told colleagues Australians wanted to know how the government would address the issue.
She also pointed the finger at Labor for its treatment of women.
Labor MPs say there needs to be more training and support for electorate officers in response to calls from people making deeply personal disclosures about sexual abuse.
The issue has been at the forefront of politics for weeks, prompted by the accusations made by Ms Higgins, who spoke at the rally in Canberra on Monday.
The government has committed to take up demands raised as part of the rally's petition, including an inquiry into gendered violence and the full implementation of recommendations from a sexual harassment report.
Mr Cormann will begin a five-year term as OECD head in June.
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